Today we experienced the grandeur of Yosemite for the first time. The words of Muir and the images of Adams create visions of greatness that seem impossible to match even in person. Yet, there are no words or images that may ever capture the amazement that is Yosemite.

Today, we got our intro out of the way, and it was amazing. Like many travelers throughout the history of humans laying eyes on Yosemite, our first glimpse was a classic. We stopped and tunnel view and admired this great place for some time.

We then moved on away from the crowds, as we hiked up the Pohono trail to Inspiration Point. The hike to and from Inspiration Point is a short 2.6 miles, but its 900 feet of elevation gain can be a butt kicker for those not used to hiking uphills. Not too bad, and certainly well worth the effort, as Inspiration Point affords views similar to Tunnel View, but without all the pesky people (seems like they say well over 95% of visitors to national parks never go more than 100 yards from the road.

We then moved on down into the valley and hiked the Yosemite Falls trail over to the base of the falls. This was a pretty casual hike, with great rewards.

We then moved on to set-up camp in our little tent at North Pines on the valley floor. Camping can be a bit chilly at Yosemite in early April, but the lack of bugs and lower crowds make it well worth it.