Recently, Max and I escaped to Yosemite for a couple days. We decided to hike one of the suggested hikes - I chose the Yosemite Valley Floor hike - it was a 13 mile "moderate" hike and seemed reasonable to me.

We took the shuttle from the Ahwahnee Hotel to where the hike would start. Max explained that he felt the views would be so much more breathtaking if we hiked up and not just around. He thought that the Upper Yosemite Falls hike would be a good choice. I agreed with his opinion and didn't think much about it...until probably close to 2 hours into our straight up the mountain hike...which, in the hike guide, was labeled as "strenuous." I might have wondered, once or twice, what I had been thinking...

I think that despite wearing all black clothes in 90 degree heat on a strenuous hike, I did quite well. Max carried a full backpack and thrived up the mountain...but, let's not forget where he had been all last year. Heat and mountains were a part of his everyday life.

We finished the hike in about 5 hours. The shuttle driver back to the hotel explained that we'd have to switch shuttles to get door-to-door service. From my comfy seat on the shuttle, I hear the driver mention to Max that another option would be to walk the ten minute walk from where he would drop us off to the hotel. Max thought walking sounded great. I sat in my seat and wondered why in the world he would want to walk more. Needless to say, we switched shuttles.

I recommend this hike, all said and done...but, here are a few statistics about it from a review from yosemitehikes.com:

Distance: 7.6 miles (12 km) round trip from the Lower Yosemite Falls trailhead; 9.4 miles (15 km) including Yosemite Point

Elevation at trailhead: 3,967 feet (1,347 meters)
Elevation at top of Yosemite Falls: 6,526 feet (1,989 meters)
Elevation at Yosemite Point: 6,936 feet (2,114 meters)

Elevation gain: 2,600 feet (790 meters) to the top of Yosemite Falls; 2,969 feet (890 meters) to Yosemite Point

Hiking Time: 6 - 10 hours. Don't double-book hikes on days when you've got this one on your schedule.

Why hike to the top of Yosemite Falls? It's the mother of all stairmaster workouts, but with one-of-a-kind payoffs you won't get in a gym: panoramic views of Yosemite Valley; the only place outside Sentinel Dome where all of Yosemite Falls is visible (though you can't actually see it all at once unless you've got Exorcistesque peripheral vision); the chance to walk through the spray from upper Yosemite Falls; the chance to photograph Yosemite Falls and Half Dome in the same frame; and from Yosemite Point, closeup views of Half Dome that you can only beat by climbing North Dome.

Difficulty: High. It's a long, steep climb from the valley floor to the valley rim, and we rate it an 8 out of 10. Consider this question: would you climb the stairs all the way to the top of the Empire State Building? Well, in the course of your hike to Upper Yosemite Falls, you'll climb the equivalent of just over two Empire State Buildings