Wow, I didn't realize this thread was this old. And, more to the point, I didn't realize prior to last week just how long it has been since I have been to Yosemite. We did kind of a single-day drive-through with the boys when they were small. They are now 15 and 13. Where does the time go?
Anyhow, my wife spur of the moment decided she wanted to go this past weekend. Unfortunately, we had some other commitments, so we couldn't even do the entire long weekend there. We only had one full day in the park, but it was nice. The major thing we did while there was a hike up just past the top of Vernal Falls, which is part of the hike to Half Dome. A couple of observations:
-Our hike was only about 4.5 miles round trip. I was wondering why the ranger gave about 3-4 hours for that hike because that is pretty SLOW. But there is a LOT of climbing for such a short distance. I get it now.
-Really nice views. I want to do this hike again and perhaps go to the sub-dome (you need a permit to actually hike the sub-dome and Half Dome). That is almost a full-day hike (the hike all the way up Half Dome is a full day plus, for those who don't know; if you start right at sunrise, you typically get back just at or after dark), and would provide some really nice views. Not sure I want to do the dome itself. But we'll see.
-Columbus Day weekend is a GREAT time to go. A lot of the falls weren't nearly as powerful as earlier in the year, but the ones on the trail we went to were still nice. And the crowds were pretty thin, which was the best part of it.
Thinking about maybe doing a more extensive trip next year. With the kids growing up, it's amazing how many more things we want to do that we are running out of time for.