Bridalveil Falls & Yosemite Museum

After lunch we headed back down the mountain towards Bridalveil Falls. The visitor centre had recommended these falls and said they were flowing. When we arrived the carpark was nearly full and there were people everywhere.

We could already see the falls from the carpark and it was only an 800m walk. We walked to the falls which was on a wide and mostly flat path to the two lookouts. The waterfall kept blowing in the wind to look like a veil. It was quite beautiful and I’m sure during full flow after winter would be quite spectacular.

We decided we would complete the walk to Mirror Lake, but unfortunately due to road works we weren’t able to park in the carpark. We thought we could catch the shuttle bus to the trailhead, but after looking at the reviews it would be a 2 hour walk. We decided to head to the village and buy a few supplies and salad for dinner for the last couple of nights.

We then walked to the Yosemite museum. Outside the museum was a Giant Sequioa Cross section of a tree that had fallen over. The sequoia was cut 30 feet from the base of a tree that fell in the Mariposa Grove in 1919. Annual rings show the tree's age to be 996 years old, but at the base of the tree, where the diameter was 14 feet, the age was found to be 1,100 years.

We then entered the museum which explained the history of the Native Indian tribe the Ahwahnechee people who lived in Yosemite prior to the white settlement. The museum contained different artifacts and many baskets which were made from different materials in Yosemite. The collection was really interesting although there wasn’t much information on what happened when the white people settled in Yosemite.

We headed back to our accommodation and spent the afternoon by the pool relaxing. The pool was absolutely freezing but it was really good for our aching muscles. We had dinner before watching the rest of Free Solo and heading to bed early.Read more