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First off, I’m writing this post sitting in SFO awaiting my flight to Frankfurt (and then on Wroclaw). I’m also tethering from my Nexus One running Froyo to have access to the internet. It’s not WiFi fast, but the fact that I can do this is awesome.

For Memorial Day weekend, Vignesh, Sophia, Mark, Kolina and I went to Yosemite. We only had one full day and since it was Vignesh’s first time there, we hit up the highlights.

Bridal Veil Falls:

From Yosemite 2010

Lower Yosemite Falls:

From Yosemite 2010

Inspiration Point:

From Yosemite 2010

We then took Glacier Point Road, which had just opened that same day (we got really lucky) and hiked up Sentinel Dome. I did the hike around September of 2006 the day before I climbed Half Dome and since it was only about a mile, it seemed pretty doable. The area was actually covered in the snow though, so we spent a lot of energy running around trying to find the actual trail. Of course that also meant time for snowball fights and other shenanigans (if you ever want to hear about getting hurt throwing a large stick with your non-dominant hand, please ask one Mark Ewing). Since Yosemite was packed for Memorial Day Weekend, the snow acted as a natural barrier from most of the visitors, meaning when we got to the top, the view was only shared with a few people.

From Yosemite 2010

From Yosemite 2010

We spent a good hour and a half up top, enjoying the view and company. We got back to the parking lot in about half the time it took to get up; when we got back Vignesh realized he had forgotten his wallet on the top of the mountain! So, he climbed to the top of Sentinel Dome…twice! He may be the only recorded person who decided to walk to the top of the dome twice in the same day.

After spending so much time atop Sentinel Dome and fighting huge lines and crowds at Glacier Point, I gotta admit that the views from Sentinel Dome are much more desirable. I just might skip Glacier Point altogether next time I come to Yosemite.