“Stay Fit” Vacations – Yosemite National Park, California

One of the funniest things I ever read was a compilation of tips and suggestions that a Yosemite Park Ranger with a sense of humor assembled from actual requests submitted by park campers.  The list was long and hilarious!  Some of the best ones pulled from the suggestion box included:

• “There’s a lot of walking here, has anyone considered paved roads and shuttles to the better points of interest?”
• “We didn’t see much wildlife, can you move the deer and the wolves to places where we can see them better?”
• Some bears took our food, where do we get reimbursed for that?
• “It rained while we were on a trail and we were drenched.  It would be nice if the trail were covered or at least if there were shelters every so often!”
• “Some of the waterfalls were flowing more forcefully than others, why don’t you turn them all on ‘full blast’ during the summer?”
• My personal favorite:  “Where are the herds of the millions of buffalos?”

Ahhh, nature.  How grand it would be if all of the waterfalls had valves and spigots on them?  The truth is Yosemite is home to some of the most amazing landscapes on the planet.  The Sierra Nevadas provide a spectacular granite frame to an infinite canvas of rivers, meadows, and pine forests.  There’s plenty to do there for the “Stay Fit” vacationer.

The less experienced hikers and climbers will love to know that there is a 13 mile long trail that loops around the valley floor.  Appropriately named, “The Valley Floor Loop,” it hugs the base of the famous El Capitan so you can see the mountain from all angles.  This trail crosses the Merced River on a swinging bridge and offers views of Bridalveil Falls and Yosemite Falls as well.  This trail does cross some paved roads with shuttles so you can shorten the loop if you want to.

For the more adventurous, some of the best rock climbing in North America abounds here.  Heck, some folks like to park themselves with a good pair of binoculars and gawk at climbers all day.  If you’d rather join the fray, the Yosemite Mountaineering School offers one-day lessons that will put you up on a 60-foot rock face.  You can go back to the school as often as you like to hone or better your skills, regardless of your experience level.

Whether you choose the hard or the easy path, remember that the paths, bears, deer, wolves, waterfalls, etc, are all natural!  So be careful out there!

EXTRA: If you have questions for Ken regarding business travel, hotels, airplanes, etc, please send him a “Tweet” on his twitter account.  You can also follow Ken on Twitter @foodbreeze!