Kick-ass route in Yosemite: 4mile + Panaroma trail

The awesomeness of the hike can be gauged from the fact that it made me start my own blog. Yeah, this is my first blogpost/blog where we talk about this kick ass hike in Yosemite valley.
This is the best way to explore Yosemite Valley in one day (you only miss out on Bridalveil Falls).

This hike makes you walk for around 14 miles, and has 4000 feet of elevation change. We took nearly 11 hours to finish this, so early start is recommended. The idea is to start from "4 mile" trail head and go to Glacier point, then come back via Panaroma trail to Yosemite Valley. This way you cover two famous hikes without the hassle of taking shuttle to reach one end of trailhead.
Very nice description of both these hikes is given on Yosemite hikes website.
1. 4 mile trail
2. Panorama-trail

After the technicalities, I will come straight to blatant advertisement. There is no better way to see Yosemite Falls then do 4 mile trail from bottom to top. We parked the car in Yosemite valley and walked to "4 mile" trailhead (10 mins walk, if el-capitan shuttle is running then it can also be used). The hike started at 6. In the first 2 hours we conquered numerous switchbacks, played hide and seek with a deer and watched glimpses of Yosemite fall. The best part is, as you go up, the view becomes more comprehensive and so more brilliant. Before you get tired of the waterfall, Half Dome gives its first appearance. There will always be thoughts as to why not climb the Half Dome instead, but the chains might not be put up yet and it is too late to worry about this question anyway :). After about 3 miles we passed through a gate which is closed in the winters. At approximately the same time, we were stuck by the demise of stamina/leg of our eldest hiker (Age : 30 years). But still he maintained a steady profile and at 11 we reached Glacier point.


The ice-creams were eaten for the incredible feat of finishing 1/3rd of the hike (there is a restaurant at Glacier point). One intelligent person (not me :P), has commented that after hiking Panaroma trail life will be divided into two parts, one before Panaroma, one after Panaroma. So with lots of hope, water and an injured friend we started on the second part of our life.
To say the least that intelligent person was actually intelligent. It is hard to find a hike which provides you yet another amazing view, even before you have finished lamenting about spending less time at the previous spot. This happens way too often and we realized that one day is too less to devote to this hike.

Intially there are amazing views of the valley as you go down. Before going to the bridge, there is a viewpoint for Illilouette Falls (100 feet from the trail). Pronunciation is just one of the fun parts of this fall. Then you reach the stream and the bridge (relaxed on the side of the stream before going over the bridge). That is when the god/trail makers cheat you. They made us gain the elevation which we had lost in last 1 hour. But they make up for it through Panaroma point, here we met our old friend (yosemite falls, not the injured one) again. The hike ends with Vernal and Nevada falls. The last part has few surprises, and I will keep them surprises.



One of the most interesting hikes I have done, and definitely the best in terms of scenery. The hike ends in Yosemite valley. We took the free bus to reach the place where we parked our car.