Back when we spent a year on the Northern California coast, one thing ( besides snow in winter ) we found ourselves really missing– big mountains.  The coastal mountains have their own drama and magnificence but we really missed those high mountain peaks and valleys.  So we made sure to carve out a week to mark a must-see national park off our bucket list– Yosemite.

We spent a week in late August of 2014 camping in Yosemite’s grandeur.  The months leading up to our trip had been stressful– hubby hadn’t had any time off in nearly a year, my mom had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and we had dealt with my own health scare, which turned out to be nothing but was very frightening nonetheless.  We were in serious need of quiet time together in the wild.

If you’ve been to Yosemite in late summer, you can attest that time alone is a bit hard to come by.  The park had over 4 million visitors in 2014 and I swear the majority of that number were there at the same time we were!  To avoid crowds, we tried to get out early and stay out late, and chose to avoid the more popular trails in favor of the paths less traveled.

The California Sierras have such a unique look to them– the tall pines and cedars intermixed with granite peaks and rocky river beds.  In places like these, it’s easy to understand why California holds such a mythical, magical allure.  Our early morning and late evenings gave me a glimpse of the magnificent way the light moves among the peaks and through the valleys.  Sunrise at Tunnel View is a mind blowing experience!  As is driving the park road after dark, the car lights your only illumination as the trees rise above.

favorite trail | glacier point to nevada falls
Glacier Point was only about a 15 minute drive from our campground, so we spent more time exploring there than other areas of the park.  Our last full day in Yosemite, we awoke before dawn and hiked from Glacier Point out to Nevada Falls ( you can take the trail all the way to the Valley floor or up to Half Dome but we wanted a nice, quiet hike, not a death march ).  Starting so early meant that we were treated to not only a spectacular, misty sunrise over Half Dome but we had the trail to ourselves for most of the morning.  It was the first time in the whole week were were there that we really felt at peace and were able to soak in Yosemite’s wilderness.

don’t forget | astronomy app
The weather was so perfect while we were there that we slept without the rain fly on our tent every night, so we were treated to looking up into the star-filled night sky while drifting off to dreamland.  Unlike so many areas of California, ambient light is kept at bay in Yosemite and the darkness allows the starry sky to truly shine.

what I love most | sunrise
So we are normally very far from morning people. But something happens when we are camping– we can’t wait to get up and see what the day will hold.  The days we rose before the sun in Yosemite we drank in the way the light poured in, not many people yet stirring, we were able to watch the wilderness come alive.  Get up early in Yosemite.  You won’t regret it.

To see more of the places that have inspired the LATITUDE show and series, follow the #findinglatitude hashtag on Instagram!

All photos by me.