4 Mile Trail - Yosemite National Park

When determining which hike we should do I consider the length, the scenery, difficulty of the hike and if we will see any snakes. Well, this particular hike is the second hardest hike Yosemite has to offer, Half Dome being the hardest, and so I knew it was the one for us.

The start of the hike was covered by trees so it was not too hot just yet but by the time we made it a third of the way we were both drenched in sweat. Every time we passed someone coming down the mountain they looked chipper and completely put together. We couldn’t figure it out. Why did we look and feel so disheveled?! We did learn that most people just hike down so they do not get the full experience which is why they didn’t look like they were on the verge of death.'

Things started to get iffy about half way up and around our 25th switch back. There was a man in front of us who had some pretty serious gear so I figured he knew what he was doing. I decided that I would ask him how much further had to the top.

As we neared the top of the mountain we had folks that were headed down the mountain encouraging us to continue on and letting us know we were almost there. Apparently we looked as rough as we felt. We finally reached an area that leveled out which made the last stretch of the hike doable.

The view from Glacier Point was no different than the views we witnessed hiking up and then enjoyed a bit more on the way back down. Something to note is that our clothes were soaking wet from sweat so when we reached the top we got a bit cold due to the drop in temperature. Fortunately, I had a dry long sleeve shirt to put on and the mister had a jacket.

At the end of it we hiked over 10 miles and gained roughly 3200 feet in elevation. Looking back, I would say it’s definitely the hardest hike we have ever done and one of the most beautiful. Did I mention the hike guide rates it as Very Strenuous?