Overview
When we went: February 13, 2016
Thoughts ~ Not for the faint of heart
I premise this post by strongly advising that you consider your own athletic ability and stability if you want to try this hike. Hike is a loose term. Its really a half hike, half class 3-4 scramble. More toward the class 4 scramble if you get lost like we did. This trail is not managed and its not on the maps. In some areas its a warn path but in others you’re going by cairn. You could easily get injured or die on this hike. We used the term “death chutes” to describe 2 areas of the trail that lead into an abyss should you slip or the ground crumble away.
This Valentine’s Day, we returned to Yosemite to enjoy some off-season fun. We thought we would get some snow time but ended up being hit by a mid February heat wave. The ground-hog was apparently right. You can spend a lifetime going to Yosemite and still not see everything. None the less, after a while you have to start searching a bit harder and farther for new trails, especially ones that start from the valley floor. By word of mouth, we found out about Fern Ledge. One of Yosemite’s most popular secret trails. If you’ve ever looked at Yosemite Falls from the Upper Falls trail you might notice a ledge leading up to the right side of the falls about 1/4 of the way up from where the falls hit the granite. You might even see people there like we did last year. You also may have heard of the famous photo John Muir took of the moon through Yosemite falls during which he almost died. That’s Fern Ledge.
I spent a good deal of time while hiking contemplating how it would feel to fall to my death. Or to see someone else fall to their death. Its both very surreal yet very real and frightful even. How does one come back from that? We think of the valley as this safe tourist friendly place. There’s almost too much safety. Yet there we were, on the side of the cliff mere feet away from plunging doom that leads back to the valley floor. This led me back to thinking about how we desire our wild adventures to have that safety net. We want that experience but, for those of us who aren’t adrenaline junkies, don’t want the fear factor. But we can’t have both. It might not even be possible. Perhaps its not even adventure if you are in control of everything. Isn’t going into the wild meaning that there aren’t any man-made constructs?That there is risk. So with a leap of faith and a quick prayer to God, we set off.
I won’t say where the trail head is. You should research what you’re getting yourself into, plus I’m not a reliable source. We got lost and ended up climbing up a 10ft face to get up to where we were supposed to be. I don’t think that was part of the trail. Everyone in our group had decent climbing ability so adapting wasn’t a huge ordeal. The first section of the “trail” is scrambling up a huge boulder field. Eventually you get into the tree cover and find a dirt trail heading west. On this dirt trail you’ll have to climb around a small arete and go pass the 2 death chutes. After that you’ll come across a mini waterfall going across a granite ledge. It has some nice views of the valley and a glimpse of Half Dome.
Continue on and you’ll notice you’re in a mini meadow of sorts. This is where we lost the main trail and ended up at a pseudo-Fern Ledge. You get a view of the lower tier of Yosemite falls but not the real deal. We spent a good 30 minutes trying to figure out a way up to the next plateau. Even once we were up on the next level, we had a difficult time finding the trail. We ended up scampering up a frightful inclined slab with few flakes to hold onto.
We were actually on the verge of turning back when we spotted a few cairns. The trail follows a sandy runoff up into some more brush. The trail is slick with gravel and loose stones. It can get a bit dodgy especially if you’re tired. Luckily the cairns continue on almost all the way to the end. You’ll spot some areas that people have made into mini campsites.
The final push to the end involves one pull up into a higher ledge. Has one good foot hold and some decent hand holds. I’m pretty short and I was still able to do it. The effort is worth it as you’re rewarded with a breathtaking close-up of Yosemite Falls. If its warm and there’s snow, watch out for snow fall coming off the top. We noticed one chunk fall down as we did the approach. Its definitely amazing to see that much natural force at work. The bottom of the falls is a hollowed out bowl of granite with sharp points surrounding the impact zone. Snow and ice actually covered all around the base of the falls making for a surreal juxtaposition with the afternoon sun. It was getting late so we reluctantly started our way back. Plus, we had to find the real way down, instead of our trail hack. On our descent we were treated to a wonderful Yosemite sunset across the valley and Bridalveil Falls.
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