HIKING AT YOSEMITE - Dr. Ron Virmani, M.D. - Personal Experience

Stars must have lined up when Charlotte Outdoor Adventure Group (CHOA) announced a hiking trip to Yosemite National Park (YNP) in June 2005.  It was the very week prior to the Sunday when my friend’s daughter was going to be married in California near San Jose on June 26.  I quickly signed up, joining 7 others from Charlotte for the trip.  Our motley crew of 4 males and 4 females included one pilot (Leigh), a firefighter (Lance), a pharmacist (Tom), a few IT folks (Monica, Anelia) and other professionals (Teresa, Charlie). 

YNP comprises of 1170 square miles of area (about the size of Rhode island).  It has 263 miles of roads, 800 miles of hiking trails.  The elevations range from 2000 to 13,000 feet.  It is located in the eastern part of central California, abutted on the east side by Sierra Nevada mountains.  This awesome landscape was created by glaciers transforming the rolling hills and meandering streams of pre-Pleistocene Yosemite millions of years ago.

“Yosemite valley” (elevation 4000 feet) is a very small part of YNP but most visitors do not have the time to go much beyond the valley.  Merced river flows through Yosemite valley, which is 7 miles long and one mile wide.  Many spectacular waterfalls drape the lofty walls of this valley.  We saw these waterfalls gushing with tremendous volumes of water, but they dry up in late summer when the snow has melted and gone.   

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