The Mist Trail (Nevada Falls, Vernal Falls) - Yosemite National Park, CA

If you only have one day in Yosemite, I'd spend it on the Mist Trail. To find the trailhead, get a good map and follow it until you see this amazing sign.

The hike from Curry Village up to Nevada Falls is part of the legendary Mist Trail. A lot of people have died on this trail. If you want to read more on that, you can check out the book, Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite. In terms of lives claimed, it's the deadliest single day hike in the United States. That doesn't mean it's reckless to hike this trail. Rarely do folks buy the farm because of treachery on the trail. The hike itself is no more dangerous than most other trails. Almost every death occurs  as a result of bad judgment off the trail--swimming in the river above the falls, taking pictures on ledges, slipping on slimy rocks above the falls, after ignoring danger signs, etc. Just don't do anything stupid, and you'll be fine on this hike. Don't let your wife talk you out of it.

There are several variations of this loop. I describe a commonly-used loop version, climbing in on the Mist Trail until you reach the top of Nevada Falls and descending on the John Muir Trail until it rejoins the Mist. Although the top of Nevada Falls is a destination in itself, you will be sharing this trail with Half Domers, some of whom start long before dawn using the Mist Trail as the first segment of their ambitious plan to bag Half Dome as a one-day, out-and-back event. Other Half Domers break their experience into a two, even three day event by hiking in past Nevada Falls, over-nighting in Little Yosemite Valley back-country camp site.

The Mist trail is a very popular trail with diverse users. The lower part of the trail is quite scenic with water features and is easily accessible from the Curry Village parking lot, which means it will likely be inundated with seven-year-old girls running around in sandals, seven-year-old boys throwing rocks at each other, and Asians with over-sized cameras traveling in large packs. Like most hikes, the more you climb the Mist Trail, the more it thins out. This rule does not apply to Half Dome. The queue on that single-file ascent can be longer than the line to the ladies's restroom at a Bon Jovi concert. I'm not guiding you up Half Dome, only to Nevada Falls. You can find tons of other resources about Half Dome, but it won't be as funny as my guide.

Vernal Falls will look very different depending upon what season you view it. The photo here, was taken in October, and you see one thread of water.

More too come about Nevada Falls