Alexis Herb

My family and I go on vacations to Yosemite National Park each summer. One summer we drove to Glacier Point and enjoyed the vast mountains and waterfalls below us. It was such an awesome view that many people around us were constantly filming and photographing. The next summer we decided to climb to Glacier Point from the valley floor. It's over a 3,000 ft. elevation gain and the second most difficult hike Yosemite has to offer. It took us many hours and was about as difficult as the cross-country races I ran in high school. Yet, I enjoyed the view at the top so much more. I appreciated the effort needed to get to Glacier Point and further respected the Native Americans and early residents of the valley who traversed the region with relative ease. The scenery changed the higher you got. There were several cooling and very much welcomed mountain streams that crossed the trail. My family and I took far more pictures along the trail then we did at the top and enjoyed ourselves along the way more than we did on any other part of the trip.