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Now let's introduce you to the photos for today. The photos for today was from the 3rd day of my trip. I begin my climb up Mist Trail towards Vernal Fall from the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge. First thing I have to tell you is that I didn't make it all the way up to Vernal Fall and turned back half way back because the trail was just too wet and slippery to continue. Other reason was I was that I didn't want to risk damaging my camera with such a hike. I have photos from both my hike up and hike down. I hope you enjoy viewing this blog post. :) Make sure you read about my encounter with two douchebags.
The first photo up is of the two douchebags! See those 2 sitting there on the rock? Here is what happened. I set up my camera and tripod and was about to take a photo of the Merced River and the rocks. These 2 douchebags walked right past my camera set up, climbed down and sat on the rocks, right in the middle of my shot. Please learn some proper etiquette in public douchebags. It is not like I'm taking forever. 5 seconds max for that shot and they couldn't wait. At that time, I was seriously hoping one of them slips on the rock and falls down into the fast current... Seriously. If you two are reading this, please do society a favor: break up, and don't reproduce.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 33 N 119 33 02 W
HDR composition of the beginning of the Mist Trail.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 40 21 N 120 52 20 W
A photo facing down the trail showing the Merced River. My GPS seemed to have lost the signal for the next few shots (the geotag on the photos are all the same), so I can't tell you the position. The mountain on the side and forest probably blocked the signal.
A photo of Vernal Fall. See how wet the area was? The trail was also this wet. The further up and closer I went, the heavier the water. The "rain" here was way worse than Bridalveil Fall. This is how good the weatherproofing on the Canon EOS 5D Mark III is. I use it with my Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens which is a fully weather sealed lens (once a filter is installed) with a rubber gasket at the lens mount area (no moving parts except the zoom and focus ring). My camera setup was completely soaked, but no water got into the camera or the lens. Once I got away from the "rain", all the water evaporated off in a few minutes.
Another photo of Vernal Fall. Also detailing how wet and risky the trail was.
Product Recommendation: I use the B+W 82mm XS-Pro Kaesemann Circular Polarizer with Multi-Resistant Nano Coating filter for my lens. The cool thing about this line of lenses is that it has a new nano coating that makes water extremely hard to stick to the surface of the filter. For the photos I took near Vernal Fall, the only clean up I did was that I took out my Giotto Rocket Air Blaster and gave the filter a few puffs of air right before I wanted to take a photo. I blew all the beads of water off to the side onto the metal ring where it fell off. There was no residue. I am not exaggerating. That is how waterproof or "hydrophobic" (in more scientific terms) this filter is!
Hiking closer up to Vernal Fall. The trail was getting really wet.
HDR composition of a rainbow caused by the "rain" in the air. This was the last photo I took before turning back.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 43 34 N 120 49 32 W
Turning back and going down the Mist Trail. I took this photo hand held facing down. As you can see the trail is very wet. I also have a really bad fear of heights. The trip down Mist Trail was not fun at all. LOL Also my GPS seemed to have lost the signal again for the next few shots (the geotag on the photos are all the same), so I can't tell you the position. The mountain on the side and forest probably blocked the signal.
Another photo facing down the trail with the Merced River in view. Apparently I wasn't the only one afraid of heights. There was one guy who was even more scared than me. See the couple on the bottom of the image? The guy was literally on his hands and knees. He sure have a nice girlfriend helping him. She was very patient helping him along. If you two see this, good luck to you both. :) Too cute!
A photo facing up at Vernal Fall. This was how steep Mist Trail was. It was a nightmare coming down. I think I know why they have a bathroom at the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge now. LOL I had to go once I got there. XD
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 36 N 119 32 47 W
Now hiking back down on the John Muir Trail now past the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge, I stopped for an HDR composition of the trees and rocks on the side of the trail. There are sure a lot of moss on those rocks.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 40 23 N 120 10 27 W
Now approaching the end of my hike on the John Muir Trail. I went down to the riverbank of the Merced River and shot a photo of the Merced River.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 46 N 119 33 30 W
Now approaching where the John Muir Trail meets up with Happy Isle Loop Road, I went down to the riverbank of the Merced River to get a photo of the Merced River.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 52 N 119 33 31 W
Now on Happy Isle Loop Road walking back to the parking lot, I saw this tree covered in mushrooms. Decided to take an HDR composition. If you know what species of mushroom this is, please comment below. These kind of mushroom looks all the same to me. LOL
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 39 18 27 N 120 35 55 W
These are all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing them. Next time I will have more photos from the Sentinel Bridge and Cook's Meadow area. Please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.
