Global Courant 2023-05-23 04:50:18
Three thousand people a day visit Mist Trail, which offers views of two majestic waterfalls and is arguably the most popular hike in Yosemite National Park.
Mist Trail is now getting a $5 million upgrade.
“We’re excited,” said Frank Dean, president of the Yosemite Conservancy and former Yosemite forest ranger.
The non-profit Yosemite Conservancy, which raises money for the preservation and improvement of the park, has announced that it will donating $17 million to Yosemite This year, most of the money will go to about 50 projects that will restore trails, support scientific and historical research, and protect wildlife.
A total of $500,000 from this year’s donation will go toward the design and planning of upgrades for Mist Trail, an approximately seven-mile round-trip hike that can take visitors to popular views of Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall from Yosemite Valley.
The trail, which begins with an easy, paved start, takes hikers to views of Vernal and Nevada Falls, close enough to get a mist. Those who stick it out to the top of Nevada Fall can also continue the tour and hike to the iconic Half Dome.
“It’s the busiest trail in Yosemite,” Dean said.
The Yosemite Conservancy is working with the National Park Service to identify potential upgrades to the park, and the Mist Trail is looking at potential changes, including moving the trailhead to the Happy Isles Nature Center. There are also plans for upgrades in the Vernal Fall pedestrian bridge area, which is about a mile from the start of the trail and is one of the trail’s easiest points.
“That’s a turning point for a lot of people, so it’s important to make that more accommodating to people,” Dean said.
The accommodations could include more railings and walls, as well as better signage, to better prepare visitors for the trail.
Though considered one of the park’s “gentleest” trails, Mist Trail’s first paved mile can leave some travelers with a false sense of preparedness for what can be an arduous journey.
“The trail gets tougher as you go up,” Dean said, “so there needs to be more preparation for what lies ahead.”
During some summer days, more than 4,000 people visit Mist Trail, where rangers and rescuers may be required to perform rescues or tend to sprain ankles.
The trail takes visitors with views of Vernal and Nevada Falls and meanders along the Merced River. The trail lives up to its name and provides some slippery steps along the way.
The plan calls for more signage, bathroom improvements at Vernal Fall, and work on the steep granite steps that follow the Vernal Fall footbridge, adding intermediate steps, handrails, and rock walls.
The total cost of the improvements is expected to be about $5 million and completed in 2025 or early 2026, Dean said. That amount has yet to be increased, but Dean said the organization is confident the Yosemite Conservancy will continue to see support over the past 100 years to improve the visitor experience in Yosemite.
The Yosemite Conservancy has donated more than $152 million during its 100-year association with the national park and funded about 800 projects since 1923, according to the organization.
