Bad Luck in Yosemite National Park

In Yosemite National Park, we had a bit of bad luck in general. When we drove into the valley for the first time in the morning, we almost couldn’t see anything except smoke. We stopped at the Half Dome viewpoint, but only the sun was visible as a red, glowing ball, reminding us of sunset while it was 7 am. Unfortunately, there were 2 ongoing wildfires and the smoke pools in the valley until afternoon. Well, we got used to the burnt smell faster than we thought. But because of the still hazardous air quality, we had to exclude any activity in the valley the next week. Neither Half Dome nor other cool climbing routes we wanted to do there were possible. What a bummer! The first day, we spent in the visitor centre, which has a very good exhibition, and later in the library to research other things to do in Yosemite. Adding to or bad luck, some popular areas were closed (like Glacier Point). Plus, rain was forecasted in the afternoon for most of the days, so we had to be careful with planning longer tours. Last but not least, the heat prevented us from doing south-faced routes. Well, in the afternoon, the smoke cleared up and we could finally see the impressive, gigantic and steep walls of the valley. Of course, the most impressive was the massive El Capitan. We were curious for the iconic Yosemite Falls, but when we stopped at the viewpoint, we were surprised to only see a dead-dry wall. Well, the heat also dried out all the wonderful waterfalls in the park. From the Valley and Tunnel Viewpoint, we admired the scenery and finally, Half Dome was visible. At Knob Hill, the air quality in the late afternoon was good enough to do 2 nice, easy climbing routes.