Swimming In Yosemite National Park

After a week of swims in the saltwater of San Francisco Bay, I got the chance to do some swimming in the fresh water of the Merced River in Yosemite National Park. 

It was quite incredible, hiking through the Yosemite Valley in the hot sun, looking up at the sheer, high, granite cliffs and the steep wooded slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There were many swimming holes in the river that were close enough to the trails to take the plunge.

So, of course, that's exactly what I did - twice. The first two photos were taken at a spot were there was a sandy beach on one bank, and a deep, rocky swimming hole below the other bank.

This first swimming hole was deep enough and clear enough to duck dive down to the bottom, then surface and float along gazing up at the spectacular scenery.

At the second swimming spot, shallow rapids gradually gave way to deeper water. I had to walk over the slippery rocks to find water deep enough to swim in, and, even then, had a few bumps on the knees.

The water was so clear, but very cold. Luckily, the day was so hot that it took little time to warm up again.