Yosemite National Park. The holy grail of our National Parks. The Park that anyone who is even remotely familiar with our iconic American landscapes wants to visit. Its most famous formations, El Capitan and Half Dome, cover photographs, stickers, postcards, magazines, and climbing films. Of course I have always wanted to visit Yosemite.
As I sit in my room in Santa Barbara, reminiscing about one of my best backpacking trips, I find this story a little hard to write. Where to begin?
I guess I’ll start by saying that Yosemite is not over-hyped. Not even one bit. For someone like me, who considers themself to be a hiker, backpacker, semi rock-climber, and outdoor enthusiast, Yosemite is a dream come true. However, there are two main problems with a trip to the Park:
Unless you live in California, it’s kinda hard to get to. From my home in Colorado, I’d have to fly in to San Francisco, rent a car, and drive a few hours just to get into the Valley. It’s hard to justify such high travel costs and such high travel times when your backyard is filled with countless accessible wilderness areas.
It’s crowded. One of the big reasons I choose to spend so much time outside is to escape society. The last thing I want to do is go to a National Park where I have to wait in lines, wait in traffic, and navigate crowds on popular trails.
However, the stars seemed to align for my friend, Summerlyn, and I to plan a trip to Yosemite. I have been enjoying the flexibility of working remotely during the pandemic, and found a place to live in Santa Barbara for a month to hang out with Summerlyn. And due to the pandemic, the National Park implemented a day-use reservation system, where a reservation is required to even drive through the park. This is all in an effort to try to control the risk of COVID-19. But the system also happens to control the crowds during the summer months, and honestly, I hope it stays past the pandemic.
When Summerlyn and I scored a day-use reservation and a backcountry permit, we were stoked. I’m not going to explain how exactly we pulled it off merely a week before we were trying to go (in an attempt to keep these places wild and to free the Park from the social-media hype). But I will say that it can be done if you do your homework.
Summerlyn’s friend who lives in Santa Barbara, Sarah, decided to join us and before we knew it the three of us were on a long, windy road in Yosemite National Park. We had the windows down and the music cranked up for nearly two hours before we rounded a turn and BAM, there was Yosemite Valley in all its glory. The sun shined through the Valley, and Half Dome and El Capitan stood proudly in the distance. We drove through a tunnel, stopped in a parking lot, and our jaws dropped. It was magnificent. Epic. Awe-inspiring. It looked just like it does in the movies.
So much has been written and said about this magical valley, I feel like I can’t explain it. Words don’t do it justice.
Summerlyn taking a break next to one the lakes we camped next to.
We continued on through the park until we found our trailhead on the side of yet another long, windy road. The trail was covered by a thick forest, but it eventually opened up into a large meadow filled with wildflowers and views of the High Sierras. These mountains are so unique and so different from the Rockies, the mountains I grew up with. They’re more slope-y; the massive granite batholiths lift into the air and are sculpted by huge glaciers. Eventually, we reached the lakes we would camp at for the next two nights at about 10,000 feet. There was hardly anyone there, which was astonishing. Peace and solitude can be found in Yosemite National Park.
The next day, we decided to head up to summit Mt. Conness (12,589 feet), the third highest peak in Yosemite, that straddles the boundary between the Park and Inyo National Forest to the East. It was both Sarah’s and Summerlyn’s first 12er, and Sarah’s first real summit! I was so excited for her and to welcome her to the peak-bagging addiction. We hiked up a gully, which was a bit steep and loose, into a broad basin. Then we approached the ridge of the peak, which was marked by huge cliffs on both sides. Our path up the ridge was, in some places, only a few feet wide with steep, thousand-foot drops next to us. The rock we stood on was solid. It was awesome.
At the summit, we could see Half Dome far out, marking Yosemite Valley. “What?!?!?! That’s Half Dome?? This is INSANE,” I thought to myself. While I was in mountain-climbing mode, I realized how easy it was to forget where exactly I was. We signed the summit registry, hugged each other, and marveled in our joy of standing on top of a mountain for a while before beginning our descent.
The rest of the hike back to camp was hot and exhausting. Once at our home for the evening, we stripped down to our bare skin and dove straight into the lake without hesitation. There was no one around. The cold lake water felt so, so good on our aching feet and bodies. For the rest of the afternoon and evening, we frolicked in the wildflowers, journaled on the lake’s bank, napped in the shade, watched the sun turn the cliffs above us a pastel pink and the meadow at our feet a lime green, had a few deep conversations about our womanhood, and ate an entire pot of curry. We slept so well.
On our way home the following day, we stopped in Yosemite Valley one last time. I wanted to stand in the meadow that everyone in the movies stands in and stare up at El Capitan. So we did. It truly takes your breath away. I teared up a bit as I looked up at The Dawn Wall and The Nose, and picked out the features that I’ve read and heard about. I have nothing but respect for the history of this revered landscape.
Back in Santa Barbara, I’ve had a bit of post-trip depression. Although it’s hard to be sad when my evenings are filled with surfing and sunsets on the beach. Life is pretty great these days. If anything, I’m filled with love. Love for Yosemite Valley, love for the Sierras, and love for the lonesome alpine lakes that we found in the Park. I love that I have two beautiful, badass lady friends. I love that we support each other on these epic adventures and through life. And I love that we have the opportunity and the privilege to visit places like Yosemite. I can’t wait for the stars to align again.
Sunset at the lake we camped next to.