Where the Wild Things Are (Yosemite Style)

Posted January 20th, 2010 by KellBell

No. I’m not talking about the book with the crazy animals that show their terrible claws, gnash their terrible teeth, and roll their terrible yellow eyes. I am referring to the place where nature runs rampant; a place that, despite living in this state my entire life, I have not gone to before.

This past weekend Dave and I went to Yosemite which was a first for both of us. We went to a land where the bears, trees and other things grow wild and free (at least for the most part). To sum it up succinctly: it was nothing short of absolutely amazing. The towering mountains, the waterfalls, the trees that were as tall as tall could be…all of it was breathtaking and I have no regrets about trading in my usual sand and sun on MLK, Jr. weekend for this snowy adventure. For those of you who do not want to know every single detail you may want to skip down to the pictures below. For the rest of you…well…here it goes…

After much hemming and hawing on if we would actually make the trip due to the doom and gloom weather forecast, our adventure to Yosemite started really early Saturday morning. After napping for a couple of hours following a later than expected night at Riviera, we packed and hit the road at 4:45 am. We first stopped at Safeway for the water we needed for the weekend before heading over to the Pesces’. When we got to Rita, Luca, and Francesca’s house they were already loaded into the Vanagon and ready to go so we said our hellos, handed them a walkie-talkie, flipped a U-turn and started our drive. Seeing as I was sleep deprived the whole week (combine that with the fact that I get car narcolepsy), I don’t remember much of the first 2 hours of our drive. I woke up somewhere in Pleasanton, again about 20 mins later when we were heading up the Altamont Pass, and then I became fully awake somewhere in Tracy. We stopped off in Manteca for some gas, breakfast and a restroom break and then we continued on. I admit that I was still really sleepy and dozed in and out until we hit the really windy part of 120 outside of Chinese Camp. About 6 hours after leaving the house we finally made it to the park entrance.

Since we were staying near Yosemite Valley we still had to drive another 30 minutes before we hit the campsite, but with the outstanding views along the way that was one of the most amazing drives ever. We drove through a fire stricken area, passed waterfalls, and crossed over streams and creeks before we finally made it to Camp 4. I would like to take a moment to clarify that the kind of camping we did this weekend wasn’t truly roughing it but it wasn’t luxury camping either. It’s true that camp 4 is right by the parking lot so you can car camp if you so choose (and by that I mean bring a big extravagant tent, inflatable bed, huge stoves, etc.) and there is a bathroom that has a spigot, a sink, and flushing toilets (it’s also heated at night in the winter), but other than that you are on your own. Like I said, we were somewhere between roughing it and luxury camping. We minimized as much as we could, but also brought a bit more in terms of food and cooking utilities since we didn’t have to pack it out to a site that was 5 miles away. Anyways, enough digression…

By the time we hit the campground I was already in awe and couldn’t wait to get out there and see what else Yosemite had to offer. We secured a camping spot, setup camp, got everything edible and scented into the bear boxes (they are more storage bins that bears can’t get into), grabbed our snowshoeing gear and headed out. We figured that if the weather forecast was true and that rain and snow would be moving in on Sunday, we should make the drive out to Badger Pass on Saturday. Really, it came down to the fact that Luca felt we could squeeze in the Upper Yosemite Fall hike on Sunday before the bad weather hit…but more on that later.

On our way to Badger Pass there were more beautiful sites to be had. We ended up stopping at a lookout that provided views of El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall all in one shot. I don’t think I can say this enough, it was breathtaking out there, and that view was no exception. I mean: El Capitan with its sheer wall is just beautifully intimidating; Half Dome is just so immense and intriguing; Bridalveil Fall is just simply gorgeous. We took a few shots and hopped back in the car to finish our journey up the hill.

Now Badger Pass itself isn’t all too awe inspiring. The trail head reminds me of most trail heads, really. Once you get going, however, it’s a totally different story. After checking the different route options and time of day (we had to take sunlight into consideration) we started our journey up Glacier Point Road towards the trail to Dewey Point. Once we trekked up the groomed snow trail for a bit we turned off onto Trail 14 – the Dewey Point Ridge Trail. What I have come to learn is that there are two trails to Dewey Point: The Ridge Trail and the Meadow Trail Loop (Trail 18). Apparently, the Meadow Trail Loop is not only a wee bit shorter at only 7 miles round trip, it is also easier. However, when you are doing anything adventurous with any of the Pesces there is only one theory that applies: go big, or go home. Thus, we turned onto the Ridge Trail and started our 8 mi (round trip), very strenuous (seriously, a lot of reviews about the trail say this) adventure. As tiring and difficult as it was for me at some points (remember…climbing uphill + high altitude = bad for asthma) it was well worth it. At one point and time we stopped along a ridge line to look at the views west. Not only was the vast expanse below us a sight to see, you could actually see the top of Mt. Diablo in the far distance. Yes…out in Yosemite, all those hundreds of miles away, you could see the top of Mt. Diablo! It was just astonishing to me.

After snowshoeing up and down the rolling hills for 90 minutes we finally made it to the end of the trail and Dewey Point. I am pretty speechless with what I saw there. Not only were you 7600′ above sea level (at least according to my Garmin, and keep in mind that the valley floor was only 3000′ or so below us), the steepness and intimidating nature of the cliffs were magnified, and the views were absolutely stunning. I admit that I didn’t know everything I was looking at, but it really didn’t matter because it was picturesque all the same. After resting, snacking, gawking at the sights, and taking pictures we started our trek back. By this time I was a little worried because not only were we racing against the clock, the clouds had started to roll in from the west which was making the temperature cool off even faster. We definitely cranked up the pace on the way back, but we also stopped to enjoy one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.

Once we made it back down to the car, and eventually to camp, we settled in and started preparing what turned into a wonderful feast for dinner. This is where I need to mention that there is another thing I learned about the Pesces…they know how to travel! Dave and I had resigned to the idea of eating instant meals the entire trip, but Rita came prepared to make a dinner for champions. We cut up the salami we had brought and folks snacked on it with tortillas while Rita and Luca made minestrone soup, risotto rice, and marinara with meat sauce. When Dave and I car camp we don’t eat like this so it was a very nice and greatly appreciated treat. Dave and I helped where we could and how we could, but in the end Rita and Luca did most of the work. We are truly grateful to them for that as well. Really, they know how to travel and Dave and I are just trying to learn their tricks as best we can. After eating more than we could even really handle, we settled in around the fire and relaxed while drinking tea. It’s true that we had forgotten the wine, but it was truly the best way to end what had been an incredible day. I went off to bed absolutely content and completely exhausted.

Now, I wish I could say that I slept well, but my 20 degree rated sleeping bag didn’t actually hold up as expected. The temperature over night sunk down to the low 30’s to mid 20’s and even though I should have been okay I spent most of the night lying awake listening to the waterfall in the distance (which was actually awesome) and shivering in my bag (which was not so awesome). Even layering a fleece jacket over my other two top layers and wrapping a fleece blanket around my legs didn’t help. Needless to say, I was pretty relieved when the sun finally decided to make its appearance.

The rain and snow had held off over night so we began to breakdown camp before breakfast. Since the hike Luca saved started next to the camp, and despite the gray skies that loomed over head, he felt that we would have no issues getting the hike in before the weather turned for the worse. So keeping the potential weather in mind we layered ourselves properly and settled in for breakfast. Dave made hot water for our coffee and we mixed up the instant granola cereal that we were going to have for breakfast, but that’s when Rita extended our breakfast a bit. Once again, those two are amazing and we ended up having nice, hot gluten free pancakes with fresh apple bits. All I can say is…YUM! It wasn’t soon after we finished breakfast that we had completely broken camp and packed everything but the food and food eating/cooking items away.

So again, the forecast for Sunday was pretty gloomy with the weather saying there was a 100% chance of rain. When it’s 100% there’s just no way around the fact that it’s going to rain the only thing left to question is exactly when it will start. We made our way to the trail head prepared for getting wet but hopeful that the weather would cooperate. After snowshoeing 8 miles the day before my legs were pretty tired (and my left knee a bit tweaky) and I was not sure how I would fare on the 7 mile Upper Yosemite Fall hike, but the potential of actually seeing a waterfall far outweighed any aches and fear I had.

It wasn’t long into the hike that I gained the understanding that this adventure would be far from easy. We basically had to cover the height of the mountain (which is about a 3000′ elevation gain) in less than 3 miles! Here is how one Yosemite hiking site rates the difficulty of the trail:

Difficulty: High. It’s a long, steep climb from the valley floor to the valley rim, and we rate it an 8 out of 10. Consider this question: would you climb the stairs all the way to the top of the Empire State Building? Well, in the course of your hike to Upper Yosemite Falls, you’ll climb the equivalent of just over two Empire State Buildings.

Having never climbed the stairs to the top of the Empire State Building I will have to take their word for it. Even if I had, it wouldn’t matter because the views of Half Dome on the way up were absolutely gorgeous. Once you add in Yosemite Fall, you have a hike that is nothing but tremendously beautiful. Not to say that Half Dome wasn’t incredible, but I have never seen a waterfall up-close. The water rushing over the side of a tall, sheer cliff was absolutely astounding and it’s winter time! I hope to get back there in the Spring when the streams/creeks/rivers are filled with water from the snow melt and the waterfalls are really roaring. Either way, our hiking tale does not end here.

Once we admired the beauty of the waterfall up-close (we went past the look-out to the “base” of the waterfall), we continued the journey *up* the hill. As we climbed out away from the waterfall our hike took us next to the sheer cliff wall of Eagle Peak. Seriously, if you looked up the wall to the top as you hiked you became dizzy because it was so vertically steep. As menacing as it seemed, it was also beautiful. The thought of how those mountains actually came to be continually amazed me as we hiked. Yes, I was cursing a bit as the trail persisted ever upward, but the challenge of making our way up one of nature’s most beautiful creations was humbling.

After hiking in a mostly upward direction for 2.5 hours we finally got right below the ridge line when we couldn’t continue any more. After dodging snow patches in the higher elevations, the trail completely gave way to icy snow that would not be safe for us to continue up since we didn’t have our snowshoes with us. Well…let me amend that a bit. Getting up would have been okay, but getting down would have been dangerous and not worth the risk. So with that we turned around and headed back down. What took us 2.5 hours to climb up only took us 1.5 hours to get down. Luca and Rita know how to get up and downhill extremely well and Francesca follows along without issue. Me? Well, I struggled in the places where the trail was nothing but rock. I am not as sure footed or brave in those situations so I took things much more slowly. But man, when it finally turned into a rock, dirt mix it was an entirely different story! Not only was I more confident going down hill (it’s like a trail run down Canyon at that point), but my knees felt a whole lot better since the dirt was far nicer to my knees. Either way, we made it back to the valley floor and our campground in plenty of time to eat lunch.

By now I guess you aren’t surprised by the fact that we had yet another amazing meal. The thing is, this one was all instant soups. After changing out of my sweaty clothes so I could stay dry and warm, we figured out the game plan for lunch. Dave and I had some instant soup bowls from Trader Joe’s that we wanted to try and Rita had split pea soup. After opening the smoked salmon so we could snack on it with tortillas we all made our soups and then spooned them out into our bowls. It sounds simple, and it was simple, but it was really good. Once we finished eating Luca pointed out the fact that the ridge line we had just hiked to was getting snowed on, and shortly after that it started to sprinkle on us. We finished cleaning up the campsite, packed the rest of our things and ourselves into the cars and started our trip home. After navigating the snowy roads out of Yosemite, and then rainy conditions the rest of the way home, we made it back into Santa Rosa. But before we all parted ways we stopped off at Riviera so we could have one last warm, yummy meal and tell GP our stories. It was seriously like a family dinner and it was nice to wrap up the trip that way.

Thus ends my story about my trip to where the Wild Things Are. I cannot accurately explain just how astounding Yosemite was, nor how grateful I am that Rita, Luca and Francesca were there with us to show us the ropes and take care of us. Their knowledge and caring nature play a big role in making this trip as wonderful as it was. Dave and I both experienced a first together, and we got to share it with our North Bay family. So now that I have finally made it to Yosemite only one question remains: when can I get back there because I miss it already?!?!