Into the Wilderness.....

After a short stopover in Merced (a strange town that was completely empty even though it was Saturday) where I had to do my shopping ready for the coming 5 days I jumped on a bus to take me to the Yosemite Bug Hostel. The hostel is not actually in the park but about an hour and a half journey away. However, it is located in the middle of nowhere surrounded by rolling hills and endless forestry so gets two thumbs up from me.

On my first full day i jumped on the first bus i could get at 8.30am (usually this would have been 6am but it was Sunday) ridiculously excited to get into Yosemite and tackle an average hike to ease myself in. I was a little anxious on the journey there as I had built this up in my mind for so long and I was so desperately hoping I wouldn't be disappointed. As soon as we entered the park my jaw dropped and it has not properly closed since. Yosemite is without doubt the most magnificent example of the outdoors I have ever seen. Monstrous granite cliffs towered over huge trees with a river meandering between the two. I don't think it would be possible to imagine a more perfect wilderness. I was dropped off at the Visitors Centre in Yosemite Valley which was a quaint building placed in front of an impressive mountainous back drop. I was absolutely overjoyed to see that Yosemite Valley was not the usual American overstated commercial area. The limited buildings were all constructed in a way to blend into their surroundings in a completely un-invasive way. There are free shuttle buses (running on 'bio-diesel') that take you around the valley area to different trailheads and points of interest which are very efficient.

I picked up my free trail map and was advised to check out Sentinel Dome (a 12 mile round trip). I went off on my way and after a small amount of confusion found the trail head and began the hike. Sentinel Dome has a peak of 2476 metres and the trail was basically a steady uphill climb the whole way. The path zigzagged back and forth through wooded areas to begin with until it opened up to give me my first taste of Yosemite from a high point. The view was staggering. Looking out from probably only 500metres of the way up I was already blown away looking back through the valley over the tree tops and river all sandwiched between mighty granite peaks. I passed numerous people on the way up this trail, striding past in my eagerness to reach higher heights and even more incredible sights. About two thirds of the way up the trail was a common stop off point with a car park for all those not wishing to hike. This was called Glacier Point and offered me my first view of Half Dome, a huge dome like peak that towered over most. It was incredible but I couldn't help but feel a little anxious about climbing to the top of it the next day. I continued on my way to the peak of Sentinel Dome drinking and eating plenty as I went. The last part of the trail got particularly steep before I hit the curved granite face of Sentinel Dome. This was an even steeper climb but I strode on up with my head down excited to be so near the top. I struggled not to look out either side at the views until I reached the very top. I will never be able to describe to you the exquisite sight of looking out over such an immaculate landscape from nearly 2500 metres. Photographs may come closer but they will never capture the feeling you have as you stand upon a peak breathing in crisp air and reaping the rewards of your struggle to the top. Now I am not saying I wanted to cry but I would certainly say I was genuinely emotional about how beautiful it was. I spent a good half hour sat on the top eating some lunch, due to the fact that every time I took a bite of food I would be unable to raise my jaw back to chew. What an introduction to Yosemite National Park,

Day 2 my alarm clock (borrowed from the hostel) went off at 5am. Today would be the day I tackle Half Dome. I had heard many things about this summit, including that I would need 10-12 hours to complete this feat, and that people had died trying to climb to the top. Hence I got up early and had a hearty breakfast of cereal, toast and fruit, before packing my bag with 4.5 litres of water (two bottles of which I had put in the freezer the night before so they would be extra refreshing as they thawed out), four sandwiches, two apples, cookies, three cereal bars, and some crisps. I put on two pairs of socks to avoid any chance of rubbing in my hiking boots and headed off to the bus stop at the end of the hostel drive, I was ready. I was in mixed feelings on the bus journey to Yosemite, playing over the different things I had heard about the trail. Everyone had said how difficult it was, that the trail was very exposed (the temperature was due to hit 30 degrees), that people had died. Although, I thought to myself that Sentinel Dome was only just over 200 metres less and although the hike was 4 miles less over all I felt I conquered that relatively easily (in about 4 and a half hours) and therefore should be well prepared. I made up my mind that I wanted to aim for completing the hike in 8 hours, and was feeling confident but not arrogant that I could do it.

I hit the trailhead at 8.15am joined by a couple of others but soon strolled on past them. The trail to Half Dome, which is a peak of 2693 metres, split near the beginning to take either the Mist Trail or the John Muir Trail. I had previously decided to walk one on the way up and one on the way down. I made a split decision to go on the John Muir Trail on the way up which was the longer path but I felt it would be better to hit that whilst I was fresher. In my mind I wanted to try and get to the top as soon as possible before the heat really set in. Luckily because I started early the most part of the way up was in the shade (although this would change for my descent). I strolled confidently past numerous other hikers on the way up stopping occasionally to admire the views for some inspiration to keep going. The route took me past a couple of waterfalls, and although they were running very low, it was still spectacular to see the water cascading down the cliff face and crashing to the rocks below. I was making good time but my left ankle was starting to give me some grief and was feeling a little strained. I had been snacking on a couple of things already but decided to take a 5 minute break to sit and eat a sandwich. This gave me a new energy boost and I was off up the peak once more, and bar the odd twinge my ankle was bearing up well. Now I had heard that the last 122 metres of the climb was using cables and steps, but as I reached the bottom of Half Dome I couldn’t see any cables, just a very steep pathway heading up the cliff face, made up of a mixture of steps and just plain granite cliff. I took a two minute breather to psych myself up for the extreme gradient change and headed on. As I climbed I tried not to look down and just kept thinking ‘where are these bloody cables?’ This particular part of the trail was a little busier and it was getting interesting passing people on the way up or as they were coming down. When the steps stopped and I was literally just climbing up smooth granite cliff face I was a bit more worried but kept going. Finally I reached a flattened off area which I later found out to be called ‘Sub Dome’. I walked on across this area and saw the final climb ahead of me. I cannot express how steep this was. As I said before, I had been told that the last part was climbing up very steep steps with cables to aid you, however, this was not what I had expected. I sat in some shade and took a twenty minute break to eat a decent amount of food. This break did not help too much with the fear factor that had begun to creep in.

As I reached the bottom of the cables there were gloves all over the floor for you to take so as to not shred your hands on the cables as you clung for dear life. The ‘steps’ that had been mentioned were thin planks of wood spaced about 2 metres apart. The cables were only about a metre apart from each other and people were coming up and down between them. It was busy. This was possibly one of the most unsafe things I have ever done. I can honestly say I was genuinely afraid for my life. Not just because the gloves I had kept slipping on the cables, or because the granite I was climbing had become shiny from so many people passing over it and consequently also very slippery, but because if just one person fell above me we would all fall, and most likely die. This is not an exaggeration in anyway; if someone fell there would be a very slim chance of survival. We were basically scaling a cliff face with no protection, and half way up with no turning back the fear was getting to me. It was hard not to let it get to you when other people are freaking out half way up, freezing up and stopping. This meant everyone else would be stopping, frozen in position, clinging for dear life, trying not to look to either side where a drop of over 2000 metres would meet their gaze. I hope you do not think I am dramatising this in anyway, or ‘hamming it up’ to make a more interesting read, this really was genuinely the case. I made it to the top after a very mentally tough 20 minutes and my god was it worth it. I mean really, really worth it. I do not want to repeat myself from what I was saying about the views from Sentinel Dome, but it was even more stunning. I have to say I was particularly dreading the descent so did not stay up at the peak for too long. I made the decision to not wear the gloves on the way down as they had only caused me more worries on the way up. This was a great decision and although my hands were a little sore after, I had a much better grip and felt a huge amount safer. Down the steepest parts of the cables I was lowering myself slowly backwards between steps. I managed to have a couple of stops on the steps and take some photos on the way down as my confidence built, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that maybe it wasn’t that steep, it was steep. After returning to the bottom of the cables I breathed a huge sigh of relief and wondered back to the middle of the sub dome to take a seat and appreciate the fact I was still alive. Incidentally the climb from the valley floor to the very top of Half Dome had only taken me 4 hours. I was on track for my 8 hour target. I headed back down the sub dome which in itself was a slow and steady process as there was nothing for support as I climbed down steps that were placed next to the cliff edge. On making it to the bottom of that I headed off at a slower pace to get back down to the valley.

The trail back was far more leisurely and I took my time, enjoying the sunshine and the pleasantries shared between hikers as we passed. The only minor incident on the way down was one of my shoe laces snapped in my hiking boots which was almost a disaster, but luckily one of the halves was just enough to re-lace it with. I also saw a group of deer that were very confident and so I was able to get quite close and take a good photo. When I came to go down the Mist Trail instead of the one I came up on I was rather relieved I had tackled them in this order. The Mist Trail was a very steep series of granite steps that hardly zigzagged down the side of the mountain. It passed another waterfall which was broken up by a rainbow as the sunlight shone through it. Just another example of the many wonders that can be found in Yosemite that never fails to amaze.

After two pretty strenuous days I decided I would take the third day to relax and went into the park much later. On arrival I headed straight for a place called ‘Swinging Bridge’ which is basically a little creek area with a small beach. I took a book and my swim shorts and lay in the sun for a few hours, breaking it up occasionally by taking a dip.

I have returned today after my final visit to the park, and my god what a finale it was. Today I tackled ‘El Capitain’ a 2307m peak on a 17 mile round trip. I was up once again at 5.15am to get in for an early start and managed to actually hit the trailhead at 8am. I didn’t have a great sleep last night as although I went to bed at 10pm a load of people came into the dorm at 12.30am making a shed load of noise for about 30 minutes. I wasn’t feeling fantastic when I started the trail and was not feeling too positive. The first 3 miles of this hike was ridiculously challenging, and to be honest I very nearly gave up for the day. I was feeling weak, sweating even more than usual and just not really too motivated. However, I took a few more stops than I have been and I made it through the first leg of the hike. As I reached relatively level ground for the first time in an hour I breathed a huge sigh of relief and after a quick snack stop I strolled on more positively for the first time. The first section was very rocky, very steep and very exposed, where as this section was a pleasant dirt track through a forested area that occasionally opened up into the odd meadow. It was very different to the other hikes I had done whilst in the park so my interest was certainly gaining. Added to this fact was the point that I had not seen anyone, bar two other people in the first 15 minutes. The route was completely deserted which made me a little more hopeful about seeing some more wildlife, maybe even a bear.

I was walking through a particularly narrow path through a wooded area when I heard a very loud rustling just ahead to my right. Sure enough from behind a bush dashed a bear running away from the sound of my footsteps. He stopped after he had got about 20 metres away and turned side on raising his front paw ready to dart away as he tried to figure me out. I simply stood there absolutely mesmerised by what I was seeing. He looked at me for about 10 seconds then bounced off in the opposite direction. I was a bit slow off the mark with the camera so I do apologise for the poor effort of the photo. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen and felt that the struggle I had gone through earlier on had just paid off twice over. I continued on my walk with a definite spring in my step. I kept replaying what I had just seen in my mind and outwardly beaming as I went.

The temperature was hitting 33 degrees today so I was very hot as I walked, and it didn’t help that a lot of the last section of the path was also quite exposed. However, after some interesting ‘pathway’ that was very tricky to establish quite which way it went, I managed to get to ‘El Capitain’. It really was a phenomenal view, but made ultimately special by the fact I had been hiking for 3 hours and not seen anyone at all. As I sat on a rock looking out over Yosemite eating my lunch I felt completely separated from the rest of the world. It was a wonderful feeling knowing that it was just me and nature. I soon realised how lucky I was to have continued on with my hike because I really would have been missing out on a fantastic hike. After a nice long break admiring the view I headed back and bumped into an aussie girl in the first 15 minutes, she had also not seen anyone for her hike. I didn’t see anyone else on the way back until I got to the treacherous first leg again, which was not any easier to climb down as it was coming up. The ground was covered in uneven rocks which were a pain to walk over and very slippery. I did however see another snake as I walked on, although I was later informed that it was a ‘water snake’ and completely harmless once again. After the initial battle to continue on this hike it ended up being one of the best, and I would probably put it on a par with Half Dome. It was so very different though, which is why I think I liked it so much.

It has been one hell of a few days for me in Yosemite National Park, challenging both physically and mentally. I think this has been my favourite part of the trip so far, and although I have been hiking alone I have really enjoyed the time by myself to soak up the wilderness at my own pace. I am looking forward to getting to Santa Barbara now where I will be putting my feet up for a few days, taking it easy on a beach and really enjoying the Californian weather.

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