"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."

-John Muir

Since watching Ken Burns' 275 hour (ok, maybe not that long) documentary on the National Parks, I've wanted to visit Yosemite, the first land set aside by the federal government for protection. It prompted me to read John Muir essays on the Sierras, and I was taken with the beautiful prose he used in describing the area, especially the Yosemite Valley. That eccentric fellow seemed to have written exactly what I feel while in the mountains, but could never put into words, and I had to see the place that inspired him so.

While Muir was more of a loner, I am fortunate enough to have someone with whom to experience this wilderness. And I had a surprise in store for Sarah...

It's a lot of expectations, but my first view into Yosemite Valley lived up to everything I'd hoped. There are a few first sights that have are emotionally moving and this view joined that list.

After figuring out the confusing parking situation, locating the Backcountry Office, and getting our permits after promising not to feed the bears or do similarly stupid and boorish things, we made our way to the trailhead. For our first hike, I'd managed to reserve a 3 day drip starting at Mirror Lake at the north side of the Valley, heading northeast to Tenaya Lake, then turning back south toward Half Dome, before descending into the Valley at Happy Isles at the east side. A mere 30 miles. Except I hadn't looked too closely at the topo lines...

Looking south toward the main part of the Valley

The trail started switch-backing up right after Mirror Lake, climbing from 4000 to 8000 feet in just over two miles. We had to take frequent breaks, but we had great views of the side of Half Dome and down into the valley.

We started seeing these at higher elevations.  They are called snow plants, and interestingly enough don't have chlorophyll, instead getting nutrition from fungi under the ground. — We started seeing these at higher elevations. They are called snow plants, and interestingly enough don't have chlorophyll, instead getting nutrition from fungi under the ground.

We made camp a little southwest of Tenaya Lake, having made it about 8 miles and gained over 5000 ft in elevation. We had seen some mountain lion tracks along the trail, but not much wildlife that day. We were hoping to spot a mountain lion or bear--at a distance. We followed all the bear precautions of cooking and storing our bear canister away from the campsite. Having not seen any signs of bears, I wondered if maybe it wasn't all going a little overboard. The bear vault is kind of a pain to haul everything in, after all. I'd later revise my opinion..

The next morning we knew we had a lot of ground to cover, and when we lost the trail near the Tioga Road, which passes through the park north of the Valley, we walked along it for a mile down to Tenaya Lake. At the lake we turned south, and began a pretty steep climb up toward the Sunrise Lakes.

Looking south down Tenaya Canyon toward the Yosemite Valley

The next 3 miles climbed from 7000 feet to almost 10,000 ft.  We hit some snow and scree above 9,000 ft but Sarah is a good trail finder. — The next 3 miles climbed from 7000 feet to almost 10,000 ft. We hit some snow and scree above 9,000 ft but Sarah is a good trail finder.

Giving up all that hard-won elevation, heading down to the junction with the John Muir Trail

Near our campsite that night, views of the next day's objective

So the plan was to camp pretty close to the turnoff for Half Dome. As part of our hiking permits, I'd also managed to score permits to climb to the top of that Yosemite icon. Because of the throngs of people and the bottleneck at the cables for the final part of the ascent, we were going to get an early start and beat everyone to the top. Most people do Half Dome as a day hike starting from the valley floor, and we would be starting just 2.5 miles from the top.

We got to bed around 8, and I cocooned into my sleeping bag to ward off the chill of the high elevation. I soon fell asleep before the sun had even fully set. An indeterminate amount of time later, I awoke in darkness to the crunch of heavy footsteps on the ground. I then heard a loud snuffling sound, like a huge bloodhound, coming from right by my head.

Fog of sleep long gone and adrenaline coursing, I realized that though we had been careful about storing all our food away from our camp in the bear vault, I had hung my Camelback from the carabiner at the top of my hammock, and that the water inside had been sweetened with electrolyte tabs. Just the sort of thing a bear would smell. There was a bear right by my head!

I struggled to extricate myself from my sleeping bag and finally spilled out of my hammock onto the ground, and turned on my headlamp. I saw the huge bear less than 10 feet away, walking away, but right toward Sarah's hammock. I didn't know whether to yell at him or not as he approached her. Fortunately, he decided not to investigate her hammock, and sat down in some bushes past her, and stared me down. Keeping my light right on him, I called out. "Sarah, wake up, there's a bear!"

Sarah was up in an instant, and the bear kept staring right at us. Finally, he languidly sauntered off, looking back as if to tell us he reserved the right to come back.

I knew that American black bears don't really pose much of a threat to humans, and that their diet is mostly berries and grubs, and I'd heard over and over how they would just go away if you yelled at them, but when one of them was right by my head, and I was trapped in a sleeping bag, yelling at him was the last thing that came to mind!

Needless to say, neither of us got much sleep after that, and 4am came too soon, but we were determined to get an early jump on the day. And I still had a surprise for Sarah.

We got on the trail by 5am, just as the sky was starting to lighten. We made it a couple thousand feet up to the steep part of the Half Dome climb just as the sun was breaking the horizon. It made for some great photos of the surrounding mountains!

After a final series of steep switchbacks, we were at the infamous cables. I had quite a feeling of trepidation when I first saw them. I'd seen pictures, and knew they were steep, but seeing it in person, I realized that he final bit was at about a 60% grade! We were the first two people to that point, but as we were getting our nerve up, another couple showed up. We let them go first to show us how it was done. It turns out its not as scary as it looks, as long as you don't look down!

Once we reached the top, the views were worth the climb, and I knew I'd picked the right spot for what I was about to do. Sarah has been the best thing that ever happened to me, and I wanted to make it forever.

A tearful "Yes!", and we were engaged! A great hike into the Sierra had become life changing. I was the happiest I'd ever been at that moment, and I knew Sarah and I had a lifetime of great moments like this ahead of us! We still had a long hike out, but we the rest of the day continued like a dream. I was in this beautiful place with my beautiful finacee, and life just couldn't get any better.

The descent was a little more nerve-racking than the ascent.

The switchbacks that started off our hike two days prior

On the way down we chatted with a park employee about our encounter with a bear the previous night. "Oh, yeah, that old guy always hangs around that area" he told us. Well, there you go.

We started to feel fatigued on the way down, since we were going on about 2 hours sleep after a 13 mile trek that day. We were energized by the sights of two great waterfalls on the way down--Nevada Fall and Vernal Fall. Though our late spring timing had run us into snow the day before, it made for some powerful falls, which can dry up by the end of the season.

The plan was to roll right into another three day hike the next day, but with both of us wiped out from the hike and the excitement, we decided to spend a day on Valley floor. I got our permits changed and scored an extra night in the Curry cabins. We also had a fabulous dinner at the dining room at the Ahwahnee Lodge.

The next day we got some laundry done, then rented bicycles to tool around the Valley. We hit up the Ansel Adams gallery, where Sarah got me a beautiful print of a photo of Half Dome. We walked the trails around Yosemite Falls, then watched some crazy climbers doing ascents of El Capitan. That evening we staked out spots in a meadow and watched the sun go down on Half Dome. It was a much needed day of relaxation after 52 miles of hiking in 5 days!

Lower Yosemite Falls with the upper falls visible through the trees

El Capitan.  You can't make it out on the photo but there were several parties climbing the cliff face. — El Capitan. You can't make it out on the photo but there were several parties climbing the cliff face.

Sun setting on Half Dome.  Perfect way to end the day. — Sun setting on Half Dome. Perfect way to end the day.

The next day we started a two day hike up to Glen Auld in the Tolumne Meadows area of the park, north of the Valley. We drove my Tenaya Lake along the Tioga Road, then started off through the high country of the park. The hike was relievingly flat, but took us past great vistas of the meadows, past more falls, and to the head of the Grand Canyon of the Tolumne. Because we stayed at a backcountry campground, we could have a campfire. We got to camp early, and relaxed to the sound of the stream rushing past.

After heading out of the backcountry the next day, we headed down to Mammoth Lakes, CA, desperately in need of extended showers (the Currie cabins in Yosemite had common shower buildings with stalls. We checked into a quaint little hotel, where the owner's dog Enzo decided to hang in our room for a bit. After almost running the place out of hot water, we did something that no Sarah and Dan vacation would be complete without--visiting a craft brewery. In this case it was Mammoth Brewing Company, whose beers we had been introduced to in the Sequoia and Yosemite commissaries. This was followed by a nice dinner and trying out some whiskeys at a local's spot called the Clocktower. The next day it was off through the Nevada desert towards Zion.

At Mammoth Brewing Company.  If you're ever there, try the Dos Osos! — At Mammoth Brewing Company. If you're ever there, try the Dos Osos!

The feelings provoked by exposure to the beauty of this wilderness flow so well into the stream of love I have for Sarah. To have someone like her in my life is more that I could have hoped for, and to stand on a mountain, or in a beautiful valley, or gaze on a waterfall with her is to be at a state of bliss and contentment. Not even Muir, for all his ability to describe the wonder and beauty of the mountains, could describe the feelings of being in those mountains with someone you love so much.

Yosemite National Park

"Going to the mountains is going home..."