May 30 – June 4, 2021 —
How can you fit adventure, great times, a near-death experience, personal accomplishment, and unforgettable memories into the same trip? Read on, my friends, to find out. In 2021, I returned to my first and – to this day – my favorite national park: Yosemite. My 3-day visit to the park with Maria in 2018 motivated me to visit every national park in the country. Yosemite’s massive granite rock faces, untouched forests, pristine rivers, and beautiful views left an impression on me. I knew I wanted to return and – having discovered my passion for rock climbing since my first visit – I had some climbing goals to accomplish in the park. Some of my best friends from Purdue wanted to visit the park as well. So, we planned a trip to America’s finest national park, ready to have some fun.
Plan your trip to Yosemite National Park
Table of Contents
- Day 1: Arrival in Yosemite
- Day 2: Conquering Half Dome
- Day 3: Bouldering in Yosemite Valley
- Day 4: You Wanna Know How I Got These Scars?
- Day 5: No More Death-Defying Escapades
- Day 6: Mariposa Grove
Day 1: Arrival in Yosemite
Reunited
Our group convened in San Jose, California on May 29th. All nine of our group had not been together simultaneously since graduating from Purdue in May of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic had reshaped many of our lives, but – with all of us recently vaccinated – we were excited to experience a semblance of normalcy.
Our group – Aaron, Alex, Cody, Ian, Jack, Phillip, Shane, Will, and me – spent May 30th enjoying California. We spent the day in Santa Cruz and San Jose, visiting the beach and sipping on bubble tea. After returning to Will’s family’s house, we packed two cars to a bursting point with luggage, camping supplies, and climbing gear. Once we had all crammed into the vehicles, we began our drive to Yosemite.
Awestruck
At 7:15 PM, we crossed Yosemite National Park’s border and caught our first good view of Yosemite Valley from the cars. El Capitan rose over 3,000 feet in the air on our left, and Bridalveil fall roared with fresh snowmelt on our right. Despite having seen the park before, I became emotional at the sight of such intense natural beauty. I looked to my right and found Jack similarly tearing up beside me. Everyone in my car exclaimed excitedly as we drove through the valley, blown away by the views around us.
We stopped briefly at an overlook of Yosemite Falls before driving into view of Half Dome. The whole group looked at the sights around us with our mouths open, emotional and excited about our surroundings. It was unlike any feeling of awe I’d ever experienced. Experiencing it with eight of my closest friends – seven of whom had never been to the park – made it even better.
Preparing for Half Dome
Both cars reached Yosemite’s Upper Pines Campground – Site 69, acquired by a stroke of destiny – by 7:30 PM. There, we unloaded the cars, pitched our tents, organized our food, and cooked dinner. Meanwhile, Shane and I began organizing our climbing gear for the next day.
All nine of us were slated to summit the centerpiece of Yosemite – Half Dome – in the morning. Aaron, Alex, Cody, Ian, Jack, and Phillip were ascending via Half Dome’s famous hiker-friendly cables, for which they’d managed to acquire two permits on the same day. It can be difficult to nab just one permit for the cables, so the fact that they snatched two on the same day meant luck – and perhaps divine intervention – had been on our side. Shane and I, however, were ascending the rock a different way: by climbing Snake Dike, a famous 8-pitch 5.7 route up Half Dome’s southwest face. Neither of us had conquered such a large climb before. So, we nervously checked our gear while reviewing our plan of attack for the next day.
Everyone was in bed by 10 PM. We were all prepared to wake up in the darkness in only a few hours, and needed as much sleep as we could muster.