This was my FIRST backpacking trip and I am so glad that it
finally happened. After much time
researching, looking up gear, shopping, and preparing it was finally here. And I had planned all of this for the first choice dates I requested on the permit... NOT the actual dates that we got! AHHH! I couldn't believe the permit that I had wasn’t going to
work! I was really worried that my trip
was going to be ruined. I called the
Yosemite Wilderness office and they said I would have to come in the day before
and wait in line to get the permit. There
wasn’t much we could do. On Friday we
started our drive towards Yosemite stopping in Bishop for lunch at Erick Schat’s Bakery
(highly recommend) and then staying at Lake View Lodge in Lee Vining for the
night. There is very little in this
town. If you need anything make sure you
stop in Bishop first!
Saturday morning we drove into Yosemite and down to the Yosemite
Valley Village. We found the wilderness
office and got in line about 10am. They
start issuing permits at 11am. There
were only about 7 people ahead of us so I felt pretty good. We were pretty open to the trailheads we were
willing to start at so I was pretty sure we would get a pass one way or another
but we really wanted to get Half Dome permits again. Finally it was our turn to get a pass. I said what our ideal trail heads and route
would be and we got it with Half Dome permits too! The wilderness pass was free and Half dome
passes were only $8/person. We had the
rest of the day to do whatever we wanted and to make sure we had everything
ready. With the wilderness permit we
could have stayed the day before and after our trip in the backpackers camp for
$6/person would could have made our trip a lot cheaper. I already had reservations for Curry Village
so we headed there to check in for our canvas tent. We got our keys put our stuff in the room as it
was raining and got back in the car to head up to glacier point. There are amazing views from here!
It was
pretty cold and raining and we sat in the car a bit to study our map and figure
out where we were planning on going the next day! Back to Curry Village to have
dinner from the pizza place which was pretty good! We made sure all of our
stuff was ready and got ready for bed. Slept
in a bit the next morning – put our food back in our pack from the assigned
bear locker and our extra scented items we were not taking in a public bear
locker. Had a quick breakfast, checked
out, and started our trip to Little Yosemite valley about 8:30am.
It was about a 6 mile trip to little Yosemite Valley from
Curry Village via the Mist trail. We
took our time, took a lot of pictures and breaks – and I am slow! We made it to
the village a little after noon. We
found our spot and set up our tent, filtered water, and had lunch.
We were done with everything by 2 and I
decided we should go up to half dome that evening. It was not my brightest ideas. We were tired and it had already been a long
day. We started just before 3 and headed
up. At the JMT / Half dome trail junction we saw a coyote which
was pretty cool. He didn’t seem to care
about us at all. Saw a few deer along
the way as well. Once we were on sub
dome there was a father/daughter duo coming down. They said that no one was up there and we had
the mountain to our self. That was pretty
cool.
We took a long time to get to the top
up the cables taking a lot of breaks.
Once to the top the views were amazing and we took the diving board
pictures. It would have been nice to
have someone to take a picture of both of us – but was really cool to be the
only ones up there. We had a snack and face
timed with my family from up there! I
had full service and 4G. We wanted to
make it back before dark so started down.
I preferred going down facing the mountain. It was not as scary to me. We made it back to camp about 7pm adding a
little over 7 miles to our day. We
filtered water again, had dinner, sponged off, and went to bed. We didn’t sleep very well but it was good to
be laying down. 
The next day I
originally planned to do clouds rest but the day before kicked my ass. We decided to take a trail following the Merced
River. About 4 miles of our hike was the
area that was burned in the Meadow fire last year so there was very little
shade. We sat by the falls for a bit,
stuck our feet in which was so cold and then continued up the river. We found a cool Lunch spot by Bunnell Point
and enjoyed the afternoon before heading back to camp.
For 9 miles we saw 6 people and 2 snakes –
one rattlesnake. It was a relaxing
day! This evening the park ranger came
to check our permits and informed us about a Momma bear with her 2 cubs have
been in the area. I really wanted to see
a bear so was a little excited. We
headed to bed without a hearing or seeing any bears. 
The next day there was rain in the forecast and our trip had
been perfect for weather so we got up and started packing up to be able to make
it back to Curry village before it started.
We started about 9am and took the John Muir trail down. There were very few people until we got to
Navada Falls and then a LOT more people by Vernal Falls. I already missed the wilderness. Back at Curry village by about 11am we got
our items from the Bear locker and thankfully everything was still there and
tried to check into our room. It wasn’t
ready yet but we were still able to shower and get lunch before the rain.
It was a great trip and good learning experience. As far as gear, we wish we would have brought
flipflops or some type of sandals with us.
I am not in love with my pack – the Kelty PK50 – because it is a pain to
get something or put something back in it quickly like gloves, jacket, or
anything you do not really want in the side pockets. I do like that I can take off the front part
and use it as a day pack for our little hikes even if it is too big for that. I will likely try to find something lighter. My Sleeping bag, Feathered Friends Egret UL 20
– was AMAZING! Super comfortable and SO
warm – maybe a little too warm for this trip but I loved it.
For trip planning - I worried way too much about a
permit. It was much easier than what I
thought it was going to be. I think
starting our backpacking on Sunday helped along with no holidays. If I did it again I would start in one spot –
Sunrise, Tenaya Lake, or Cathedral Lakes and finish at Happy Isels to be able
to see more. I am thinking Yosemite will
be a yearly trip! I am excited to plan
my next backpacking trip!
