YOSEMITE - June 2015

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In the early days of setting up our business, we attended a Dane (County) Buy Local event and met Rose and Gary Molz, who had a start-up company, EZ Office Products (EZOP). It was great to meet a couple that were also navigating how to successfully work together, and we became friends (and clients). They invited us to a UW Family Business Center (FBC) meeting, and we joined that organization as well. Rose and Jeff were part of a CEO group through the FBC, and Jeff and Gary served together on the Madison Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Advisory Council. Gary would tell Jeff about his hiking adventures in the Grand Canyon, and Jeff told him we were really interested in going along sometime. Gary used the outfitter “Just Roughin’ It” for the Grand Canyon and was exploring a trip they offer in the backcountry of Yosemite, and he invited us along.

Jeff and I arrived in Fresno around 5 pm the evening before our adventure started. Gary had arrived the day before. He had a rental car, so he picked us up at the airport, and together we drove to our hotel in Mariposa. We walked around the little village of Mariposa, had dinner at a Mexican restaurant, then back for a good night’s sleep.

In the morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, then drove the rest of the way to Yosemite National Park. It was a gorgeous morning and we were so anxious to get started hiking. We were supposed to meet our guide and the other couple at the Curry Village parking lot, but the rendezvous took longer and it was an agonizing wait! We finally made contact with the guide from “Just Roughin It,” Martin, and the other couple: Natalie and Travis, from the Chicago suburbs. During our introduction to one another, Martin read off the form that we’d each filled out in advance, where we’d each described our fitness level and training regime. It was a little awkward with strangers, and believe me, as the days progressed, I believed what Natalie had self-reported was a bit exaggerated.

We spent about an hour organizing our supplies and equipment. The outfitter supplied Osprey packs, tents, sleeping bags and pads, hiking poles, bear cans and all the food. By the time my pack was packed with my sleeping bag, clothes, a bear can, some of the food and my 3L of water, it was just slightly heavier than the “practice” pack I’d been carrying around at home for practice, probably about 40 pounds.

Our small group walked over to the shuttle bus stop, and rode the bus to Camp 4, where we picked up the Yosemite Falls trail. One last stop with a flush toilet and we hit the trail around noon. When we signed up for this trip, we were told that the first day of this trip was “the mother of all stair-masters,” and agreed that was a perfect description. We climbed up and up and up and up. The trail was well-traveled with lots of day-hikers and just a handful of hikers with big packs coming down. The surface was rocks, with coarse sand mixed in, making the footing sometimes slippery. Martin told us this is the worst trail in the park for going down, and our descent would be via a different route.

The scenery was gorgeous in many different ways. Across the valley, we had a view of Half Dome and Clarks Peak. We had this amazing rock wall next to us, and when we were about halfway up, amazing views of upper Yosemite falls. When we got to higher elevations, beautiful hardy flowers appeared in unexpected places.

Natalie and Travis were the big unknowns for us in a trip like this. He is Army Reserve and quite tough. She’s a teacher and had never camped or peed in the woods, but she seemed to have the right spirit. It became apparent however that she wasn’t in great shape. Gary, Jeff and I went out ahead, with instructions to wait if we came to a trail junction, and also to wait at the top where we’d have lunch together.

We found our training to be pretty good, especially our work out walking up the stairs with the water jugs! However, we got hungry and made an executive decision to have lunch while we were waiting for Martin, Travis and Natalie. Martin discovered that we’d started to eat our lunch, and said to us “lunch was supposed to be at the top.” We told him that we’re three independent thinking business owners that are used to making our own decisions.

We kept climbing and eventually reached the top of the falls in the late afternoon. When Martin and the others arrived, he waited by the bridge with our packs while we all went out to the overlook. To get to the ledge, you had to go down these steps carved into the mountain, hanging onto a railing somehow attached to the mountain. It was way out of my comfort zone, but the view was so worth it!

While we were out on the ledge, Martin set up his gravity water filtration pack which provided us a refreshing cool drink from the Yosemite River. There were several batches of day hikers that were underprepared with water and distance traveled, and Martin gave them water and pep talks too. We really enjoyed his regard for “leave no trace” and respect for the ruggedness of the backcountry.

By now, we were burning daylight. Even though it should be among the longest days of Summer, in the mountains we know it can get dark earlier. The backcountry campsites aren’t marked, but somehow, Martin knew where they were located. We crossed the river heading towards Yosemite Point, then got off the trail and selected a spot above the river. There are spots where people had obviously had fires, but no official fire rings (or toilets). Selecting a spot for the tent is difficult though - there are large expanses of granite rock, few flat spots and you can’t pitch where ANYTHING is growing. It took a while to find spots for four tents.

The next task was to hike back down to the river to get water to filter for us to drink tonight and tomorrow, and also water to use for cooking and dishes. I waded in to wash my legs and arms and dipped my head but the water was freezing and I figured it’d be too late in the day for my clothes to dry, so I didn’t fully immerse myself in the cold water.

We really struggled to find a better way up to camp from the river - through bushes, over fallen trees, hoisting one another up rock walls. When we got back to pitch our tents, clean up and organize our packs and bear boxes, it was nearly dark. By the time our Mac and Cheese was done for dinner, it WAS dark. The moon was up (little less than half) and Venus and Saturn were bright and prominent. We could see two small fires and another light from a campsite across the river. Martin insisted he’d clean up and sent us off to our tents. As we were all exhausted, no one argued!

While this trip had a basic trail plan, I think Martin checked out the group and adapted the plan to fit the clients to some extent. For our second day, Martin decided we’d leave our camp set up and “day hike” bringing just snacks and water. It was a little cool when I got out of the tent and I was thankful I’d brought my down jacket. It was wonderful to wake up to coffee brewing. Martin said we’d have a quick breakfast of granola and get started earlier. Somehow, lots of putzing going on and it was after 9a before we rolled out. We hiked through gorgeous meadows and rolling hills, and then a bit of a climb up to Eagle Peak at 7779 feet. At the end of the trail, there were big boulders we scrambled onto to get the most amazing panoramic view of the park - way outside my comfort zone, but again, so worth it.

Next, we set out for the top of El Capitan. We hiked through a variety of terrain - pine forests, meadows, large spans of granite where the trail was loosely marked with piles of rocks. Martin said there’d be a stream along the way where we could filter water, but when we got there it was nearly dried up, a drastic change since he’d been there just two weeks prior. A sad symptom of the long drought going on in the West I’m afraid. He thought there was enough of a pool to get water to filter, and I climbed down a bit further and took off my boots and soaked my feet in the cool water. Natalie had blisters on her toes and heels, so Travis worked on bandaging them a bit.

We set off again with the plan to have lunch near the top of El Capitan. The elevation was 7569 ft and we’d been feeling the effects of the altitude as we climbed. We had snacks and PB&J and took in the view. From there, it was a picture-like view of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

When I’d visited Yosemite before, I was awed by the climbers going up the face of El Capitan. The climb can take several days and they sleep on ledges suspended from lines secured to the rock face. Somehow, I expected when we were at the top, we’d find some kind of base camp of climbers, but not so. Martin showed us the area where they summit and told us a bit about the logistics of the climb and a bit of the climber counterculture.

By then it was nearly 3pm, and I was thinking we’d have another dinner in the dark since it took us 6 hours to get there. But we boogied back at a decent pace and were back at our camp by 5pm. It was another warm and sunny day and the pools right at the top of the falls were alive with swimmers and sunbathers. When we’d passed by the spot in the morning, there was a couple there practicing yoga - quite a serene setting. When we returned, the same spot looked like Disneyland!

We took off our boots and headed down to our private pool below our campsite, where several of us swam in the cold water and we filtered drinking water again for tomorrow.

Martin got to work preparing our dinner of Chicken and Dumplings. I broke out a dark chocolate bar for dessert, although “S'mores” would have been better.

On our third day we were packed up and hiking out of camp by 8:30am. It was great to get an earlier start, as it was going to be another hot day. At first the fully loaded pack felt great, but before long I was really dragging and felt a little pokey all day long.

We hiked out to Yosemite Point to start, with an amazing view of the valley again, but it looked different in the early morning light. Then we started climbing, with Martin leading the way - not sure we would have found the way without him, but he has taught us a lot about how to find the trail.

We trekked through meadows and forests. I enjoyed lagging behind and the solitude that brought - enjoyed the trees and flowers and quiet. We crossed a creek and I had a snack of dried cherries and nuts and that really helped me perk up. We walked a little further and took and official snack break. I think we’re taking more snack breaks than Martin is used to, but it’s what we do when we cycle, and even at the office I kind of graze all day.

I’d been skeptical about the use of trekking poles. Gary told us about a month ago that he always hikes with poles, and even using a stick from the woods at the Porkies made a difference when we were hiking up there last week. Yet, I was still surprised at how much I loved using the poles. I think it helped me a lot that I’d learned proper use of ski poles back in my ski racing days, because it’s very much the same technique. There were moments hiking on this trip where I’d plant a pole and it’d feel like I was turning around a mogul - fun for me! Martin taught us to shorten them while climbing and lengthen them for descents. It would have been a much more difficult hike without the poles - I’m a believer now!

When we got to the junction for the trial to Indian Point, we had a pow wow about our plan for the day. Martin wanted us to detour to the point to see the arch and the view, but it was 1.5 miles of significant climb. He offered to stay with the packs and have lunch ready for us when we returned. We set out to convert the “brains” of our packs into fanny bags so we’d have water for the hike up to the point. As we were mulling about, a loud crack rang out from about 100 yards away. Some of us thought it was a shot gun and dove for cover. Others, like me, just froze and saw a mammoth tree fall over the trail. It hit a large bolder on the other side of the trail, which made another crack like a second shot. The most amazing part to me was that it slammed into the trail so hard that it bounced and shook off its bark and branches - leaving a cloud of dust and pine cones. So, the answer to the question “when a tree falls in the forest, does anybody hear it?” is YES!!

We felt really strong heading to Indian Point and we scrambled all the way up to a stone arch on top. It was over 9000 ft at that point, and hot - so it was a bit of work. The view was worth the climb - on one side was the valley and Half Dome, but we also could see the vast wilderness of the park where few people really go - the valley is just a tiny fraction of the park. The hike down was much easier and Martin had prepared chicken salad with dried cranberries and nuts - we had it in wraps and it was an awesome trail lunch.

After lunch, we reassembled our packs and hiked towards Snow Creek. I was really feeling the heat and when we stopped to filter water in a small branch of the creek, I soaked my bandana and cooled off my head and neck - it was wonderful. I offered my bandana to Jeff to do the same, but he just stuck his whole head into the creek instead. Talk about brain freeze. About another mile and we reached Snow Creek and Martin went on ahead to see if the primo campsite was available and it was! We set up tents, Martin got a filter bag full of cool river water and we had cool drinks and snacks, then headed down to the river for a swim. It was just 4pm so we had ample sun to warm ourselves after dipping in the cold water. There was even a pool where we could sit on the warm rocks but soak our feet in the cool water.

The view of Half Dome and the mountains was just amazing. It was a perfect spot for our last night. The view changed with the fading light and Jeff proved to be very imaginative in seeing faces and animals on the faces of Half Dome and the other mountains. Martin shared some legends associated with the shapes of the mountains and canyons, adding to the mystical feeling of such a special place. Of particular note, was the face of a gorilla named “Carl” that appeared on the front face of Half Dome.

Dinner tonight was Pesto Pasta, and it was fun to dress it up with whatever was left in our bear cans for food. Jeff fried up the “garlic biscuits” and we got carried away and made too much pasta, but we all agreed it was the best we’d ever had.

Just after dinner we noticed Mule deer traveling through the meadow near our campsite. Several had antlers - one didn’t quite have them figured out as he kept getting them tangled in the branches of a small tree. They had no fear of us and allowed us to get pretty close to get photos.

We were able to sleep without the rain fly, which meant a full view of the moon over Half Dome as we went to sleep. When I woke up in the middle of the night, it was the blackest sky I’d ever seen, dotted with a bazillion stars - a magical sight, and awesome to just be able to lay on my back in my snugly sleeping bag and enjoy it.

By morning, Jeff got up and brought me back a strong cup of coffee - that is living right. We got dressed and packed up the tent, and enjoyed the beauty and serenity of our last morning on the mountain. Another gorgeous morning with clear blue skies and abundant sunshine that warmed us up quickly. Words and photos can’t describe the way the light plays on the granite faces of the mountains and the valley below.

We had a hearty breakfast - dehydrated egg and hash brown scramble. We were a quiet group as we packed up. For me it’s always the double-edged sword - ready to get back to modern conveniences, but sad to leave the simple serenity. We walked past two other groups that were also getting ready to start their days, but there seemed to be an unstated feeling of reverence - no need for idle chit chat, or words at all really.

We walked back to the footbridge and crossed over Snow Creek again, and then Martin led us out to the peninsula to enjoy one last panoramic view from Tenaya Canyon, across Cathedral Range, Half Dome (and Carl), Glacier Point and the valley below.

The descent via the Snow Creek trail was 2 miles down, versus the 3.5 miles up via the Yosemite Creek trail - in other words, very steep, and almost all down with just a few level switchbacks thrown in for “rest.” Martin gave us very clear directions - don’t do ANYTHING other than walk. If you want to take a photo, adjust your pole, take a drink, adjust your hat - stop walking and then do your business. I heard the words and they made sense, but it didn’t stop me from banging my shin on a rock and I was taking a few side steps to adjust my view for a photo once. It was a really tough section of trail and I wouldn’t have made it without the trekking poles. I walked at the end of our group, taking my time and enjoying the view at the turn of each switchback. It made me sad when we reached tree line and lost our view of Half Dome. Tough as it was, we were grateful we were going down and not up!

By the time we were heading down, the day was heating up. The entire trail was exposed - one rock overhang was the only shade on the route. I was sweating more profusely than any of the other days - and that was walking DOWN! I’d have given anything to dip my head in Snow Creek again. As we got closer to the valley, we felt warm air rushing up. It was like walking into an oven! At the base of the trailhead, we took a “pack off” break in the shade - had some snacks, and chatted with some day hikers out in their tennis shoes. We merged onto the Stable Trail towards Mirror Lake. There were huge sandy beaches along the river and the water was very low - but the beaches were alive with families and young people tossing frisbees. It was such a surreal scene - we just ambled through it all like shock victims - re-entry into the world was difficult.

We caught the shuttle bus back to Curry Village, except for Travis who walked there and arrived at the same time. I had the realization as we pushed our way onto the crowded bus that I felt so much more confident handling my pack than I did just last Monday. It was really neat to stand there in the valley and look at El Capitan and think - yeah, I just hiked up to the top of that. It was mixed feelings of accomplishment and a private joy of knowing that the true magic and beauty of the park lies just beyond the valley - and we had the privilege of experiencing that.

We unloaded our gear and stashed it in our respective cars. Then we gathered on the deck for celebratory drinks and pizza.

Gary, Jeff and I departed for Fresno - enjoying the drive through the rest of the park, through sequoia groves and then into the desert like ranch area between the mountains and Fresno - where the only green is the irrigated crops. We checked into our hotel, took long showers to scrub layers of dust off our legs, then had a fabulous dinner. It cracked me up how much I enjoyed sitting at a table using real dishes. We’ll do our best to sleep in a king size bed with 4 pillows, but I think I’ll miss the stars and the sound of the creek.

Jeff and I are so grateful that our friend Gary extended this invitation to join him on this adventure. It was his second experience with the outfitter “Just Roughin It,” and they made the logistics of this trip very easy. Martin was a fairly new guide with them, but really knows the park, the trails, and his laid-back nature made the trip exactly what we were looking for. After a couple days of being totally unplugged, we were refreshed and excited to get back to our real world.

Total Yosemite Stats (via Fitbit): 90,333 steps 758 flights climbed 41.2 miles

Logistics:

Water is always my biggest fear on these adventures (lack of clean water). We had our Camelbak inserts which fit into a pouch on our packs. We also used empty Gatorade bottles and refilled them with filtered water and added electrolyte tabs the outfitter gave us in our snack bags. Later in the summer, water in the backcountry will be an issue, but we were able to get water from the streams. Martin had a bag that used gravity to filter, and also had a pump with a filter so we always had adequate water. Giardia is the biggest problem with water from mountain streams hopefully our filters worked against that. I probably carried more weight in water than I needed to, but I’d been in situations before where it was scarce, so I have a water hoarding tendency.

I chose to bring some 20-year-old hiking boots that had great ankle and foot support. On the third day though, the heel of my right boot was coming off! Martin had some seam seal and he and Jeff were able glue it back together for my successful descent! Unfortunately, the repair glue left a permanent reminder on the belly of Jeff’s down jacket.

I brought two pair of shorts, two shirts, three pair of socks, yoga pants and long sleeve top for sleeping, and long pants that I didn’t wear. One newer pair of shorts were flimsy and phone in pocket plus granite rock = hole in pocket. I was happy that I brought my light down jacket that doubled as a pillow.

Electronics (with no ability to charge, I was uncertain how this would work):

· iPad mini for writing my blog text each night as well as my book that I was too exhausted to read. Three nights of writing used about 50% of charge.

· iPhone - switched it to airplane mode Monday am and powered it off each night. I was able to use it as my camera for 4 full days!

· Apple Watch - biggest issue with this is battery life, but with it also on airplane mode, it ran about 60 hours. And it was quite proud of my activity level!