Escape to Yosemite
I escaped to Yosemite for the weekend. A handful of us packed up our backpacks, grabbed our hiking boots, piled into the Swag Wag, and headed for the wilderness. We set off with the desire for the trails, cooler weather, and time spent finding some peace. After an In-N-Out stop for dinner, on to Oakhurst we went. We crashed at a lovely home of a friend for the weekend where I slept under the stars for the first time in over a month and it was glorious. The moon was bright, the clouds were wispy and dancing across the night sky as the stars gazed on.
Saturday morning we awoke at 5:30am to eat breakfast burritos and begin the drive through the South Gate of Yosemite National Park into the mountains. Few things compare to the beauty of driving through Yosemite. You are surrounded by majestic rock and trees reaching skywards on all sides. We drove past Half Dome and El Cap basking in the morning light, windows rolled down as the fresh mountain air and 58° weather invaded the car, wiping memories of ninety degree heat and smog from our minds. Our hike began at Ten Lakes trail head, heading for the ten lakes.
The trail was round trip 12.6 miles. It was a beautiful hike winding among the trees. Half way through we came upon a meadow, a surprising break in the dense forested area we had been hiking through. A perfect climbing rock rested opposite the meadow, so we climbed up and sat, enjoying the view of the open space. What a unnatural thing it is to look out and see only the world as it is naturally occurring. The last half of hike was the hardest, with an uphill trek and a long segment of downhill switchbacks to one of the ten lakes. But the view from the top after the uphill before the switchbacks was one of the best views. You could see some of the ten lakes and then just wide open space. We all stared in wonder at the expanse spreading before us of peaks high above tree line and the valleys bellow.
We arrived at the lake for lunch, napping and swimming and remembering to breathe in the beauty. We hiked out and drove to Sentinel Dome. On the way there we saw a baby bear right after a sign warning cars to watch out for bears. The whole car screamed in excitement, I have been saying I want to see a bear for a while and I finally saw one crossing the road. It's the little things. We hiked straight up Sentinel Dome and watched the sunset from the top. Sitting with great people looking out at a spectacular view was a perfect way to end the day. Dinner was at 9:30pm in an Oakhurst gem, the Brewery. It feels good to be so tired you want to fall asleep on top of your turkey sandwich and sweet potato fries. It feels good to sit amongst friends and know everyone is feeling the same.
Every part of us was tired as we returned to our "basecamp" to sleep before departing in the morning. What a beautiful thing to sleep beneath the greatest lights show imaginable with silence filling the air instead of sirens or car horns or loud voices. I cherish it more now because I am living in a place where it isn't a wise idea to sleep outside every night. It also wouldn't be very peaceful or beautiful, smog and lights ruin the stars. Morning came, diner breakfast, a last stop for Thrifty's ice cream, and back home we went.
We went to Yosemite seeking some peace. I think we found it. I know I found some peace. I found peace in being with people who wanted to be with me, genuinely wanted to be with me. They challenge me and make me believe in myself in ways I only do when they're next to me walking with me. Part of the difficulty of returning after a weekend like this, is I am left with the question, "What's next?" Hiking fifteen miles in a day throughout Yosemite was wonderful, so what's next? What can I hike or climb or do that at the beginning appears challenging -or even impossible- but at the end leaves me sitting with good people in a beautiful place?
I found peace within myself by accomplishing our Ten Lakes hike. I knew I could do it, but returning to our car at the end of it with my head up made me remember I am stronger than I often give myself credit for. When I face the difficult pieces of the trial and over come it, the little problems so often invading my mind seem less impossible.
