Yos.em.it.e Part 4: Take my Breath Away

Our second full day in Yosemite we were ready to hike! We talked to our camp mates, consulted my Backpacker magazine, and talked to one of the park rangers to get some good ideas on where to start. Finally we decided on a less popular trail that would take us to the rim where we could take in a panoramic view of the park. Little did I know that the views in Yosemite aren't the only things that are breathtaking, but I was about to find out!

It was a little tricky finding the trail because the first part of it was quite overgrown. You can see a little bit of the trail behind Brent here:

Brent found a pine cone as big as his torso. I know people say everything is bigger in Texas but the trees in California's forests are pretty dang impressive! 

(and so is his beard)

I'll be honest, I was a little cranky on this hike. We literally gained 3000 feet of elevation in a few short, I mean long miles. We were hiking in the heat of the day, my asthma was kicking my butt, and we did not have enough water. Because I couldn't breathe well I wasn't too keen on talking. Good thing I was hiking with my little brothers who were kind enough to keep downplaying how hard this was for me.  A couple of times I really wanted to stop but they wouldn't let me chill on the side of the trail alone and I didn't want to keep them from reaching the top, so I kept plodding along.

When we were about a mile from the summit we were pleasantly surprised by a fresh mountain stream. We didn't have any filtration gear with us, so I didn't dare drink the water, but I made everyone turn around so I could take off my shirt and drench it in the stream. It felt amazing. I'm pretty sure it kept me from getting heat exhaustion. I immediately felt so much better. It was like someone poured a bucket of happy inside my cranky little head.

Funny thing is---and I totally had a feeling this was going to happen--two men came bounding down the trail within seconds of me pulling my shirt back over my head. We hadn't seen people for miles and then all of a sudden...they seemed to drop right out of the sky. Haha. I took a second long sleeved shirt (that I had brought for emergencies) and dunked it in the stream to wrap around my neck. This was the best trick I learned on the whole trip. It helps to cool down the jugular veins which lead directly to the brain. I immediately felt awesome.


We resumed hiking, but much to my chagrin the last little section of the trail rose steeply. Bryan had a keen eye for berries and kept me cheerful by handing me sweet tastes from the forest floor. I was impressed with his knowledge of edible plants and berries, and it gave me a reason to slow down my pace and check out the bushes. If I ever get lost in the woods, I hope these two boys are somewhere close by cause they are quite the survivalists. And Katie too, cause she has this ability to always look on the bright side :)

The view from half way up.

Yellow bush near the top

Tired Faces. What a hike! 

Finally, late in the afternoon we reached the canyon overlook. I was elated. I had been saving a couple of cool oranges for this very moment. Curling my parched tongue around that sweet juicy fruit segment seemed like a fine prize. We were all pretty stoked to break into the oranges. My expectations were high. I can still remember hiking to the delicate arch in the heat of the blazing sun when my mom handed me the juiciest, most delicious orange ever to grace my lips. I suppose that is what I was expecting, so when my first bite was pithy and dry I was SORELY, SORELY disappointed. We ate them anyway. I think Bryan felt a little cheated, too, based on his expression here.

To make up for it, we scampered down the mountain to cool off in our favorite little swimming hole.

It never felt so good to leave 10 miles behind me.