We packed in like little sardines into our enterprise van and truck in order to experience the unique opportunity to SUP in Yosemite. The excitement of traveling with a new group and looking forward to the epic Yosemite landscape made the drive a noteworthy experience. Our trip was beautifully diverse with Brazil, Switzerland, Colorado, and California folk being represented. In total there was twelve of us and seven had never been to Yosemite. I was extremely excited to share this trip with the group. Me and my co-worker planned this trip to be jam-packed with Yosemite highlights. The main attraction of our trip took place on Saturday when we drove Hwy120 E to reach Tenaya Lake. This is the perfect SUP location! I led a trip in Spring 2013 to Yosemite where we floated down Merced river on our Rafts and SUP, but the float was very short and the shuttle you have to run is tedious. This year we decided to do Tenaya lake because Merced River in the valley is dried out. I was happy with the shift in itinerary. Tenaya provided the perfect location to practice Stand Up Paddle boarding and we were in the center of beautiful panoramic views. Going to Yosemite is always humbling. It is the most toured National Parks, yet the vistas never cease to stop you in your tracks and stand in awe. The atmosphere is great for reflection as well as community building. The calm waters of Tenaya lake offered a peaceful setting for experiential learning and admiration of the surroundings. Every moment in Yosemite is rewarding.
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Every part of me was ready to head to the mountains. It felt like too long since I had hiked around the beautiful Sierras. Amidst the rush of the week, I found peace with knowing I would soon be amongst the granite slabs, alpine lakes, and fall forest leaves. To make matters more exciting, this was a Poly Escapes trip. As a leader for Poly Escapes, I get the opportunity to bring other students and curious beings to beautiful wilderness spots around california. A total of13 of us packed up for the weekend. We had a wonderful itenerary that included day hikes, backpacking, and some backcountry caving. It took a long six hours on friday night to arrive at our campground, but the long hours meant nothing as soon as we stepped out of the car and we were filled with fresh mountain air and the sight of the dense night sky. Unfortunately, we had some disrespectful camp neighbors who arrived at the drive in campsite even later then we did. It was around two in the morning when I was woken up by their loud engine and bright lights. They spent nearly two hours pitching their large tent and blowing up their air mattress. It was a little obnoxious, but luckily it only kept me and the other leader awake so everyone else was able to sleep soundly. We left the campsite early after a delicious breakfast of pumpkin and chocolate granola, almond milk, and bananas! We drove to Kennedy Meadows and parked at the trailhead for a six miles round trip hike with our destination of Relief Reservoir. The fall birch leaves were a personal highlight for me; I have never hiked emigrant wilderness in the fall so the fall colors were a treat. After we experienced the beautiful hike to the lake we hiked back to our cars to travel to our next trailhead. We were hiking another three miles with our overnight backpacks to stay at Eagle Meadows. I have a little history with this particular trail that makes it extra special. It is the location of my first backpacking trip back in 2011. It is always so great to return to this spot and it was an even better experience this time because I was able to share the spot with so many other new backpackers. We spend the evening chowing down on a huge feast of chicken, sauteed veggies, brown rice, avocados, salsa, tortillas and snickernoodle cookies and settled around the fire for fun camp stories. The night brought out a chilly frost so our stiff bodies were ready to move as soon as we woke up. With camp clean and a warm oatmeal breakfast in our bellies, we hiked to a unique cave system. We scrambled around rocks and stood in awe amongst the massive surrounding natural landscapes. It was the perfect end to our backcountry experience. We made a pitstop at Pinecrest lake, about 30 minutes drive from our trailhead, so we could enjoy one last sierra experience. Happy with our weekend away, we stuffed back into our poly escape minivans and drove back to home sweet SLOme. |
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January 2017
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