The Why🌲🐻 (#4)
Sequoias, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, & Bears!!
The Why
You may be wondering: Why the heck are we doing this?
It’s kind of as simple as: We really wanted to, and we (luckily) made it happen.
Ana and I have completed 3 international trips since we started dating, and I originally floated traveling abroad for a few months before starting at my new company. That ultimately wasn’t in the cards, but the thought stuck with us and we evaluated the financial, social, and personal factors to travel more extensively for a long time since. It was a tough, intentional decision. We named the sacrifices and the requirements, spreadsheeted our plans early, and have stuck to our goals to make it a reality.
As of now, 4 weeks in a metal box together, we’re feeling pretty content with our decision, and I’ve been living through the quote we read in Bryce Canyon:
“In summer, the song sings itself” - William Carlos Williams
Days are smooth right now. Time is moving fast. Each bit of natural beauty does not get old—the terrain is simply changing too frequently.
I am starting to feel some pains from the constant displacement, and miss family & friends more (especially after a holiday weekend), but the road must go on as this is certainly a once in a lifetime route.
The Resilience of Sequoias
General Sherman is the largest tree by volume in the world, standing at the ripe old age of 2300 and is over 100 ft in circumference. Older Sequoias are estimated to be 3200 years old. The scale of these trees as an eyewitness were rather jawdropping. Felt like an ant among humans.
Resilience is the driving factor behind their age, across all fronts.
Giant Sequoias:
Are Fire Resistant: Their outer bark (often >2ft thick), along with self-pruning lower branches and elevated crowns, makes them extremely resistant to fire.
Have Drought Adaptation: They can maintain favorable water status by adjusting their total leaf area, shedding older foliage during drought, and having leaves capable of storing water.
Are Insect Prone: Their second layer is high in tannins, an acidic, moisturous layer, resistant against both insects and fire.
Have Complex Root Systems: Their shallow but wide root systems intertwine with other sequoias for stability against windthrow, floods, and expanded water coverage.
All that said, in the last two years alone, wildfires have destroyed nearly one-fifth of all large giant sequoias, which grow naturally only in a narrow 60-mile band on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada.1 May we only hope their resilience grows ahead of their changing climate.
Half Dome Hike
4:30am wake up call! We packed the night before.
Flush with cold brew and red lights, we took off as the sun rose.
Wary of bears, we blitzed the first mile, a steep uphill snaking the Merced river, up to the last water stop for 18 miles.
We applied and got the Half-Dome permit not 36 hours prior, what would become the longest hikes of our lives to date.
Excitement (and Uncrustables) carried us through the first few miles, up the Mist Trail, and past the Nevada Falls.
At the first bit of flats, we re-oriented our bearings, and got a glimpse of the beautiful bald cap that is Half Dome—it was a perfect day, and we were still in the shade going through the little Yosemite Valley.
As our legs became weary, we encountered our next obstacle while attempting to stop for some Cliff bars & water— we were immediately engulfed in jumbo mosquitoes.
They chased us for over 2 miles, which we later dubbed Mosquito Valley, biting through our long sleeves and pants. That wasn’t in the AllTrails reviews…
This ultimately was a blessing in disguise, as we were forced to motor up to the bottom of sub-dome without realizing our growing fatigue.
Sub Dome - A challenging set of switchbacks that starts your final ascent to Half Dome’s peak.
At this point, the sky opened up and we could see close to 360 degree views of the valleys. While it felt breathtaking, the actual thing sucking air out of our lungs was the aggressive pitch of our path. A lot of people say sub dome is harder than the final cable section. Which brings me to,
The Cables.
The final 400ft of elevation requires gloves and exclusive arm strength; thick cable, paired with wooden wiggly floorposts, dot the vertical-looking rockface.
The way I convinced Ana to do the hike at all was to give her the out—if she didn’t want to do the cables, we could turn there. No questions asked. She surveyed the wall for a good 10 minutes before committing, and I didn’t let her hesitate.
Stuck behind an older couple, smartly using harnesses to clip into the cable on the way up, the ascent was a bit slow going, making it a lot easier to look around and get in your head and say:
What the heck am I doing? This feels dangerous as all get out.
See for yourself.
Luckily, fully exposed and adrenaline fueled, you just keep moving up, one step at a time, until you reach the top.
It was wicked. You could see El Cap! The whole valley! Whole other valleys! And the weather could not have been better. We found a quiet spot and savored the moment.
There may have been some tears of relief at the top (not naming names), and a lot of bashful squirrels eager for a bit of your well deserved lunch. How they got up there I have no idea.
And that was it! Half Dome complete. Just kidding — we were only halfway.
10 miles of descent and a few hours of dead legs without enough water later, we were back in the valley. But I’ll spare you the details. Just know the celebratory beer and shower felt electric.
Highlight:
Yosemite Valley
This place is so up there.
You start with an unbelievable backdrop, wherever you drive, walk, or sit; whether its El Capitan, Half Dome, or Yosemite Falls, they all feel towering and outstanding wherever you go.
It’s then rounded out by shaping meadows and winding rivers. Families are rafting. Kids are biking. It’s blue skies, sunny, and 75º all day long. Showers are free and have fantastic water pressure. Campers are seasoned, prepared, and quiet—everyone worked hard to get a spot, and everyone knows it, too.
These things all added up to three days of pure awe. It felt like the perfect time to go, and peak summer. Counting down the days till our return, for sure!
Camping Lifestyles
It has been so fun seeing the endless combinations of camping styles over the last few weeks. And you never see the same one twice.
Teardrops, A-Frames, Pop-ups, Truckbeds, 5th Wheels, Skoolies, Overlands, Class As, Airstreams, Dome, Tunnel, Pyramid, and Bivvy Sac Tents, Rooftop Bronco Tents, Hammocks, Sprinters, and, of course, Vans.
Specifically, Burgundy 2001 Chevy Express 3500’s.
There is a mutual respect, knowing that many around you put an abnormal amount of time, energy, and money into finding their unique comforts on the road.
They each have experienced their tolls, their unexpected months-long builds or fixes, and their obsessive & perfectionist elements. My most recent 6-month final “boss” for our trip was figuring out how to charge my batteries through the van’s alternator while driving, and it certainly felt like one step forward, two steps back every time. I’m proud to say I finally finished that mission this week in the valley, and man was the victory sweet.
Each setup is sacred to them, and ours is certainly sacred to us—Carmine is my biggest labor of love I’ve ever done, an effort that has made me feel a little maniacal.
Good thing we all have a little crazy in us.
What We’re Enjoying:
Jiffy Pop & Marshmallow girl dinners
Bear Cubs stealing our tortillas right in front of us
Hazy IPAs
Zach Top (supposedly Alan Jackson’s son?)
60º rivers & lakes (Merced River & Lake Tahoe)
The immeasurable peace that comes with moving down the beach on July 4th after suffering through 2 hours of over 500 high schoolers slowly encroaching upon your small awning at Lake Tahoe
Little Tips?
The best travel razor - $18 (another one my Dad got me on)
Bohnanza - the best 4-person bean trading card game
GasBuddy (gas has ranged from $3.80-$6.90 within a 3-hour drive out here)
Walmarts (with strict lists made beforehand)
Actually put all of your food away before the sun goes down in bear country
Actually bring 4L of water per person for Half Dome
What to expect Next Week: San Francisco & US Highway 1 (California Coast), ending in Glacier National Park (through Oregon & Washington)
https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/features/monitoring-giants