Backpacking Trip in Yosemite

All the Naturalists!
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We worked a 5-day Backpacking Course in Yosemite National Park in Central California.  It was a fantastic opportunity because, although we've been to Yosemite before, we had never done any back-country exploration.  This week, we had a group of 8th graders from San Francisco, and wouldn't you know it, there was a girl from Camp Thunderbird, where we work in the summer, in Chris' & my group!  Small world!

We backpacked in the northern part of the park, entering at Mary Lake, and doing a short loop over the next few days and coming out at Tenaya Lake.  It was awesome being in the backcountry.  So many people filter through the park each year, but they just drive through the valley, look up at the granite walls that are thousands of feet high, watch the climbers on El Capitan for a while, and then drive away.  But that's fine with us, it keeps the backcountry nice and quiet.  We stopped at beautiful glacial-fed lakes, and bushwacked (went off-trail) the 2nd & 3rd days.  We got perspective of the mountain tops, and we hiked in the dry creekbeds.

Chris in front of Half Dome
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We also took them to see a grove of Sequoia trees, which are so beautiful & fascinating, and spent a morning in Yosemite Valley, dodging tourists, checking out the museums, & navigating through what are called the Spider Caves, dun dun duuuunnnnn!

Did you know that Yosemite Falls is the 5th tallest waterfall in the world!  Unfortuantely, it has barely a trickle this time of year, but in the spring, it blows people away!

We had a great week, and saw so much growth, emotionally & physically, in our students, it was very rewarding.  If only we could keep them for a month!