Two Guys on a Journey: Part Two

Recently I wrote an article titled “Two Guys on a Journey” detailing the adventure of ascending Half Dome with my friend Noah.  Despite feeling like we were facing a real chance of dying that day, our adventure didn’t stop there.  In fact, the hike to Half Dome was only a fraction of what we hoped to be able to accomplish in Yosemite.

After a day of rest we headed to Hetch Hetchy Valley where we were to hike 7 miles to Rancheria Falls.  This area has a reputation for seclusion and tranquility, exactly what each of us were looking for.  We filled our hydration packs, brought along extra Gatorade (a lesson from our experiences at Half Dome), packed more food than we needed & hit the trail.

We hadn’t even left the parking lot before we ran into a bear and her cub no more than 30 feet away.  Taken a bit off guard, we weren’t sure what to do.  Should we keep walking?  Try to take a picture?  By the time we had a chance to react, the bears were gone.  Wow!  It was such an amazing experience to be so close to the wildlife but now I was contemplating the safety of sleeping on the ground in the middle of nowhere with no tent.  The signs at the trailhead reaffirmed our concern about bears and also brought to our attention that this was rattlesnake and cougar territory.  Lucky us!

It didn’t take long for the sun to warm the valley and soon we were feeling the effects of the heat.  Seven miles sounded like nothing after hiking 17 miles a couple of days before but after a few miles we were getting worn down.  We took a much needed break along a tributary to the reservoir where we took off our boots and relaxed at the side of a pool.  We watched the fish as they swam around in the water.  I laid back across a boulder, closed my eyes and breathed deep.  The only sounds were those created by nature; the running water, the wind gently flowing through the trees.  I was so at peace that I fell asleep on that rock, only for a few minutes but those few minutes were the most refreshing and fulfilling moments of the entire trip.

We put our boots back on, strapped on our backpacks and set out for the last couple of miles of our hike to Rancheria Falls.  We were closer than we had expected and within an hour we had reached our backcountry campsite.  We dropped our packs and headed out to find the river.  When we reached the water, excitement coursed through our bodies.  It was so hot and we were so tired, a dip in the cold river was just the thing we needed to rejuvenate our body and soul.  We swam, relaxed on the rocks and lived exclusively in that moment.

Eventually we decided to explore upriver to check out the lay of the land, to see what else we could find.  What we found was beyond either of our expectations.  As we came around the last bend in the river I heard Noah squeal with delight.  I laughed, not knowing what he was seeing but when I finally caught a glimpse of what he was looking at I couldn’t believe it.  We had just found the perfect waterfall for Noah to accomplish his goal of bathing under a waterfall.  We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, standing under the crushing force of the waterfall and relaxing at the water’s edge.  This was paradise.

We returned to camp just before the sun went down and built a fire to cook some food.  We sat around the fire eating ramen noodles and talking about nothing.  We boiled water so we had drinking water for the next day and eventually called it a night.  As I crawled into my sleeping bag, I looked up at the stars burning brilliantly in the night sky.  I really expected it to be much darker in the middle of nowhere.  I closed my eyes, satisfied with what I had accomplished that day & with knowing that I was knocking off my goal of sleeping under the stars.

Two Guys on a Journey

Last Saturday marked the beginning of yet another journey, this time to Yosemite National Park.  The main purpose of the trip would be for my friend Noah to accomplish his goal of summiting Half Dome, a granite monolith and the heart of the Yosemite landscape.

After two days of driving, which included being chased down the interstate by a couple of angry hillbillies (which ultimately resulted in having to call 911 for help), we finally reached our destination late in the evening.  With all of the campgrounds full we decided to search outside of the park for accommodations.  We stopped by a hotel which was bustling with life & were surprised that they were asking $250 a night for a room.  We only needed a place to sleep for a few hours as it was late and our journey to Half Dome would start early.

We drove down the road for a few more miles but didn’t find any campgrounds or other lodging options so we settled on parking on the side of the road for the night.  After half an hour we knew that sleep would not be coming soon parked on the side of the road.  The traffic, even in the middle of the night, was frequent and loud.  We looked at the map and found a campsite where we hoped we would find an open site.  When we arrived we were fortunate to find an open space where we pitched our tent and were able to get a few hours of sleep.

When we woke up it was still dark.  We tore down camp and prepared ourselves for the trip to the top of Half Dome.  When we arrived the sun was just beginning to lighten the sky.  We filled our hydration packs and hit the trail.  The trail to the top is about 8.5 miles with a vertical gain of nearly a mile.  After climbing Mount Saint Helens I didn’t expect this hike to be much more of a challenge.  I was sorely mistaken.

By the time we reached the first waterfall my knee was already beginning to hurt.  A few miles later I found myself practically dragging my left leg instead of using it to walk.  Once we reached the base of Half Dome I had as much pain as I could handle but the summit was so close I couldn’t give up.  After a quick break we began our final ascent to the top.  Once we reached the top our real problems began.

As I looked at the vast expanse of landscape before me I took  a long drink of water and began sucking air.  I was out of water.  I would have to hike 8.5 more miles on a bad knee with no water.  Things weren’t looking good.  We spent some time taking photos and enjoying our victory of reaching the top.  Once we began our descent we realized that we were going to have a rough trip back to the valley.

After a few miles we were so thirsty that we asked a couple of hikers for some spare water.  Thankfully they had some extra which didn’t last long and we were soon thirsty again.  We remembered passing a river on the way to the top which we would soon be near and could satiate our thirst.  Of course this meant taking the risk of getting sick from parasites & bacteria as we didn’t bring anything to filter our water.  It was a risk I was willing to take.  I filled an empty water bottle and drank the cool river water which tasted slightly similar to afish tank.

We continued on our way to the valley and about 2.5 miles from the bottom I puked from exhaustion.  All the water I had just drank to save my life was now running through the cracks in the granite.  Discouraged and concerned I pushed on, I had no option.  I needed to get to water.  Slowly I made my way down to the bottom where I reached a safe source of water and I drank as much as I could as fast as I could.  I rested on a rock for about 15 minutes before trying to finish the last mile of the trip.

A hundred yards later I was puking out all of the water I had just drank.  My body wasn’t accepting the water and I was really starting to worry.  My feet were sore and blistered.  I was exhausted.  I was dehydrated.  I had to get to the valley soon before things got worse.  I hobbled down to the bottom and once we reached the car I drank a Gatorade in hopes of rehydrating myself and replenishing my lost electrolytes.

I began to feel better and we were both hungry so we decided to get pizza in the village.  We ordered a large, but could only eat a couple of peices each.  We had accomplished a goal, but nearly at the expense of our well-being.  We learned a huge lesson in the process, bring plenty of water & food.

Our journey allowed us plenty of opportunity to accomplish numerous goals which I will be discussing in the next few days.  This trip has been unlike any other I’ve been on.  It has been a great experience and made me realize how vulnerable we are in the natural environment.  As strong as we think we are, we are at the mercy of nature.  That is a powerful lesson to learn the hard way.