The Sierras Adventure Begins: Traveling to CA and Acclimation Days in Yosemite

Part 1 | Twenty days solo hiking in the Sierras on the John Muir Trail

The surreality of this whole trip is finally giving way to the very real, exciting, and still somewhat unbelievable idea that I’m going to go hike in the Sierras for 2+  weeks. Yesterday my stomach was doing little happy, nervous, and excited flop flops once as  I finished the many lingering tasks before a trip of this length. Now I just hope I didn’t forget anything mission critical for gear or work. I’m sure I missed something small with how many moving pieces there were with the resupplies and logistics.

But, here I finally am, in California! It is hot in Fresno where I’ll spend the first night, and the evening air smells of oak leaves, dry grass, and dirt. And the flight down here was already a highlight- the views! We flew right by Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, and over the Sierra mountains. I could see half dome below and entertained myself trying to match landscape I saw below with my map as we flew along. Desolation wilderness, lakes gently sparkling below, Hetch Hetchy valley… the mountains just went on forever, and I had the biggest smile seeing that range and knowing I’d be tracing a long line through it by foot very soon.

 It was also an interesting full-circle moment to look at both volcanoes and remember climbing them, and reflect on how my life is still – and to an even greater extent – oriented around connecting people with place and getting outside. It also helped me see how much I’ve grown in my skills and confidence as an outdoors woman- I didn’t have the confidence in myself twelve years ago to go on a trip like this.

The next day I drove to Yosemite with my Aunt who will hopefully be my companion for a good part of the trip. My initial plan and permit slate an entry at Tuolumne Meadows, and an exit many miles south at Cottonwood Lakes. While I expect I will go all the way, I am trying to remind myself to keep a flexible and open perspective. Anything can happen, from fires to smoke to injury etc, and I figure I will keep hiking so long as it is fun, safe, and enjoyable to do so. I’ve never been a hiker driven by a specific number of miles or needing to “complete” something, so while I have a plan in place and the resupplies to make it happen, my heart and mind are open to changes as needed.

Driving to Yosemite from Fresno was fascinating. From the barren khaki colored  lowland landscape to the foothills and forests, through burn zones and around miles of twisty road.  A tunnel and the iconic view from the side of the highway, half dome and the valley framed by trees and the vanilla scent of pine trees strong and nostalgic when I popped out of the car, camera in hand.

Since we had all day to get to our reserved campsite at Tuolumne, we did a driving tour of the valley and craned our necks looking up at the granite monoliths above. Yosemite Valley was a bit too crowded for both our tastes, and as someone who admires climbers for their dedication but has no desire to scale big walls, the valley felt closed in. Someday I’ll have to do some hikes that go from the valley floor up to the granite above, but coming from sea level today I was happy to chill in the car with minimal effort. Having seen the sights it was time to move on to higher elevations that would help me acclimate for the hike ahead.

I’m amazed at how big the park is. It takes another couple hours to get closer to Tuolumne, which is also more familiar terrain. My Dad and I drove through here in 2014 while on a month-long road trip, and I remember some of the viewpoints. The landscape up higher is also more like the Yosemite I had in my memory- bedrock granite with white boulders and fascinatingly-shaped trees, dry grasses nestled between rocks and more open vistas with rocky peaks in the distance.

Rocks dominate this landscape- everywhere rock – in domes shaped by glaciers and boulders as tall as me and bedrock smoothed to reflective glass by passing ice. And the flowers! I was not expecting so many, from wee little grey plants nearly the same shade as the rock to the familiar forms of red paintbrush and lupine nestled in the spectacularly different landscape from home.

This land of rock and trees is much more exciting to me than the valley, and it was an exciting moment to look into the distance from above Olmstead point and see the even larger distant peaks. “That’s where we’re headed!” – an irrepressible grin knowing ghat in a few short days we’ll be headed into that world of rocky spires.

The car campground at Tuolumne is nothing special, but it served its purpose- a place to crash at night, a table to relax at, and the higher elevation requirement we wanted at 8,500 feet. Coming from sea level a couple nights at this elevation will help a lot before I bounce higher over the first big pass, Donohue, in a few days.  

After setting up camp I drove back to Olmstead point to create the first painting of the trip! Many years ago my family and I stopped by this same viewpoint when my sister and I were kids, and wandered up a dome nearby. Today I hiked up the same one, feeling a similar sense of wonder and joy at rambling around on rock and looking out at Yosemite. Half dome and the valley in one direction, Tenaya lake and larger peaks in the other, all of it swathed in cloud and layers of rain encroaching in the distance. Watching that rain I knew I had limited  time to paint, so I hurriedly sketched the scene, and of course, just as I added the pigments to the painting’s sky, the actual sky opened in rain and I skedaddled back to the car to finish.

The resulting raindrops in the watercolor illustrate one of my favorite things about this medium – the way it interacts with, responds to, and captures the environment around me. Finishing the painting in the car with the heavy rain and thunder grumbling in the distance is a favorite early trip memory.

And the rain just didn’t let up! I got back, hid in the car and then my tent, and cooked my dinner under spindly pine trees. Consistent rain like this for hours is somewhat unusual for the Sierras, but felt like home for me coming from western Washington.

The next day was spent wandering around Tuolomne meadows and going on a short acclimation hike along the Lyell River. While my aunt shuttled her car to her expected end point, I had the opportunity to paint the flowers, trees, and water of the river valley. With many big days ahead I had to keep my overly excited self from hiking too far, as the goal for the day was rest, acclimation, and a shorter wander.

The Lyell River is absolutely gorgeous. In some areas it gently burbles along in a wide channel rimed in lupine and pine trees and a cobbled stone bed. Five minutes later it rushes over exposed bedrock with small waterfalls and pools and a bundle of noise. Spending a day exploring even a small section was so lovely.

In the afternoon the rain arrived even earlier, around 3pm, and it varied from incredibly hard rain to light rain, drizzle, mist, and thunder in the distance, with more hard rain and a little hail mixed in for good measure. I was very grateful to be in the car campground and not on the trail trying to find a place to camp in that downpour.

And tomorrow the backpacking begins! I can't wait.