This story brings us to the high-elevation country of California’s Yosemite National Park.  I had just wrapped up a seasonal position in Yellowstone National Park, working at the historical Roosevelt Lodge.  I soon found myself on an adventure I had been thinking about all summer.  I had just purchased a new car, a little Kia hatchback.  After loading all my gear inside of it I headed to Yosemite National Park’s Crane Flat Campground.  This would be my home for a short time.  I turned on a solar radio and listened to the weather forecast out of Sparks, Nevada.  The weather seemed good and it was time to get into the granite.  I went for a hike to the summit of Mount Hoffman and then walked back to my car.  Soon I went to sleep… The next morning, I made my way to Lee Vinning and the Mobile Gas Station, where many Yosemite employees during the summer months enjoy live music and hot food.  From Lee Vinning, I drove the remaining distance to Mammoth Lakes and then to my next Basecamp, McGee Creek Campground.  A little high desert oasis sitting at the entryway of Inyo National Forest and Ansel Adams Wilderness.  I spent most of the day veering because I was waiting for my friend Evan and his family to arrive.  They would be sharing a campsite with me for the week.  During that time, Evan and I planned to hike Mount Dana in Yosemite National Park!

Close to sunset Evan and his family arrived, soon we had the camp set up and a fire going in the fire ring.  We spent some time relaxing, strolling through Devil’s Postpile National Monument, and even playing with some slack lines at camp and in Yosemite National Park.  Before we knew it, Evan and I found ourselves at the Trailhead for Mount Dana.  Sitting across Tioga Pass Road from the seasonal Entrance Station is a subtle Trailhead in front of country Yosemite standard.  Evan and I walked for the rest of the day until nightfall was around around the corner.  Before we passed Mount Dana’s Boulder Field, a group of hikers greatest us, warning of the winds above… Knowing we were prepared for high winds and cold temperatures we kept on hiking.  After walking around and over many boulders we were on the summit.  The view was captivating, to say the least.  Mono Lake and Lee Vinning below us seemed so small, and the farther reaches of Yosemite’s high country called out with inspiring poise.  After sunset and photographing our experience, the two of us hiked back down.  Seeing a Lone Coyote on the high alpine plane… Leading to a conversation about why he would be above Tree Line, a shortage of food maybe?   We pondered this as step after step carried into darkness.  Headlamps bright and adventurous spirits full we finally found ourselves back at the Trailhead.  Although not before seeing the eyes of wildlife reflecting from our lights as we walked back toward civilization.  We threw our backpacks in the car and, on our way back, grabbed Carl’s Jr for Dinner in Mammoth Lakes.  The pair of us then pushed onto our campsite.  By the time we arrived, the winds were rushing through the canyon our campsite was in at around forty miles an hour.  It was not a night for campfires.  However, before bed, we noticed our neighbor Caper had gone to bed and had not put out his or her fire properly.  The high winds acted as a constant igniter to the flames.  Evan and I jumped to work and turned the pit into a good-sized puddle before going to bed.

-Sky