Yosemite Backpack Days 3 & 4

Our second night in the backcountry was the coldest. We found a great site tucked within a boulder field and out of the wind.


We were able to have a fire here, so we took full advantage. We warmed our core before hopping into tent.


Here was our view each night before turning off our headlamps. Dry socks each morning was an important thing. Especially when they are the only ones you have.


We awoke the next morning to frosty gear and frozen water bottles. We never thought about putting our water filter into the tent with us so it wouldn't freeze. We hung around camp 'til it thawed and we could fill up our nalgenes from the stream.


Fresh and ready to hit the trail.


Yosemite's backcountry is absolutely stunning.
We made sure to take it all in.


Day three we hiked to the top of Clouds Rest at 9930 ft. It had incredible views looking down through the valley. From the top we had a killer view of Half Dome and could see El Cap peeking through.


The backcountry had been fairly quiet through most of our trip. Today we ran into the 6th and 7th people we had seen so far. They took our picture before heading on their way.


A US Geological survey marker was found at the top of Clouds Rest.


Heading back down the spine of Clouds Rest.


Leaning tree framing Half Dome.


We hiked down to near the junction leading to the trail toward Half Dome. We grabbed a campsite with a beautiful view of this monstrous slab of granite.


We awoke with a clear view of our morning's activity. Half Dome.

Half Dome sits at 8836 ft. Not the highest in the park, but is known for its popular shape (an inspiration for The North Face logo.) It is a climbing haven for many. But more people chose to day hike the granite peak.


We read the stories of the hike up to Half Dome, but had no idea of the amount of granite stairs that were involved. Can you imagine crafting this trail?

Then we hit the bottom of the cables....
We had seen this photo before. Everyone takes it with the hopes to try and show their friends and family at home of what they accomplished. It didn't look very steep to us. So it was quite the surprise to see it in real life at a much sharper angle than the one we imagined! Nevertheless...we made it this far...we will continue to the top.

We grabbed some gloves left at the bottom and shimmied our way up the cables. It wasn't as rough as we thought...it was actually fun! Just don't look down.


Cairns greeted us at the top.


We made it!
Standing on the diving board with El Cap in the back.


Andrea, peering over the ledge.


We were glad to ascend the cables earlier in the morning with only a few people. Our descent was a little more crowded, but was filled with encouraging words to help get us down safely.


Back down at sub dome, we celebrated! That was awesome!

Now, back down to our campsite to grab lunch and pack out. We still had 7 miles ahead of us back to Little Yosemite Valley. We were glad that it was almost all downhill, but had no idea of the slabs of granite our poor feet would slam down onto.


Nevada Falls. Running low, but at least it's turned on this late in the season, thanks to the bit of snow earlier this week.


and Vernal Falls. One of the last main attractions before we made it back into civilization.

We enjoyed time out in the woods. to be quiet. to converse and dream together. to release control in this wild environment. to take in views and admire its Creator.