Yosemite (Half 2):  Clouds Relaxation – A lesson in concern and preparation

It’s about 3:30 AM, and I’m two and a half miles right into a nighttime hike to the summit of Clouds Relaxation – one of many highest accessible mountain climbing locations in Yosemite – when my iPhone display utterly froze.  And I’m on their own.  My iPhone was my map for this hike at nighttime.  It stored me on the trail.  Already, I had deviated from it briefly, solely to see on the AllTrails app that I wanted to stroll again 30 paces to get on the right track.  The app received me again to the appropriate path – when it was working.  On this second, I paused and cracked a smile.  This wasn’t the primary time this occurred to my cellphone – though it not often does.  The final time was about six months in the past, and as I had all the time executed, I googled the right way to drive restart an iPhone.  It’s onerous to recollect – shortly press the quantity up, then the quantity down, after which a protracted press of the aspect button.  However as I ready for my Yosemite journey and the prospect of mountain climbing alone by means of the night time in darkness, I knew I wanted to memorize the drive restart – simply in case it occurred in the course of the journey when there was no cell reception or web.  And now it did!  I solely barely cracked a smile as a result of I not solely wanted my cellphone to restart, however I wanted AllTrails to start out again up and resume monitoring my hike.  If it didn’t, I’d need to abandon the hike.  Not solely would I actually miss my aim of reaching the summit for dawn, however I couldn’t safely navigate the remainder of the path.  However after the restart, all the things labored!  The app was again up and operating, and I used to be on observe for the summit at dawn.

Let’s return to the start.  As my readers know, I lately returned from my journey to Yosemite which was largely centered on my aim of sometime climbing to the summit of El Capitan.  However my first journey to the valley needed to be about greater than climbing.  It was about studying Yosemite – its land, wildlife, and tradition.  For the previous yr, my dream of massive wall climbing has had me centered on Yosemite.  Movies reminiscent of Free Solo, The Daybreak Wall, and particularly Valley Rebellion have enlightened me as to what a particular place that is.  They encourage me to be part of it.  Since I wasn’t climbing to the highest of El Cap on this journey, I wished to expertise Yosemite.

One of many particular instances within the park is the golden hour – both simply after dawn or earlier than sundown, when the sunshine is a special shade and the solar’s rays simply peek onto the rocks. It’s the topic of many Instagram reels that feed my algorithm, so naturally, I needed to search it on my journey.  Initially, I had two choices for a summit view at dawn.  Both Half Dome – if I might get a allow – or Clouds Relaxation, which at over 9,000 ft is considered one of Yosemite’s most spectacular viewpoints.  As soon as I didn’t get chosen within the lottery for Half Dome, the selection was made for me.

To achieve the summit of Clouds Relaxation for dawn, the most suitable choice was to start out on the Dawn Lake Path, which is a couple of 7-mile hike to the highest.  It was additionally a 90-minute drive from the place I used to be staying.  Realistically, I’d have to start out mountain climbing no later than 2:30 AM to make sure I’d get there on time.  However the timing was not my concern.  I’m an early riser, usually waking up earlier than 4 AM on the East Coast, so if I put this early sufficient in my journey, I certainly might handle rising at midnight PT.  What actually scared me was . . . all the things else.

I had by no means used a headlamp earlier than.  By no means hiked at night time.  By no means hiked alone.  By no means executed a 14-mile hike – or something near it.  I doubt I’ve ever hiked a lot round bears, and if I had, I didn’t comprehend it.  I needed to learn to put together for all of it.

Embracing the outside as I’ve over the previous few years has given me sources for this and relationships to make the most of.  In fact, I might begin with ChatGPT, however I wanted to confirm any plan I got here up with – each by means of dependable sources and from specialists.  I consulted with mates who’ve backgrounds in mountaineering, together with Patty, my climbing information.  I shared my plan, and it developed with their suggestions.  Over the 2 months that I deliberate the hike, it went from one thing I used to be afraid of to one thing I used to be excited for.  In reality, because the day approached, it was the sleep that was all I had left to be involved about.  I wasn’t going to get rather a lot, however I simply wanted sufficient to deal with the drive, the 9-hour hike, and the drive again.

The hike was not on my first day in Yosemite. That was a climbing day, and ambitiously, the hike was adopted by one other climbing day. In all, this was to be probably the most grueling stretch of my week in Yosemite, with some relaxation inbuilt between the massive days that adopted.  Getting sufficient sleep to do all of it meant cooking dinner for 2 or three nights at a time; getting ready the subsequent day’s meals and hydration the night earlier than; packing my gear forward of time for the next day; and foregoing the temptation to test a day’s price of emails if it meant sacrificing sleep as a result of it was the one time that I had entry to Wi-Fi.  That’s how I’d get simply sufficient relaxation.  I additionally was certain to get as a lot sleep as attainable earlier than the journey.  I knew I’d be depleting my reserves all through the week, so I not less than wished to start out with a full tank.

To pack for the hike, past the meals, electrolytes, and water, I introduced a headlamp, flashlight, whistle, Bluetooth speaker, first-aid equipment, water filter, and satellite tv for pc communication machine.  I arrange monitoring on the sat comm so {that a} pal again residence might observe my hike on-line.  I additionally introduced hand heaters, gloves, and layers as a result of after I posted my thought on a Yosemite Fb group earlier than I left for the journey, I met one one that had executed it earlier than and talked about that it might get very chilly.  She additionally very a lot inspired the journey – as had everybody else I consulted.

And, as I discussed above, the day earlier than I left for Yosemite, I googled the right way to drive restart my iPhone and memorized it . . . simply in case.  After which it occurred!

Through the temporary time it takes for the iPhone to restart, I had sufficient time to consider what I’d do if it didn’t work, or if the AllTrails app didn’t reconnect, or if I hadn’t thought to memorize the drive restart earlier than the journey.  I spotted throughout that second, that I used to be nonetheless ready.  Despite the fact that I’d not have the ability to discover my strategy to the highest, I felt assured that I might make it again to the trailhead – particularly since I had my current path tracked on the sat comm.  I had about an hour and a half till the primary gentle of the day and will take it very slowly till then.  And, within the occasion of any type of emergency, my sat comm additionally had an SOS button that will ship a rescue communication.  And I had my whistle – although I doubt anybody was close by at that hour.  Nonetheless, I used to be calm because the cellphone booted again up and the app reconnected.

I used to be calm as a result of for 2 months, I realized what to do.  Recognizing that I could not have the ability to put together for all the things, I used to be nonetheless assured that I ready for all the things that I might.  On my strategy to Yosemite, I wrote Half 1 of this collection about my hopes and goals for the journey.  Anticipating this hike, I mentioned, “I hope I’m as prepared as I consider I’m.”  I used to be, and after all the things was up and operating once more, I used to be hopeful I’d make it to the summit for the 5:52 AM dawn.  It could be shut, however I used to be on observe to get there for the golden hour.  As soon as the primary gentle appeared simply after 5 AM, I picked up the tempo, as I might higher see the terrain forward.

In the long run, I received to the ultimate method at 5:52 AM and reached the summit about 10 minutes later whereas taking within the dawn as I walked the ultimate ridge to the height.  As I stumbled on the ridge, I used to be stunned to see two folks forward of me, having fun with the dawn from the highest.  Did they begin the hike earlier than 2:22 AM after I did?  I actually by no means noticed anybody go me and felt alone on the market all through the night time.  

It turned out, I used to be alone.  This couple camped in a single day close to the summit, and nobody else made it as much as be a part of us there for the golden hour.  In reality, it was hours later, on my method again, that I first noticed different hikers ascending the route.  Clearly, they began after daybreak.  

So, on Monday, July 20, I used to be the one one in Yosemite Nationwide Park who hiked to the summit of Clouds Relaxation for dawn.

Then there was the best way again.  What was pitch black on the best way up was stuffed with scenic views overlooking cliffs in daylight.  At night time, I not often even knew after I was close to the sting of a cliff.  I merely centered on the trail earlier than me, one step at a time.  It was a lot the identical area as what my thoughts enters whereas climbing.

In the long run, the almost 14-mile hike took me eight hours and 40 minutes to finish, and it ended proper by Tenaya Lake, the place I completed the day with a pleasant relaxation and funky swim earlier than heading again to organize to climb the subsequent day.  Yet one more massive day to go earlier than a relaxation day.  Or so I believed.  

It seems that after I arrived in Tuolumne Meadows to climb the next day, I realized that I had no sign when my information texted me within the morning that climbing was cancelled because of looming thunderstorms.  That meant a welcome relaxation day sooner or later early.   And it meant I might do one thing massive the next day as a substitute.  So, it was a very good factor I additionally got here ready to hike Half Dome . . . simply in case!  

(To be continued . . .)

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Aaron