It started with a tiny idea, that my friend at UCLA med school would have two days off after an exam, so we’d take the opportunity to utilize my mobility and drive someplace fun. When we decided on Yosemite, we invited our friends at Stanford and the Silicon Valley, and all of a sudden our group more than quintupled to 11 and it turned into a huge expedition. Woot!

First order of business: get to Yosemite. Originally we planned to swing  by Sequoia National Park, but upon realizing that it was snowed in and that a freak spring snowstorm was due the day of our drive, we opted to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway instead. This added four stops and about 100 extra miles, so of course it was totally logical…

First up was Hearst Castle, which I found very impressive. The dude seemed pretty cultured, both by the history lessons given by our encyclopedic tour guide and from his extensive classical art collection. And seriously, who builds a house this extravagant in their right mind?! Next up was Big Sur. The rain plagued not only my pictures, but it also made the driving up the already windy Highway 1 somewhat more challenging.

On our way inland, we were greeted by a very vivid full double rainbow; it was especially vivid because the backdrop was some of the darkest clouds I’ve ever seen. So that was the storm that we were trying to avoid. Uh oh.

We had many weird delays, like traffic at Monterey, a random Amtrak blocking a road, my GPS unit leading us astray onto back country roads, more road closures, and that ridiculous 15-minute wait to pass the temporary one-lane bridge near the park. We were relieved that we got their alive and relatively sane. heh. And yay, our friends all got there safely too!

We set out into the park early in the morning. It’s been years since my last visit, and I had forgotten how the park opens: the massive granite face of El Capitan, towering above, all up in yo face to greet you.

We did a quick hike together, 0.4 miles up up to Bridaveil Falls, then we begun the main expedition: Glacier Point. 3200 feet ascension in 5 miles of trail. Halfway up the snowdrifts got pretty serious, and near the top we were wading through some 20 inches of fresh snow. We probably weren’t supposed to ascend to the top because of rockslide warnings, but #yolo. No wait, #yolosemite. The journey down was tough too. The warm spring day had melted much of the snow, and all the way down we were slippin’ and slidin’ in some pretty nasty slush.

But boy, was it worth it. All the way up, we had magnificent views of snow-capped trees and granite above, lush green valleys below, gigantic waterfalls in the distance, and dynamic clouds in a bright blue sky.

The most entertaining aspect of the trip was that it was totally a social experiment. We’re the generation that grew up one of the best-timed tech progressions: rudimentary computers and Game Boys in middle school, internet research and interaction for high school, and smart phones and powerful personal devices for college. Not only that, as mostly CS and physics majors, we’re techy people in the extreme. Thus, the lack of cell reception and internet plunged us back into the Stone Age!  Our logistics were a mess, and we kept on missing people and having to wait around while others figured it out and then miss more people and then wait more and then… sigh. but that’s okay! We got our food, we reconvened to play some mafia, and I think the lack of virtual connection brought us closer in real life.

Nonetheless, for our second day of hiking, we were determined to coordinate our logistics well. “Cars at Four”! That was our saying for the day, to get back in time so that everyone could return home safely in the evening (especially me, as I had twice as much driving as everyone else…). The hike up Mist Trail, which is steep and passes by Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls, made us acutely aware of how tired we were and how much our fitness differed. We all made it halfway up, to the top of Vernal Falls, where we took a lunch break and played some mafia.

The last leg was brutal. Four of us were determined to make it all the way to the top of Nevada Falls in our strict time limit, so we practically raced up the last 1000 feet climb in 40 minutes. #yolo!!! But man, it felt good to get all the way up there. Mission freaking accomplished.

Yosemite was an awesome trip. I got to catch up with friends I haven’t seen in two years, and I made a few more friends too. Hiking was a blast and I’m thrilled that I hauled in so many spectacular shots. I tested my physical limit, and in return learned that I’m fitter and more energetic ever before. More importantly, it was an abrupt reminder that this stuff — climbing mountains, braving storms, chasing sunsets — is the sort of adventures that I can and should pursue now.

#yolosemite sparked the wanderlust in me, and now I’m planning some more ambitious trips with friends for this summer. It’s starting, and I’m excited.