Hello Fellow Yosemite Nuts!
I have been bringing my kids to Yosemite at least once a year since they were in strollers or riding on my back. As they have grown up each of them has identified goals within the park that they want to accomplish. A few years back, when my daughter was only 6 years old, we were hiking around Olmstead Pt. when she looked up at Clouds Rest and said "I want to go there Daddy!" It was all I could do to contain my excitement.
So here we are...the trip is booked and planned. We are going the weekend of July 28th. We are going to break it up and do a two night trip so we can take the time to enjoy the scenery (and each others company). We'll leave from Tioga Pass Road on Saturday and hike up to one of the Sunrise Lakes and set up camp. I have reserved "Meals Only" at the Sunrise HSC for that night and the next morning. Then we pack up and head for the summit. My goal is to camp as close to the summit as possible so we can maximize our time and watch the sunset from the summit. Then it's all the way down to the car on the last day.
I have been backpacking my entire adult life and have never found it to be more rewarding than the last few years when I have brought my kids along. I have backed off on the real strenuous, high mileage, or places with big exposure and it has been a blessing. I have found more time to enjoy myself on these trips as a result and the kids don't get too burned out. I'm smiling ear to ear as I write this...(I'm picturing my 10 year old as a grown woman wearing a Park Ranger uniform!!!)
I hope that the memories I create for them will live forever, and that they grow up to have a real connection to our natural world.
I would appreciate any feedback from those who have hiked this trail. I've reviewed most of the forums for campsite and water locations, etc. Anything else I should know?
Thanks to everyone on this forum...you are an inspiration!
"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams