#radicalsabbatical: Yosemite & The Mighty Merced

Springtime in CA means a few great things activity-wise. With warmer temps, snow in the high elevations starts to melt and descend from the mountains to our low lakes. During that journey, free flowing rivers swell and rush, and whitewater boating season is at it’s peak; in addition, the numerous waterfalls in Yosemite just gush into the valley.

With some begging and pleading, I managed to get a friend and her dad (Nina & Rob – who are very accomplished and big boaters), to join me on a trip to the Class IV section of the Merced River, just a few miles out of Yosemite National Park. We attempted the float last May, but missed the water by just a few days. This go around, we hit it just right. Flow was about 2,800 when we put on at Redbud for some exhilarating whitewater action.

After a day of rafting, I parted ways with the Dreyer’s & their friends and headed into Yosemite to spend a few days tromping around the park. I believe I’ve only been to Yosemite once in my life, and that was during an end-of-year 8^th grade class trip. I, along with a few of my fellow classmates, biked from SF to the park. I think that the bike trip overshadowed the actual visit to Yosemite because this go around everything felt 100% new to me. I don’t know if saying I was blown away is enough to communicate just how unbelievable I thought it was. Yosemite isn’t just a treasure of the state or country, but it’s an absolute treasure of the universe.

With some great reco’s from my buddy Ari, I managed to see a ton of the valley by foot & bike, and also stayed at the amazing Camp 4, which is a no reservation camp on the valley floor mostly frequented by climbers, hippies and dirtbags. It was one of the best ‘car camping’ experiences I’ve ever had – very sociable and cool people everywhere.

While it wasn’t a huge winter, it has been a warm early spring and though waterfalls weren’t at their maximum, they certainly were impressive every way you looked. In my few days there, I hike to Yosemite Falls, biked the valley floor and checked out Mirror Lake & Half Dome, and hiked Vernal & Nevada Falls as well. My feet were sore but the few days in Yosemite will certainly be remembered. It’s amazing that with all the travel this year, one of the absolute highlights is found right in my backyard.

After Yosemite, I popped back to SF to catch up with Brian to return again to the mighty Merced, this time without the help and careful watch of zen master Rob & Nina. For one of the days on the river I was joined by a Camp 4 friend/traveler, Rich. Over the weekend, Brian and I managed to navigate the Class IV water safely, which is a big step up, and accomplishment in our boating careers. Flow was a bit lower than earlier in the week, but still big and fun. Looks like water will probably continue to taper, and I imagine it will be over up there within a week. We hit it just right.