- Expedition: Oct 28 - Nov 2, 2001
- Trey
- Kingsburg, Reseda, and Turlock High Schools
- Yosemite National Park
Excitement and Expectation
I want to start off saying that this place is so beautiful. Everything is different colors: orange, green, brown, yellow, and red. All the colors seem to blend together. They all have their own place. People are very unfortunate because they don't get to see all the beautiful things here living and not. The whole park is the most beautiful thing in the world. I can't describe the beauty to you. It's all around. I am still sucking it up. With no big machines it would be total silence. If no airplanes [were] flying over there would be the most beautiful sky.
The scenery is like something out of a movie. The clouds were covering the mountains, [like] something out of 'Congo'. It is so beautiful I don't know how to put it into words.
I had my dates mixed up. The day we hiked up I really didn't get to enjoy the beauty. I was worried about getting to camp. The whole hike was full of living things, from California newts to the birds in the sky. All I saw was wildlife and wilderness. The newts there were so amazing. I have never seen a newt in real life, let alone the wilderness. Thinking that the hike was so bad the whole time I didn't get to enjoy the beauty in itself. I wish we would have left sooner so we could have watched nature itself for longer.
New Experiences and a Changed Perspective
One new thing I have learned was when people have somewhere to go they have have the strength to do something. My friend Puneet was the leader on the way to [O'Shaughnessy] Dam [and] we did one mile in 20 minutes. If Lena didn't stop us every 5 minutes we would have been there in 2.5 hours. This has changed my perspective by making me want to help people get in better shape. Another thing I learned was [to] keep youself dry. If you don't, you will be miserable. Last night we hiked back from Rancheria [Falls]. It was good coming back to a bathroom. We had a solo hike; it touched my mind and my heart. Some of the words got to me, like it made me want to hike this [trail] in no time at all. Pain is a virtue. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
We went to the waterfall and it made me want to start crying, I don't know why. This was at night but I saw the whole thing because it was a full moon. Too bad my camera doesn't come out. Today we left camp for good. I am sitting on a VIA bus on my way to Curry Village. I want to come back to this trip and I haven't even left yet. Like Shelton said, it's a virus: when you come too much you have to come back. I have the music he was talking about when the water falls off the rocks and when it trickles down the boulders. I will miss being here in Yosemite and being at Rancheria [Falls]. The beauty here makes my stomach hurt. I hope I can come back again. Next time I hope I can stay longer--but not forever.