Natalie portrait
  • Expedition: Oct 13-18, 2003
  • Natalie
  • Kingsburg, Turlock, Jill Kinmont Booth High Schools
  • Yosemite National Park. Tenaya Lake to Yosemite Valley

Hopes: I really hope to just get along with everyone and have fun. I want to leave with more friends than I came with. It's beautiful here. I definitely want to come back. So far everything's been cool. I hope that doesn't change.

Fears: I'm nervous about going boom-boom outdoors. All I've done is pee and it's not bad, but totally different going #2! Funny how something so natural can feel so unnatural. That just goes to show how going out of my physical, psychological and social "comfort zone" can be pushed to extremes.

Wilderness is: This trip was supposed to be an escape, adventure and relief. In some ways it was, others not. That was somewhat disappointing. Everything that makes me sad or mad has its effects regardless of my location. I am satisfied, if not pleased, with this expedition. I feel good about what I've accomplished; staying out here requires massive desire and effort. I love it out here. I'd like to do it all again, only without the time barrier. I sort of felt rushed at times, like I didn't really get to soak it all in. I'd want to just leisurely pass through. I LOOOVE the outdoors. It reminds me of past generations and gives me hope in those to come. The sad part is going home, where I feel so out of place, bored, frustrated and often lonely. It seems almost impossible to be alone here, other than our group. Despite my personal fears and stuff, we had a blast. The best part for me has been the night sky. It's super emotional for me. Its intense beauty and distance greets with bittersweet nostalgia and just curiosity and desire. I've never wanted more than I did looking up that night. I'm excited and nervous. This air's awesome. I like feeling a little bit cold. It's nice to have something to worry about.

Nat on Cloud's Rest sketch: conifer
WildLink is a proud partner of the National Park Service, National Forest Service, and Nature Bridge.