Natalie portrait
  • Expedition: Jun 5-10, 2005
  • Natalie
  • Harbor City Boys and Girls Club
  • Yosemite National Park: Glacier Point to Half Dome to Yosemite Valley

What makes the Wilderness sacred to you?

The second day in Yosemite was hard. We hiked up a lot of hills. I thought I wasn't gonna make it but I didn't give up because I know my uncle was watching me from the clouds. People might think I wasn't gonna make it but I did. It feels so good. I'm really glad that I got something done without giving up. I'm sore but it's a good sore. We hiked up a mountain called the Half Dome. It was really hard and tiring. We came up a lot of steep hills. My butt cheeks, thighs, calves, were hurting. But I got through it and now I'm at the mountain writing in my journal. This whole trip has been a wonderful experience and I wouldn't change anything about it. No wait, the part when I was trying go to go pee and hikers were coming down from the mountain and almost saw me. Well that's story I can tell my family and friends they'll laugh. This was something new. I‘ve never been in snow. I would love to come back home to Yosemite. I didn't think I would make it, but I did and it feels like I'm on top of the world.

natalie packing group on trail natalie with little trees
WildLink is a proud partner of the National Park Service, National Forest Service, and Nature Bridge.