California 192

I hit the road yesterday around 9am and with just a few stops I found myself in Groveland at 3pm, Groveland is a small town about 40 minutes from the entrance of Yosemite National Park. I didnt have a reservation to enter so I drove close to the entrance found the closest pull out and waited. Once it hit 4pm I drove straight into the valley with not much planned though I did want to jump in the river and cool myself off. Luckily I had met some older dude named Jack on facebook market place on a group called Yosemite Climbers and I shot him a text when I got into the valley and little did I know he was ready to climb. We drove over to the Church bowl crag area and got our gear ready. Its my first time climbing in Yosemite so getting used to the rock and style of climbing will take some getting used to. We hopped on a 5.8 trad route called Bishops Terrace and it was the most engaging and enjoyable climbing ive ever done. I am in terrible shape I realized because at about 120 feet i was huffing and puffing with arms like jello. It was a humbling experience but yet gave me a new level of confidence in myself. After that we had a proper winding down with some fruit and honey and watched a helicopter fly into the valley to perform a rescue (hope they are okay). Food wasnt the best being that im low on supplies and wasnt feeling so up to cook luckily Jack took me to the employee kitchen and there were microwaves and ovens it was such a relief. I microwaved some rice and cooked some turkey bacon, simple but yet an effective dinner. Jack took me to this spot called “the couch” and its one of the best hidden view spots in the valley, I laid flat on the rock and looked at the stars it was one of the most beautiful night skies ive seen in a long time.

Ill be in Yosemite for the next 2 weeks doing some climbing and some writing. If youre reading this remember the number one priority especially in the outdoors is being safe and understanding risk something ive had to learn the hard way.