WildLink Expedition IV Explores a Snowy Winter Wonderland

Much like the trusty postal service, not even winter conditions can inhibit a WildLink group from going on an expedition! This February, ten young men from East, Pinedale, and Zimmerman branches of the Fresno Boys and Girls Club came to Yosemite to get their first experience winter camping.

Our first snowy day was spent in Yosemite Valley, getting to know one another and preparing ourselves with all the necessary clothing and equipment for the expedition. We were joined that morning by Park Ranger Sam Vasquez, who hails originally from Fresno himself. He spoke with us about his own path into the park service, from his childhood in Fresno, to an internship in Glacier National Park in Montana, and ultimately to his current career with the Public Involvement and Outreach program in Yosemite. Thanks, Sam, for taking some time to share your story with us.

The next day we loaded ourselves and our equipment onto a bus that took us up to the Badger Pass Ski Resort, the oldest in California. From there we strapped on our backpacks, our snowshoes, and, pulling three sleds of gear, began our snowshoe expedition along the winter cross-country trail of the Glacier Point Road. The fir trees that lined our path were beautiful, heavy with fresh snow from the storm that had dumped all the previous day and night. We hiked about a mile before stopping for lunch—and nearly froze our fingers within the short time we were sitting to eat! We then headed off trail into the fresh snow (really difficult hiking!) and continued for about another mile, ending up in a spectacular open meadow that would be our camp for the next two nights.
We quickly set up a kitchen and learned to put up our tents before the sun set and the real cold began. To keep warm, our six shovels were quickly put to good use--building a snow shelter and impressive forts in anticipation of a first-class snowball fight.

That night was really cold (the snow even squeaked when you walked), and the next morning we had a lazy morning warming our feet in the sunshine. After breakfast we prepared small daypacks with warm layers and water, learned about topographical map reading, and then put on our snowshoes once again for a two-mile day hike. With blue skies overhead, we followed the orange and yellow trailmarkings in the trees along the cross-country path to Dewey Point. From this spectacular view point on the southern rim of Yosemite Valley we could see down into the Valley, across at El Capitan, into the Sierra foothills to the west, and to the east we were even able to see the snow-covered peaks of Yosemite’s high country. Just as the clouds rolled in to obscure our views, we grabbed our things and headed back for camp at record speed. We enjoyed hot chocolate and make-your-own-burritos that night before heading to our tents just before the snow started falling again.

Sunday morning we awoke to more than eight inches of fresh snow, and still falling! We packed up camp quickly, ate a quick breakfast, and began the difficult hike back to the trailhead. Hiking through so much fresh snow is really challenging and takes an enormous amount of strength and endurance, both physical and mental. Great job, everyone, and an especially big thank you to everyone who pitched in to help the group succeed in such challenging conditions!

Click here to view photos from the expedition.

WildLink Podcast Now Available Online!

WildLink now has a podcast program posted on Steve Sergeant's weekly Wildebeat program. It features interviews with two of our WildLink alumni, Jonathan and Lawrence, as well as members of Lawrence's family at the WildLink Family Weekend.

The WildeBeat is an audio journal — like a
radio news magazine — presenting news
and features to help listeners explore the
Earth's remaining wild places. Each week,
they publish a 10 minute documentary piece
catered to the needs of people who enjoy
wilderness recreation. Steve chose to
devote this show to the WildLink program.

These stories are often picked up by other
podcast compilation sites and radio shows
and can be heard in many different places at
different times. Steve did a wonderful job of
capturing the essence of the WildLink program, and we're very excited to have you hear the voices of our WildLink students and their families through this cutting edge media format.

Click here to hear the interview.

WildLink Welcomes Melanie Madeiros, Our New Community Coordinator

Hi, my name is Melanie Medeiros and I am very excited to be joining the WildLink team as your Community Coordinator. New to WildLink and California, I look forward to learning more about you, your schools and your beautiful state. As the Community Coordinator I have the great job of working with teachers and students to extend the WildLink experience beyond the awesome expeditions and into the Wilderness Ambassador Program.
It’s a very windy road that brought me here to Fresno, where my office is based. I’d say that my story begins when my parents immigrated to the United States from the Azores (Portuguese Islands in the middle of the Atlantic). The first person in my family born in the United States, I was very lucky to be given many opportunities and felt a strong responsibility to give back to the global community.
I went to college in Washington D.C. for International Relations and after graduation moved to Senegal, West Africa with the Peace Corps. I was a rural health educator in a remote village of 100 people for 3.5 years and had a profound and enriching experience. To build upon farming skills I learned in Senegal, when I returned to the U.S. in May 2005, I worked and lived on an organic farm for 8 months.
When winter hit, the travel bug called to me once again and I headed off to Brazil to work in the Chapada Diamantina National Park (Brazil’s Yosemite) as an eco-tourism consultant and guide. I returned to the U.S this summer for the incredible opportunity to guide a group of California middle school students on an international exchange trip to Senegal.
Let’s just say that after that trip I learned that students in California are amazing and I began seeking opportunities to work with Californian students once again. Lucky for me, WildLink was hiring for a position that would allow me to work with students and teachers in California and continue my life goal of “giving back” and experiencing, sharing and protecting the wilderness.
When I’m not working a job that I love, I enjoy hiking, biking, dancing, watching a good movie, learning languages and of course traveling! Once again I look forward to meeting you all, learning about your interests and continuing to explore the wilderness together.