Climbing for WildLink:
Thank You, Dan!

Bay area local Dan Herz had a very exciting autumn. The rock climber contacted WildLink with an offer to raise money on our behalf, with his September one-day ascent of world famous Yosemite climb, The Nose of El Capitan.

With the successfully completed climb, Dan fulfilled a personal dream, and also raised over $2600 for the WildLink scholarship fund. Read on for his story of what happened that day, in his own words!

After 2 and a half years of training, 16 hours of fear, excitement and hard climbing, I topped out on the summit of Yosemite's El Capitan at 10:20 pm on Monday evening.  It was, without question, the most difficult, most fulfilling thing I have ever done.  It was as hard mentally and emotionally as it was physically. 

The day went as follows:
4:30 am wakeup
5:30 am hike to base of El Cap
6:20 am begin climbing

For the first several hours I felt terrible...weak, shaky, and mentally dull. As I climbed higher, the sun began to shed light on the enormous wall I was hanging from.  The thousands of feet of imposing, overhanging rock looming above me made my stomach turn and I could not ignore the voice inside me telling me that I did not have the strength to make it today.  I knew that I had to eat to revitalize myself, but I was having a very hard time getting food in me. 

Each pitch of climbing became excruciating; I was winded and my legs and arms were shaking with fatigue. Then I began making mistakes with my safety systems. It was at this point that I first voiced out loud what I had been thinking for hours.  I told my partners, Hans and Rich, that I was feeling very weak and might not have the "mojo" to make it today.  We decided to climb on and see if my strength would return after eating and drinking a bit. 

After 2 more pitches of climbing, I looked up at the 1500 feet to go and made the decision...It would not be safe to continue.  I felt that I would be putting both myself and my partners at risk by continuing.  I told Hans and Rich and we made plans to rappel back down the 14 pitches and 1500 feet we had climbed.  Hans tried to keep things positive, telling me that I had made my high point on El Cap, and we got in 14 pitches of some of the best climbing in the world; but the disappointment for me and Rich was intense.

We decided to climb up 2 more pitches. Hans, our leader, told me that he would lead the pitch, Rich would follow up next and I would come up third. This would give me a long rest and a chance to get some food and water in me before we headed back down. During this time, I forced as much food and water in me as I could.

Once Rich took off, I was alone to ponder my situation. This is when I began talking to myself out loud. I think it must have been a combination of the food, water and the talking to I gave myself, but something changed drastically in those moments. There I was, hanging 1500 feet on a wall I had been thinking about for over 2 years...about to go down. Slowly, but surely, I began to feel the strength returning to my body. As I started to climb up the rope, I felt a big smile appear on my face...my "mojo" was back. I let out a huge yell and began ascending the rope with speed and strength. As I neared the top of the pitch, I yelled up to my partners that I had gotten my second wind. I finished the pitch, clipped into the bolts and explained to Hans and Rich that I had good news and bad news. The bad news was that I had finished almost all of my water. The good news was that I felt great and wanted to continue. A big smile formed on Rich's face. The expression on Han's face did not change. "We'll see how we're doing as we go", he said. He knew then what Rich and I did not. Anticipating rappelling back down, Hans had drunk all of his water. We now had only 1 and half liters of water between the 3 of us to last us nearly 1500 feet and 8 hours of climbing. The temperature at this time was about 80. Simply put, we did not have nearly enough water.
I think Hans saw in our eyes how badly Rich and I wanted to continue up...so we did.

Strange thing on El Cap; people stash food and water on ledges throughout the climb. They do this to unload unnecessary weight, to have supplies for a future climb, or to help dehydrated strangers suffering up the wall. We pushed on, hoping to find water along the way. We climbed another couple of pitches and passed some well known climbers who told us that they thought there might be water about 4 pitches up. We decided to go for it. I told Hans that I was already beginning to feel dehydrated and he told me simply, "We are going to suffer no matter if we go up or down, so we may as well go up. It'll be a lot more rewarding".

At this point real fear began to creep into my head for the first time since my strength had returned hours before. I was getting dehydrated, my arms had begun to cramp from climbing for so many hours and we still had a lot of climbing left. But the decision had been made, and there was no turning back. We were committed to topping out tonight.

We pressed on. I struggled up the rope, and struggled to hold my head together, trying to manage the feelings of fear and desire that were battling it out in my mind. A couple of pitches up, Hans found a jug of water on a small ledge. Unfortunately it was filled with algae. We strained out the algae using a shirt. We decided to not drink it, but would bring it with us in case things got dire. For now, we did not want to risk getting sick up there on the wall.

Hoping we would find some good water above, we continued up. At this point the sun was beginning to go down and so was the temperature. It was a welcome relief to be in the shade and out of the heat. In the waning hours of daylight, Hans climbed to the top of pitch number 20, called camp 6. He yelled down to us that he had found a half gallon jug of clean water! Rich and I set out from our belay with a new energy.We joined Hans and began trading gulps of the heavenly water, which also contained some sort of sweet, electrolyte replacement mix. We slammed down the entire half gallon in a couple of minutes and instantly felt re-hydrated and re energized. Nothing was going to stop us now.

The final 6 pitches were fun and mostly uneventful. We were tired, but filled with excitement. Rich led the final pitch and then it was my turn to follow. With a full moon lighting Yosemite Valley below me, I attached my climbing gear to the rope and was lowered out with another rope to climb up the final pitch. And this last pitch is no ordinary bit of climbing. I was hanging 40 feet out from the wall with 3000 feet straight below me on this one little, skinny rope. Although the sun was long gone, the moon shed enough light for me to see where I was and what was below me. A combination of unbridled excitement and sheer terror gripped me. I slowly inched my way up until I reached the lip of the wall. I pushed up and over and there was Rich...both of us giddy with excitement. I climbed up, high-fived and gave him a big hug and waited for Hans to join us.

From there, we scampered our way up the 50 feet to the top and reveled in our accomplishment. We spent 45 minutes up top eating, drinking water that was stashed up there, sorting gear, taking photos and drinking it all in. Then we hoisted our packs and ropes and started down.
The hike down was a brutal 3 hour adventure in itself. It was long, steep and made my legs burn with every step. But I did not care; my head was still up on the wall and at this point, I could endure anything.
We got back to the car at about 2:00 am, and drove the 25 minutes back to Han's house and finally hit the beds about 3:00 am. What a day.

My El Cap Climb by the Numbers:
Climbing Time: 16 Hours and 2 minutes
Car to Car time: 20.5 hours
Bed to bed time: 22 hours
Weight lost during the day: 5 lbs
Number of people who have climbed "The Nose" route of El Cap in one day: approximately 300

WildLink would like to send out a giant Thank You to Dan for making us a part of his incredible adventure. His generosity and courage add him to the list of the many who contribute to the wild spirit that keeps WildLink thriving and growing. Climb on, Dan.

If you would like to contribute to Dan's WildLink scholarship fund, contact Mandy Vance, WildLink Program Director.

Annual WildLink Family Weekend 2005

On November 4, 2005, 35 people came together for our free annual WildLink Family Weekend. The group consisted of WildLink alumni from the 2004-2005 school year and their families. We spent the weekend hiking, eating, laughing, learning, and sharing our stories.

Click here to hear about the families' experiences in their own words, and to see some of the images from our favorite WildLink event of the year.

The attendees also shared some of their favorite family recipes, which you can view by clicking here on our WildLink Family Cookbook.

WildLink Teachers Unite in Yosemite for Annual Development Weekend

20 teachers came from all over California to join together the first weekend in October for the fifth annual WildLink Teacher Development Weekend, held at Yosemite Institute's Crane Flat campus in Yosemite National Park. Some joined us from as far away as the Bay area and Los Angeles so that we could get together to generate ideas, passion and energy toward improving the WildLink program.

Saturday the teachers headed to the High Sierra of Tuolumne Meadows, where they took one of two hiking adventures, one to the top of Lembert Dome, the other a challenging and very windy trip to the Dana Plateau. During the hike, the teachers experienced some of the same things that their students do on WildLink expeditions: orienteering; solo time and journaling; and overcoming fears (for example, heights!). A good time was had by all, and after a pizza picnic on a picturesque Tuolumne dome, we finished the day with a campfire complete with good company and the acoustic renderings of local singer-songwriter Adam Burns.

Sunday we were led by Adopt-A-Watershed's Dan Leroy, who facilitated a hands-on exploration of place-based learning for the teachers. He helped us understand how to look at our home communities' needs, and create an informed and effective plan for leading students, their schools, and communities in a stewardship plan to help improve the lives of everyone involved.

A big thank you to all of the teachers who made time in their busy schedules to be a part of this very special weekend. I was once again reminded of how very amazing these people are, and that the WildLink program could do nothing without their hard work. Cheers, WildLink teachers!

Here are some glimpses at the writing that was inspired by this time we had together.

These mountains do not hold special meaning for me. They are another example of beautiful unspoiled mountains which are found all over the world. Man has something within which drives us upward. We want to be higher than we are. The mountains can give us this feeling. They can inspire us to dare new things. The mountains also remind us of our smallness which keeps our lofty feeling about ourselves in balance with the reality of our finiteness. Mountains give us hope because they refresh us and remind that we can try again, that there is higher ground and we can go there. I believe a student coming here would be awed by all that he or she sees. I think we would get a fresh wholesome look at the physical world we all live in. I think a student would be proud to be able to come here, to be on a mountain, to look on the valleys below. I think a student might feel “hey, my life can be different; I can get to the mountaintop. I can do things in many places. This is what I am meant to do, to move onto higher ground."

-Anonymous

What is the significance of these mountains for my students? What mountains have they climbed? None. This will have a huge significance in their lives because it will push them where they have never gone before. They will be able to look back on this experience and remember the sense of accomplishment they felt the day they arrived at their destination. What seemed out of their reach will now be in the palm of their hands.

-Christina, Franklin High School

My Mountain

On my mountain I can see with clarity.
On my mountain I can feel the wind.
On my mountain I can hear myself.
On my mountain I can taste the purity of what it is to be alive.
On my mountain I feel the cold granite on my back;
On my mountain Trees sway with the wind
On my mountain I can fall asleep.
On my mountain I can eat.
On my mountain I can taste the complexity of what it is to be alive
On my mountain I can forget my worries
On my mountain I can think of my worries.
On my mountain I can smile, laugh, and scream with excitement.
On my mountain I can cry.
On my mountain I can be sane.
On my mountain I can be Insane.
On my mountain can be me.
I am my mountain.

-Rudy, Reseda High School

Yosemite is my mountain. It is sacred to me because it provides us with water. Water is life itself. Even though the water has to travel a great distance the water finds me and my family. This mountain is sacred because it has to be climbed. A pilgrimage must be made to appreciate this vast sacred place. It is a place that we have a need to share with someone. I believe in God. Places like this cause me to have greater faith in God and everything he does. I am grateful that he allows me to be a part of all this. The wonder of it all. To be a part of it is the greatest wonder of all.

My wish is to provide this experience for my grandchildren and their children. That they too will appreciate the sacred mountain, maybe even more than I. Yosemite is in our backyard, but we spend very little time appreciating what we have. WildLink takes us to the mountain for a spiritual encounter. If we are touched we will protect it. If we are touched we will share it.

-Anthony, Turlock High School

Click here to read some of the teachers' thoughts while in the wilderness, and view more images from the weekend.