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Our third
expedition of the year brought students from Los Angeles and
as far away as New York to Yosemite’s springtime wonderland.
Students from Crenshaw High School and Southeast Los Angeles
High School joined four students from New York on a beautiful
trip along a section of the South fork of the Merced River known
as Hite Cove. Despite being from geographically different areas
and having a wide range of backpacking experience, this group
developed into an excellent team, built friendships, overcame
some challenging hiking conditions, and became backcountry leaders.
The challenges first arrived with the bus arriving slightly
after our scheduled departure time. Soon enough, the group was
taking off layers and tightening their backpack straps as they
prepared for the expedition to begin. Each member of the group
assumed a different role of leadership. Damel and Jack Jack
were our leaders of the day. At the trailhead, the group learned
the basics of putting on and adjusting their packs. At 11:30am
we began hiking. The flora during the start of the expedition
was beautiful beyond description. California poppies carpeted
the slopes dropping into the South Fork. We also examined Popcorn
flowers, Blue dicks, Shooting stars, Baby blue eyes, Fiddlenecks
and many others. A couple members of the group exhibited considerable
uncertainty as parts of the trail offered nothing more than
the trail itself to walk on as we passed over steep cliffs.
Jack Jack showed his considerations for the group, stopping
frequently to check on everyone. After a late lunch, Damel took
the lead. We continued up the trail, stopping frequently to
check on the maps and to investigate the industrial refuse of
Hite’s mining operation. With much relief we arrived at
our camp spot for the night around 4pm. We set up camp and then
Sarah led a discussion on challenge and comfort zones while
dinner was being prepared. We all had plenty to eat and went
to sleep after Sarah led a brief astronomy walk.
Our team became unified and strong on our second day at Hite
Cove! It was a wild day in more than just one way. We saw no
other human beings that day, which made for a peaceful and solitary
day in the wilderness. We also got off of a maintained trail
and into a jungle of brush, so the afternoon became unexpectedly
wild. At camp we had breakfast, exchanged leadership roles (Gilbert
and Evelyn took over as leaders of the day), and conducted a
stretching circle. The first mile and a half was very difficult
for some because several of us had never hiked uphill before.
We stopped to explore an abandoned mine shaft which seemed to
go on forever, but many of us got excited just to be inside.
We made it to the top of the ridge before noon, and the view
was spectacular. We could look down to the Merced River to our
north and down to the south fork of the Merced River to the
south. Besides being able to see all the tall peaks of the Yosemite
foothills, we could also see the Devil’s Dance Floor and
Reeds Pinnacle in Yosemite Valley. It was then that the real
fun began! We decided to see how much farther we could go before
2:30, but at top of the ridge the trail became completely unmaintained.
Our hiking quickly turned to bushwacking, crawling, and scrambling
as we experienced a full-on wilderness adventure. Our team thrived
under that challenge! Several additional leaders stepped up
to help everyone through the difficult sections and despite
hundreds of scratches from the brush on everyone’s arms
and legs, we had a ton of fun! We also got great views as we
continued up and back down Pinoche Ridge, including being able
to see our tents almost 2,000 feet below us.
The walk back down from the saddle felt so easy since we had
chosen to challenge ourselves so much on the way up! After we
made it back to camp, several students got into the river to
cool off and wash their scratches. Dinner that night was much-deserved
and very rewarding. After dinner, Graham led a discussion and
journal reflections, we exchanged leadership roles and relaxed
until bed.
Our last day in the backcountry the students were totally in
charge-Graham and Sarah took a far back seat and the students
thrived. Everyone was out of bed before 7am and packed up before
breakfast. Shaqeal and Marquisha were great leaders, motivating
the team to be ready and LNT. Damel found a California newt
(salamander), which was very cold and stiff from the cold morning.
The group was ready to go with their packs on by 8:45am, an
impressive departure time considering that camp had to be completely
packed up and it was the students’ first day leading on
their own initiative. Graham then left slightly earlier than
the rest of us to prepare the trail with inspirational quotes
for the “Walk with Solitude”. With the first rays
of sunshine entering the canyon along with our students, it
was a glorious time to be hiking. The solitude walk concluded
with journaling and a snack on top of twisted and marbled metamorphic
rock. The last two miles felt easy after the challenges of the
past two days, and we made it to the trailhead by lunchtime.
The greatest accomplishment of this group was that we became
one unified and strong team—we all set aside and even
embraced our differences and we developed strong friendships.
We were pushed outside of our comfort zones and experienced
some tough surprises, but we stuck together and created new
friendships in the process.
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