Expedition Members

jose
kevin
alejandro
gabriela
neng
taher

Instructors

cynthia
deeps

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WildLink would like to thank the Richard Iglehart Wilderness Foundation for their generous support for making this expedition possible. It is the second of four Richard Iglehart memorial expeditions slated for this year.

The Richard Iglehart Memorial Expedition began with hot weather, which rapidly melted Yosemite’s snow into spectacular waterfalls. Six students from Merced High School joined us for WildLink Expedition VII. On our very first day in Yosemite we got to know one another among the Giant Sequoia trees of the Tuolumne Grove and even got dirty early by crawling our way through a fallen giant. Throughout the whole day, even as we spent long hours preparing our equipment, clothing, and food, our group maintained a contagious level of excitement for the adventure that was ahead.

With loaded backpacks, glowing smiles, and North Dome calling down to us, we started our expedition hiking out of Curry Village along the Valley floor. Many friendly day- hikers wished us well as we passed Mirror Lake and stopped for lunch before our first challenge: the snow creek switchbacks. This series of zigzags rise 2,700 feet up from the Valley floor to the rim of the canyon and were all that stood between us and our camp for the night. That afternoon we learned the valuable lesson that “the juice is worth the squeeze.” We squeezed and squeezed our way up the cliff wall, encouraging one another through the challenge. Our sweat and determination was rewarded all along the way as the huge and spectacular face of Half Dome looked over us, luring us further and further. We reached the rim in record time, 3 hours! The celebration was complete as we arrived at our breathtaking campsite on the canyon rim, changed our shoes, and spent some time taking in the view before setting up our tents. We even had a surprise visit from local Yosemite friends on a hike, who helped us to celebrate by joining us for a sunset dance party! Truly, the juice was worth the squeeze. Those words of wisdom from Deeps, one of our Instructors, would become our mantra for the rest of the week.

Our next day we awoke to blue skies and warm sunshine, enjoyed our first backcountry oatmeal breakfast, packed up camp efficiently and were soon back on the trail. We had many goals for this day: travel through snow, discover the natural granite arch, and achieve the summit of North Dome, all before our next camp. With the fantastic leadership and comraderie among us, as well as Mr. T’s catchy “Your Mama” song (treat her right!), we were unstoppable and did it all! We even got to watch two black bears grubbing for insects in rotting logs! For the sweet finishing touch to such a sweet day, we had s’mores over the campfire that night.

For our final full day in the wilderness we got to enjoy the rewards of working so hard the previous days. We started the day with an insightful lesson on leadership styles, then hit the trail with some quiet reflective time on a spirit walk. The rest of the hiking went fast and easy, helped by low mileage, no significant elevation gains, and the added advantage of lighter packs and stronger legs. We relaxed on the ridge above Yosemite Point, basking in the sun and the wind, taking time to be present with the place and ourselves. We learned about wilderness protection and designation, journaled, and ate lunch as a peregrine falcon soared above us. We peered over the lip of Yosemite Falls, the longest waterfall in North America, and headed home to our last wilderness campspot on a small ridge above Yosemite creek. Dinner felt especially elegant that night as we dined on a granite slab overlooking the creek, watching the sun go down for the day and the full moon rise above the tree tops, glowing yellow gold, before hiding into the clouds. There were a lot of coyotes out that night, some even slept out under the stars.
Our final morning we made our way down the steep and windy Yosemite Falls trail, enjoying the views, the bird songs, and one another for a few final hours before officially exiting the wilderness. Words really can’t express what a fun, hilarious, inspiring week we had on Expedition VII. Thank you to every member of our team, “the cross cultural community”, for a wilderness experience that will never be forgotten.

To learn more about Richard Iglehart, click here.

To learn more about the Richard Iglehart Wilderness Foundation, click here.