Yo Yo Yo!

The freeways for commuting look identical to those for escaping. My first fifteen miles to work are the same as the first fifteen to Yosemite. The paths diverge at a major highway interchange. Most weekdays, I take the northbound ramp, but Friday found us taking the southbound ramp through places like Oakdale, Groveland and Chinese Camp instead of downtown San Jose. Oakdale, the last "big" town before the valley, is good for two reasons: coffee and gas. They have a convenient Starbucks at the corner of Yosemite Ave and F Street and gas stations offering unleaded for $1.95 a gallon.

We reached Curry Village around one o'clock. Some of our group had already arrived and they started hiking while we dropped our bags off at the tent cabin. We were soon heading to the Four-Mile Trail, which leads up to popular Glacier Point. Along the way, we came upon Yosemite Chapel standing across the meadow. Beyond its spire, the mountain ridge rose heavenwards. According to my Lonely Planet guidebook, it was built in 1879 and moved to its current spot in 1901. On a side note, Lonely Planet contributing writer is now one of my top 5 dream jobs.

The ascent to Glacier Point wasn’t an easy one and we trudged up only a mile or two before encountering part of our party coming down. Considering the hour, we turned around and walked back with them. Every now and then, we would catch glimpses of Half Dome through the trees. The sky was so clear and blue. The day's highs had been in the upper seventies, but the temperature would rapidly drop over the weekend.

We returned to the village, grabbed some pizza, showered and retired early to our cabin, which was across from the bathrooms. The location was a mixed blessing: less distance, but more noise. Our cabin was also on unsteady footing. Whenever somebody rolled over in his or her cot, the entire structure shook. A midnight trip to the bathroom would register a 3.2 on the Richter scale. Despite the noise and tremors, we still managed to get some sleep. We needed it if we hoped to reach the top of El Capitan the next day.