May 21-25, 2008
Kibbie Lake
It was hard to know what to expect as I left a 5 hour meeting with 20 strangers. The people I just meet were going to be my new companions on a 5 day hiking trip in Yosemite. Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT) was something I had never heard of prior to being hired on to work at Camp Tawonga. Because I haven’t gone backpacking in the backcountry in the past two years, it was recommended that I take this course.
It is hard to sum up the experience of hiking in the backcountry. We started at the trail head almost complete strangers, and came back to the trailhead as if we all were extended family members, traveling as a small community. All we had was the land and each other to depend on.
In the history of BAWT, no other group has encountered the weather conditions that we encountered. Past trips have encountered sunshine, a cool breeze and possible a little rain and cooler temperatures. If that happened to us, the trip would have been heaven.
The first day was bit like the latter; the sun rolling in and out of the clouds with a strong cool breeze. As the days went on, more clouds rolled in and precipitation started to form. But not in the form of rain, oh no, sleet was the first sign of things to come.
As the wintery mix came down, we were at the tail end of lunch on the 3rd day. The time to switch leaders had arrived, and I along with a fabulous girl named Marisa was chosen. Our instructors pulled us aside and warned us that the trail ahead was not easy to follow and sometimes even hard to find. As the temperature continued to drop, the time to study the map lasted about 7 minutes.
Marisa took the map to the front of the group and I was in sweep position. Keeping the group moving was very important. After an hour or so the terrain turned into open spaces of granite with very little trail evidence. Marisa did her best but after a while we both knew that we were lost. A fine line had to be maneuvered. Do you tell the group that you are lost or do you just keep going like you know what you are doing?
We decided to stop and take a pack-off break so that Marisa and I could powwow. What I had suspected was true, we were indeed lost, but fortunately we were not far off the trail. The assignment was given for the group to pair up and write a short poem about the beautiful view that we were beholding.
I could tell that Marisa was a bit stressed by our current state, but I truly was at a loss of what to do for her. So I made it my job to make sure that everything was going well with the group so that she could put all her attention on the trail. She left to scout as the group was let to work on their poems
Originally the plan was to save the poems for camp, but with the current delay, I decided to have the group recite their masterpieces while the rest of us looked at the view that was their inspiration.
I love to walk where I feel at home
Among the rock where the boulders roam
The ridge grows strep and the walls grow tall
I watch my feet and the stones look small
When I look up I see the scene
That shows how far my feet have been
-Joshua and Kai
The snow continued to fall and the group began to get tired.
Not long after the last poem, I spotted Marisa off in the distance. All I could think about was running to her and giving her the biggest hug because I knew she had found the trail. We only had to backtrack about 5 minutes before we found the trail once more and soon after set up camp.
The next morning, we were greeted with snow-covered tents and a light snow fall. New leaders were appointed and we were off to hit the trail once again. The cold weather was a major factor on everyone’s minds because we new that today we had to cross two more rivers. Or previous encounters with river crossings were on the first day with all the sunshine.
The idea of having to strip down to shorts and put on water shoes was not a welcoming thought but was something that we all had to mentally prepare for. The time arrived and the leaders did a fine job of finding the best place for a group of 12 to cross. With all of the snow it was tough to know how deep things were going to get.
Waiting for my group’s turn to cross was more torturous than walking though the water. The water temperature seemed warmer than the air outside. Don’t get me wrong; it was still plenty cold. The new challenge after crossing was figuring out the quickest way to dry off. Fortunately the water level didn’t go any higher than my knees.
The transition back into my warm cloths went well for me but others were struggling. For some people, this was their third or fourth time experiencing snow where as I have grown up with these conditions all of my life. Water was boiled to help people warm up internally, but during the wait the signs of external coldness where beginning to show in the form of hands and feet turning white.
Movement was the best solution, so even though we technically had another night to camp; we decided that the best thing for the group would be to hike all the way to the trail head. I could not have asked for better motivation.
The hike ended with many of us soaked to the bone and ready for a warm fire and a chance to dry out back at the Cherry Lake camp grounds.
The next day all of the vans were loaded and we hit the road back to San Francisco. We stopped in a little town called Groveland to sort gear, dry out tents, and have lunch. We were lead to believe that our lunch was to consist of any food that was left over from the trip. Instead lunch turned out to be a fabulous BarBQ with tons of fruit and other delicious things that you are usually denied on the trail. Following lunch was the BAWT graduation. Diplomas were handed out along with a commemorative BAWT t-shirt.
I had seen many of the staff wearing the light blue t-shirt with the hiking boot print logo so I knew what to expect. The surprise came when they pulled out the girls shirts that were not light blue. Oh no. Instead they were California Blue. A color that I thought I left in Arkansas. The color of all the uniform shirts that I have had working at the IWU and JBU ropes courses was now following me as a soft reminder not to forget where I came from.
At 11pm this small band of 8 started out to climb Half Dome. Shabbat ShaDome is what we decided to call ourselves. After all it was a Friday night. We had our Shabbat Dinner prior to the 2 hour drive to the trailhead in 
many. Eye lids became heavy. For me, sleep was not an option. I knew that sleep at this point would be more harmful than good. There was too much to behold as the sun finally revealed itself and
exposed all that the darkness was hiding. 
way than anticipated. Very few times on the hike up did we encounter people coming down. This was not the case on the way down. The same cables had to be used in both directions; waiting became the new, frequent challenge. 
and 
The valley was crawling with people and at points I felt like I had somehow taken a wrong turn and landed in an amusement park. The peacefulness of the night hike had been transformed with the daylight. 
We did however pull ourselves away when dusk arrived. We headed up to Myrtle Beach to catch the Cirque show which was fabulous! The strength, flexibility, and control of the human body are truly amazing.
