Hiking Yosemite

My son and I spent a week hiking around Yosemite National Park with my Scouts in California. It was a great trip and I highly recommend visiting our country's national parks when you have the chance. While my son has been to Yellowstone, Zions, and the Grand Canyon, he had not been to Yosemite.

My Scout Troop in California managed to get 3 campsites at the Hodgdon Meadows camp site where we set up a base camp. Two of the sites were adjacent to each other while the third was a short distance away. It actually worked out very well. We then had a number of hikes planned with one for each day we were there.

I relied on some of the other adults to know the trails and how to get to them. That was a mistake. We spent one day hiking all over Tuolumne Meadows looking for the trail head to Elizabeth Lake. I got home from the trip and did a quick Internet search only to get turn-by-turn directions on where to go. Had I done this same search before getting to Yosemite, my feet would have thanked me for saving them from a couple of extra miles I put on them that day.

My advice to everyone now is to do a quick Internet search before heading to any new place. Don't wait until you get there, do it before you leave. After all, we didn't have any phone service except in Yosemite Valley and so trying to use my iPhone's browser while I was there wouldn't have worked for this hike.