Snow has always fascinated me. I grew up in Delhi, the capital of India, where the temperature never goes below the freezing point. The first time I experienced snowfall was at the age of 23 at Grand Canyon National Park. It was truly amazing. Over there, I and a bunch of friends hiked in 4 inch deep snow, and I simply loved the experience.
Hence, when Jennifer asked me if I was interested in a snowshoeing trip at Yosemite National Park, I was thrilled at the idea. She roped in her friends Aaron, and Melissa. Since none of us had any past experience with snowshoeing, we decide to book a group trip via Outdoor Adventures (OA), the student managed organization at our university at Davis. The trip was planned for the 26th-27th of February, with overnight snow camping at Yosemite.
Planning for such a trip is always very exciting. At a pre-meeting for the trip at OA, we discussed various details, and decided on the food we had to pool in for cooking for dinner. I was to contribute cut vegtables: broccolli and cauliflower. Besides we required zero-degree sleeping bags and sleeping pads, food and water for the rest of the trip, layers of woolen clothing, plastic bags for garbage, to name a few. OA would arrange for the common supply equipment which included tents, shovels, stoves, propane gas cylinders, and of course the snowshoes.
There were 17 of us for the group trip, and we were split into two groups. There were two guides for each group, ours were Een (apologies if I mis-spelled her name), and Katie. The trail we decided on was the Dewey Point Trail at Yosemite. This trail was 3.7 miles long, one way. We were make our own transportation arrangements to the trail head. The four of us therefore decided to rent a car for the trip.
On the 26th, we met at 6 in the morning at the OA office. We started off at about 6:30 with Aaron at the driver's seat. Our hroup was four cars/SUVs, one of which was a pickup, in which all the equipment was dumped. We had decided to drive in a single pile, with cars following one another, which was a bad idea according to me. About two hours on the way, we missed the last two cars at the intersection of highway 4. Since cellphone coverage is very limted in remote highways, getting everybody back on track is always difficult. Anyways, after all the coordination overhead, we finally reached the trailhead which is located on the road that leads to Glaciers Point in Yosemite, at about 12:30 in the afternoon.
A quick lunch, while we assembled all the equipment. A snap is above. We had to distribute all the common equipment: the tents, shovels, stoves amongst all of us. Besides, we had to put on the snowshoes, and it always interesting when you do these things the first time. Above is a snap of me with all the backpack and snowshoes. The backpack must have weight at least 20 lbs.
The first mile of the trailhead was shared with cross country skiers. The gradient was not much. We walked in a single file, avoiding the tracks of the skiers. The weather was pretty nice, bright and sunny. Very soon I was feeling very hot and I had to take off my jacket. The snow appeared to be pretty fresh. Trees on both sides of the trail were snow clad. Below is a snap of our group. Backpacking in winter with so much food and equipment proved to be quite strenous, we had to sip water at regular intervals, and take short breaks.
A mile ahead, the Dewey Point Trail separated from the cross country trail. Apart from some steep portions, the gradient was almost constant for the remining trail. At one point, Jennifer and Aaron took of their snowshoes, for they felt much more comfortable hiking in the regular hiking boots, as the snow was pretty solid. It was about 4 in the evening when we reached pretty close to Dewey point, and found a spot where we could camp for the night.
After taking a brief rest, we started setting up the tents. We had 6 tents, so it worked out to 3 people per tent. Working in snow can be very tough, particularly digging snow with snow showels. I think I was pretty bad at this. Moreover, care must be taken that the tent is set up pretty solid, for the last think you want is the tent to collapse on top of your head in the middle of the night. Below is a snap of Aaron, Melissa and Jennifer with their tent, this picture was actually taken the next morning.
Next was setting up the cooking area. I believe, this was the toughest. We had to dig a one-and-a-half feet deep and one feet wide trench around a rectangular region. The idea was to have a snow table, around which we could sit, cook, eat and enjoy. Shoveling out snow in the evening when temperatures are dropping is always difficult. I was glad that we had experienced people around us, who were very pro at all this. After the snow table was created, we set up the stoves and started cooking. Dinner was to be instant rice with vegetable stew. Below is a picture of us around the table, while Een was cooking. After diner, we had to pack everything into bear cannisters (Yosemite is bear territory), and hang all garbage and leftovers from tree branches.
At this point, I must mention one of my blunders. Instead of the recommended zero degree sleeping bag, I had brought a 25 degree one, thinking that it would be sufficient for the night and I would sleep with woolens. But the guides cautioned us that night in snow was extremely cold. Luckily, Rachael had brought two 15 degree sleeping bags. She offered me one of them, so that we could use my sleeping bag a a cushion below. That was extremely nice of her. The night was extremely cold. The skies were clear, which made it much colder than usual. Although I was comfortable inside the tent with 3 layers of woolens and a sleeping bag, once at 2 am when I had to step outside for a restroom break, I was really cold. My hand were trembling, as I put on my snowshoes. Its always difficult to sleep in snow as well, the ground is never uniform. That night I must have slept for less than three hours. The next morning, everybody said that they were very cold at night. As Diana said, this was hardcore stuff.
We had a quick breakfast, Jennifer cooked a stew of ham and corn. Thereafter, we set to pack all our equipment. If setting up tents in snow is difficult, removing all equipment like the tent hooks from the snow in the morning is a nightmare. The snow had solidified around the hooks at night, and removing them was tough. Moreover we had to undo all the work of yesterday, like filling in the trenches, so that there would be no leftover signs of human use. Below is a snap of people working in the morning.
We set off for views from Dewey point. This point overlooks the Yosemite valley, and is quite picturesque. We spent about 15 minutes here, before setting off for our journey back to the trailhead. A snap at Dewey point is below. The time of our start was approximately 10.
Both Jennifer and I had blisters on our feet by now. Luckily the guides had first aid kit with them. Melissa did a great job is helping us with the blisters. All of us again took off our snowshoes, but I had to put them back on, as we reached a point at which the gradient was steep and I was slipping in my hiking shoes. Above is a snap of the four of us, somewhere along the way. Also is a picture of me with Mark.
We were back at the trailhead at 2 in the afternoon, all tired and exhausted. Everybody was almost asleep on the drive back. We reached back Davis at about 5:30 pm, and helped the Outdoor Adventure people cleaning and settling the extra costs.
It was indeed a remarkable and unforgettable experience.
Amitabha