Doug, Emily, and I awoke early in the Yosemite Valley Backpackers’ camp and made way for Glacier Point.  There was a haze that softened the view of our first pictures snapped quickly and then we were on are way.  

After about a mile I met “Stuart”. We chatted a while and I encouraged him with a prayer art card I made in advance that seemed to be made just for him and he was encouraged to “press on and overcome without limitations”.

 We continued on to our first campsite after passing a campsite full of people that gave us a friendly wave.  We met some of these people the next day as we crossed knee deep river crossings together.

I noticed this first day that I had the most difficulty breathing uphill as if there was a hole in my left lung and extreme fatigue early afternoon.   I believe this is a side effect from my recent radiation treatment. I felt discouraged but fought against it. 

Day two we woke early to head toward Merced pass wanting to get as close to  the pass as possible before the rising heat of the day.

  In late afternoon,  I reached a point of exhaustion and had to stop. Doug and Emily went ahead to find a place to camp with the intention of returning to carry my pack and help me get to the camp.

While I rested, waiting Doug’s return, the couple we met earlier at the creek crossing came upon me as they returned from their day hike.  They reported that Doug and Emily had found a campsite and would be coming back for me soon. 

I felt inspired to give one of my prayerfully made art cards to the woman. It portrayed that she was a sweet warrior.  We spoke  for a while and the woman was receptive to my prayer. I then shared that the reason I was needing my family’s help was that I had recently finished radiation treatment for breast cancer and had been experiencing some unexpected breathing problems and fatigue from it. 

The woman told me she had Breast Cancer 12 years ago and could not hike for six months after her treatment and even longer with a backpack. She encouraged me and told me I was amazing to be out hiking with a backpack so soon after the completion of Radiation.

  Wow!  I felt encouraged and determined to fight this battle. She was a sweet warrior woman  indeed who encouraged me in my battle to rise up and keep rising up

Next day we passed through Moraine Meadow the place with billions of mosquitos! Thank God for deet and netting over our hats and faces.  We ate lunch on a cliff overlooking Moraine Meadows freer of mosquitos but astounded by the “buzz” of all the  billions sounding loudly in our ears.
This day I discovered our sweet campsite off trail. It looked and felt like one of the ancient places Native Americans set up camps with running creeks and secret waterfalls.  I love this land that seems full of places to explore and discover if we ever made a return trip here.​

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Day four we again woke early to head for Fernandez pass. Each day I was feeling stronger and dealt with the breathing issues by singing praises and songs of thanksgiving. I made it up the beautiful pass full of wildflowes and stair gateways and memories of overcoming this pass in my early twenties with friends. At the top, we ate lunch and tried to come up with a plan to navigate our way down the snow covered summit.

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We ended up hiking cross country.  At one point I fell, almost slamming my head against rock which could have been disasterous. I was stunned but unhurt sensing I had angels watching over me. We continued on carefully traversing a large snow field that was very steep. Using our GPS we were able to find the trail and a new campsite for the night at the nearby junction. 

Up at sunrise the next morning we set our aim toward  an abandoned mine. A washed out bridge kept us from discovering the mine and we made camp nearby.  Hiking was beautiful, quiet forests, and meandering gently on softly trodden earth. Flowers were smiling, birds singing, and sunlight flickering in and out through tree branches. 

Then next day we awakened with hearts and sights set upon Hemlock Crossing. From photos this place seemed like it could be a fun place to swim and try out the “water slide” rock that ended in a pool. This was a strenuous 15 mile day. We experienced several knee deep water crossings that required our stopping and exchanging boots for water shoes.  The trail had not been cleared this season and there were many fallen trees we had to go around or climb over and go under. At higher elevations we trudged over some snow patches. Emily thought she was lost at one point and then found…the reuniting sweet.  We remembered our backpacks have whistles built into a strap that we decided to try and use to signal how far away we were from one another.

On the way to Hemlock Crossing  we climbed up to “Surprise Saddle” and drank in the most amazing view I have ever seen. Definitetly a resting place. 

 We could hear the sounds of rushing water and feel the vibration of power before we arrived to Hemlock Crossing.  There would be no refreshing swimming for us. Anyone attempting  to swim or slide in this water would be dead within minutes.  The raging beauty of the water was breathtaking to watch.  We were awestruck. 

The next morning we attempted to move foward toward our final destination of Mammoth but were turned back at slide creek which was whitewater, waist deep, waters roaring above a waterfall into Hemlock crossing. We came to a unanimous decision to turn back. We retraced the 15 miles back to Granite creek and camped there for the night. 

In the AM hours we walked to a campground and the host there drove us to the nearby ranger station. There we encountered boy scout trail angels who drove Doug to Fresno to rent a car. Emily and I encountered our own trail angels who drove us to Oakhurst to await Doug. Doug met us in Oakhurst in a rental car and we drive back to Glacier Point to get our vehicle we had previously left there. From Glacier point returned to Fresno with the rental car. Finally we all drove back to Mammoth and crashed about 2 am in a hotel where Emily and I would prepare for the next leg of our hike back to Yosemite on the John Muir Trail.  What a wild, crazy 24 hours -bringing this trip to a close and opening up the way to week two.