Kid's first backpack in Yosemite

Driving up to Tioga Pass is truly one of the more beautiful spots in this country. It does not have the dramatic appeal of seeing the Valley for the first time, but it has some amazingly pristine mountain scenery. This was made even more pristine by it being early season. The road itself opened only a few weeks prior and most of the peaks around were still snow clad with the early summer remnants. We were on our way to Tuolumne Meadows where we could secure our permit. We were taking the kids on their very first backpack. With kids, it is hard to tell if they were excited. Probably it is just they did not have an idea of what to expect.

We did get an early start with a decent breakfast from our hotel. The drive was pretty and I spent some time reminiscing about the time I had walked up the Tioga Pass Rd. in the middle of the night to get back to work at 9 in the morning. It was funny driving around this area because it had literally been 16 years since I had been back. We drove up to the Wilderness Office. Our goal was to get a permit for the Lyell Fork and we were in luck because they had space. The ranger that talked about the trip to us was friendly and we felt prepared for the trip ahead. We had to do some packing because our cooler needed to go in a bear bin and our backpacking food needed to go in a bear canister. All this talk about bears made Jacqueline a bit nervous, but I assured her that the bears were not the dangerous part, it was the humans that were the dangers. Once we finally got everything packed up, it didn't look too bad. My pack was of course the largest and heaviest, but each of the kids was taking a sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, a water bottle, and a headlamp. The packs were not very heavy for them and we were ready to get started.

The trail led us by some familiar places. It started on the path I took to work every day as we decided to leave right from the permit office. We could look across the meadow and see the tent cabin that I used to live in. We continued on the path that ran right by the Tuolumne Lodge. I remembered this trail well as it was a path I would run on occasionally. It followed a beautiful river that was flowing well due to early season conditions. Eventually the path turned and started to head up the Lyell Fork. I was surprised that it was as quiet as it was. We ran into a few day hikers, but it felt like we were going to have a rather peaceful trip.
We had lunch by the two bridges which was definitely a calculated move. This was one of my favorite spots. We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was in the low 70s and there was not a gray cloud in sight. The trip seemed like it would be ideal. So far the kids were doing very little complaining and they seemed to think it a game to see who could do the best job of staying out of the much that was on the trail. Eventually, that became too difficult and we just had to give in that our feet were going to get wet. The trail in places was overrun by the sogginess that comes with building a trail in the middle of a meadow.
We were warned that the mosquitoes were bad, but so far they had not bothered us an incredible amount. There were some places that were more boggy than others and we would get a big group, but then they would calm down for a while after that. The kids were doing great, but anyone who hikes with kids knows that they are ticking time bombs ready to fall apart at a moments notice. Both our kids felt proud, though, of carrying those big packs and they were not going to let the trail stop them. Still, we seemed to move along well even though it does take longer with little legs carrying large packs. We found many junctions at first, but after that we just ran into a couple park rangers, a marmot, and lots of beautiful scenery.
There was a certain distance that we had to go before we camped. The ranger said it was about 5 miles, but with children, it sure seemed farther. After what felt like five miles, the troops started to get restless. I looked at the map and the topography around me and realized that we needed to go a bit farther. We had left the trailhead at 11:30 a.m. and it was now about 3:30 p.m. We wanted to make sure that we were not too far into the backcountry so that we could hit the road on the hike out. We had to follow the rules, though, so we pushed the kids farther.

 We finally seemed like we met the quota, so I went up the hill and off the trail a little way. We were so lucky to find a perfect campsite. A flat spot with an old fire ring with a large area for the kids to play. This was ideal and we decided to set up the tent. It would have been nice to camp by the river, but I know that is against the rules. Still, we were able to go down and enjoy the large open meadow while we got water or took a icy cold dip in the river. Now it was just the simple things left to do of setting up the tent, making dinner, and hanging out. We had a great spot to sit back while the kids played with toys they created themselves. The highlight of tent camping to the kids was definitely the tent and they spent a good amount of time hanging out in there. The temperature dropped fairly rapidly once we lost the sun and wasn't long until we all ended up in the tent playing cards or reading. Jacqueline was concerned about the low temps as we expected it to drop down to freezing, but from what I could tell, the only one that had to deal with the cold was me as naturally I had the least warm sleeping bag. What did become an issue to Jacqueline was a rockfall in the middle of the night. It was rather remarkable that both of us woke up and heard the rockfall, but with how big the area was that we were camping in, I am sure it could have been just about anywhere.

When we awoke in the morning, she was convinced that it was time to move camp to a safer spot, but the thought of it was preposterous to me. It literally could have been anywhere and we were already in a rather safe location as far as rockfalls go backing up to a rather significantly forested area. Still, she had the idea in her mind that we were in danger, so it dominated her thoughts for a lot of the rest of the day.
We used the day to continue hiking up the trail. We found a beautiful cascading waterfall, but it was not long before we ran into the trail junction for Vogelsang. We decided to not take it, but instead head up the valley farther. That plan was thwarted quickly when we found a place that we were going to have to ford the creek. That was not even a thought with young kids, so we backtracked and went up the trail toward Vogelsang. A lot of switchbacks broke the kids down pretty quick and Jacqueline was so preoccupied with the rockfall that I seemed to be the only one interested in continuing up. Not wanting to make this a forced march for anyone, I relented and we decided to head back to camp.
There were things to see along the way back, but we got back with a lot of the day to spare. The kids did not mind as they had plenty to play with to keep their minds busy. I got restless and charged up the hill to check out the rock slide hazards and was able to assure Jacqueline that we were not going to be crushed by house sized boulders in the middle of the night. We found enough to do to keep us busy and I even summed up the nerve to cross the river which was not an easy task with the snow melt coming up to my neck. We enjoyed another night camping out in one of the quietest places with just a plethora of stars shining. I am so glad that these places still exist for us.
We enjoyed another cool night in the tent, but in the morning, it was time to get moving. This time we were really going to try to push the pace as much as possible for we had a long drive that day to make it up to Oregon. We got packed up and were on the trail by 8 a.m. It was still rather chilly at 8, so we all had all our layers on. As the sun hit us, though, it quickly warmed and soon we were shedding the layers.
The kids were both moving really good and we made sure that if they weren't, we held a hand to keep the pace going. There was not quite the same enthusiasm for crossing the boggy parts of the trail, but we found ways to keep the mood positive even as our feet were cold, wet, and muddy. It is funny that even when your feet are already wet, you still enjoy finding way to cross that keep them from getting wet again. It seemed to be both a long and a short time before we got back to the bridge junction. Short, because it took way less time then the way out, but long because the kids seemed to be looking for it at every turn. It always feels much longer coming out then going in.

We decided when we were hiking out that Jacqueline and the kids would take out at the parking lot nearer to the lodge. I would then hike back to the car and get everything back in that had been stewing in the sunny bear box the past couple of days. This worked out well as I was able to just motor back to the trailhead, take care of getting the bear canister back to the Wilderness Office, and get the car as well packed as possible without moving too much. I drove back to the closer trailhead where I found my awesome group waiting for me.
I was so proud of all of these guys for making this trip. It took Jacqueline out of her comfort zone by allowing me to take the children into the unknown. The kids were just great the whole time with only a few complaints coming out when we were reaching the end of their endurance for hiking. They both are great hikers and I believe really enjoyed the experience.
After repacking the car, which was not an easy task, we were off again. This time our goal was to drive through the valley for a quick tourist day. We should have come up with a different plan. When we got to Olmstead Point, it was tough for me to get Jacqueline out of the car, let alone the one fast asleep and the other one that was just plain spent.

When we finally made it to the valley, it was just a zoo. People everywhere, little parking, and just too much when you just had a wonderful experience in the wilderness. We did manage to drag the kids out of the car for a short stroll up to Bridalveil Falls, but between finding parking and having kids that seemed pretty disinterested in the splendor of the valley, we made a quick exit from Yosemite Valley.
The drive out of the valley seemed to take forever before we got back to civilization that did not seem like it was exorbitantly priced. We had a good lunch in a strange tourist trap community with no one around, but that was not until 3:30 when we were all just a little bit too hungry. We finally finished the long day of driving in Williams, CA, but we made sure we finished off the backpack with a bunch of ice cream sandwiches to celebrate. This trip made me very hopeful for further family adventures as the kids continue to get older and stronger before their parents get older and weaker.