Day 3: Bouldering in Yosemite Valley
No alarms were set the following morning. One by one, everyone in our group began waking up. By 9 AM, everyone was walking around the campsite. Several of us threw a frisbee around while others sat at our site’s picnic table and enjoyed the warm morning air of Yosemite.
After a couple hours of relaxation, our group piled into the cars and started heading to nearby Camp 4. Many of Yosemite’s famed boulders lay in this location, which sits near Yosemite Falls’ base. Due to the hot afternoon sun and sandbagged bouldering grades, we didn’t expect to pocket any difficult sends. But, there were plenty of things we wanted to try, including Midnight Lightning, a world-famous V8.
When we arrived, we warmed up on some simple V0s and V1s. We attempted some more difficult problems, but found little success since they were bathed in the sun. This didn’t bother any of us, however: incredible views of Yosemite Valley paired with each others’ company kept us in high spirits.
Midnight Lightning
After warming up, we navigated to the famed Midnight Lightning. We were excited to simply look at the problem, and even more excited to get our hands on it. Before the trip, several of us had watched videos of professional climbers make the problem look easy. None of us could climb V8 at that moment – a fact not helped by the pandemic, which had forced many of us to take long hiatuses from climbing – but we were still eager to be pummeled by the famous problem.
Unsurprisingly, we all struggled on just the first move. Small crimps, uncomfortable positioning, and slick footholds made the move much harder than it looked. Several of us wanted to try the route’s crux move – an insane mantle near the top of the boulder – but it proved impossible for any of us to feasibly reach it.
Despite our inexperience, we persisted on the route for 45 minutes. A few of us – including me – managed to start hitting the first move consistently. I even started repeatedly getting my hand up on the second move, and at one point stuck the move for a split second before firing off of the route.
Dialing Back the Difficulty
Eventually, we accepted defeat on Midnight Lightning and moved on to some easier bouldering. We bounced from problem to problem, first attempting a gnarly V4 called Bachar Cracker, which none of us were able to start. We bagged a couple more V0s, then – as the hardest send of the day – Shane and I sent a V3 called Kor Problem.
Similarly to Joshua Tree the year before, the boulders at Camp 4 humbled my ego. While I still considered myself a V5 climber by Midwest standards, I was ecstatic to send a V3 in Yosemite Valley. The problems here were harder and the granite was meaner. I resolved to one day return as a stronger climber to reattempt Midnight Lightning and other boulders in the valley. Now – as I’m writing this – I’ve moved into V7 territory, having sent two V7s outside along with numerous V6s and V5s. Once I progress a bit more, I’ll be eager to come back and conquer the famous problem that repeatedly kicked all of us off.
In the Shadow of El Capitan
Our group concluded bouldering around 2 PM. From there, we stopped at the campground before driving back into the valley. We found a parking spot along the Merced River near the approach trail for El Capitan, the rock face that Alex Honnold famously free soloed and one of the most impressive cliffs to look at in Yosemite. We donned our bathing suits and ran into the frigid water of the Merced. There, we relaxed in the late afternoon sun while watching a pair of climbers on The Nose, El Capitan’s most popular route.
At one point, seven of us dared to fully submerge ourselves in the Merced. The water was ice cold, easily below 60 degrees. It was refreshing to swim through something so clean and pure (especially due to our lack of actual showers), but most of us couldn’t withstand the cold for long.
Tunnel View
From the Merced, our group of nine decided to check out Yosemite Valley’s most stunning viewpoint: Tunnel View. When I first visited with Maria, we’d been unable to visit as we were confined to the shuttle system’s route. So, this stop was something I was extra excited to see.
Visit Paul in the Parks for more national park stories & travel tips!
Our cars rolled up to Tunnel View at 6:30 PM, catching the viewpoint near golden hour. We found a crowd of sightseers when we stepped out. Each of the visitors had their phone or camera out, taking photo after photo of the valley below. Normally, I disdain for such behavior (even though I often engage in it), but the behavior is easy to forgive at Tunnel View. The view is so iconic and so breathtaking that you’ll do whatever you can to accurately capture your visit there.
We spent 20 minutes ogling the view before heading to our next stop: Glacier Point.
Sunset at Glacier Point
We arrived at Glacier Point just in time to watch the sunset. When we reached the overlook from the parking lot, we found Half Dome bathing in the golden light of the sun, which sat low on the horizon. Our group posted up at a spot on the rocks, where we watched the sky shift from a vibrant blue color to a collection of yellow, orange, and pink.
The incredible view of Yosemite was the perfect way to conclude a low-key day. As I enjoyed the beautiful sunset, the rest of the world ceased to exist in my mind. My worries and stressors dissolved into the colorful evening sky. I became consumed by my friends’ company as we reminisced on the start of our trip and our best days at Purdue. With Jack’s help, I even managed to put a pause on planning the rest of our trip in my head. The evening was peaceful and – before long – our conversation fizzled out and we grew content with the silence around us. The moment was simple yet infinitely memorable.
When we returned to Upper Pines Campground, I had not yet wrapped my head around our plan for the next day. Once again, our group planned to split up. Shane and I were headed to Tuolumne Meadows for another climbing adventure, while the remaining seven planned to stay in the Yosemite Valley and enjoy another chill day. I was excited to see and climb some crazy sh*t, but had no idea how much the next day would ultimately affect me. In about 18 hours, I was going to discover a new appreciation for life…