I remember my first time... A Yosemite Story

Speeding around the corner on the high mountain road, she fell out of sight. I tried to keep up but I wasn't used to driving my new Subaru yet. Only stopping at the ranger station and the last gas station inside the park, she was on a mission. Taking a left on El Portal Road and curving right onto Wawona Rd and into the Tunnel, Yosemite locals and frequent visitors would've known where she was going by this point. But it was my first time in the Yosemite Valley. The rush and shock of seeing El Capitan for the first time quickly faded with the adrenaline as I was trying to keep up with her. Her left turn signal came on; flashing red. Glacier Point Road? She did say we were going to Glacier Point but I didn't know what that meant. Around and around the curves up Glacier Point Rd and finally we came upon a parking lot.

After a short walk from the car, we had made it: sunset at Glacier Point. The range of light was in front of me and my mind became empty. In that moment, little did I know that later that night I'd be sleeping a few thousand feet directly below in Curry Village. I had no idea that directly across from me was Half Dome and that a few years later, I'd see it from the other side at Cloud's Rest or behind while camping in Little Yosemite Valley on the John Muir Trail. Little did I know that one Winter, a group of the best kind of friends and I would hike part of the 4 Mile Trail in the snow that leads to where I was currently standing: Glacier Point.

At that moment, I only recognized the view from a photograph I saw in a college textbook of John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt at this exact location. I was standing on history, but I didn't realize I was also standing on my future. Yosemite, I can't wait to return and share this moment because Briana is right - it is the perfect spot to take someone during their first time. 

Me during my first time at Glacier Point - Yosemite National Park

President Teddy Roosevelt with John Muir at Glacier Point