I’m probably using the word Irony wrong but there is some great irony in how my wife and I became enthralled with the Sierras and the outdoors in general. Fresno, California is the gateway to the Sierras and a mere 1.5 hours away from Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks. In some ways, it is the National Park capital of America. To us, these mountains are the most magnificent noun in the entire country.

After spending her entire life growing up in Fresno, my wife and I met while I was attending Fresno State University. What a fantastic spot to not get into backpacking.

We eventually decided together to move to Pennsylvania where we fell in love with hiking with all our gear as far from civilization and as deep as the wilderness would take us. Backcountry trekking became one of the backbones to our relationship as we struggled through learning this new skill together. Eventually this culminated in our three month trek along the Appalachian trail, completed exactly nine months before Everest was born.

For a decade now we have travelled the country, each year diving further into the Sierras and the country alike, and I got something to say, nothing compares to the beauty of the back country in the Sierras. What a glorious thing to realize once you have moved across the country.

Today we spend a final morning in a most happy spot, Yosemite Valley. We decided to hit the highlights. The boys wanted mom to experience floating the valley so they took off fast and the last I saw of mom, she looked super worried about their safety, the boys were giggling uncontrollably.

Maple and I broke down camp and we took off at the last minute. Mom returned with the boys elated. We eventually left and set up camp not far outside of the park , spent the day unwinding and watching several Quail, unaware of our existence, play outside the bus.