Hello!
My name is Tara Brown: Mom, business person, and lover of nature. Living in the Santa Cruz Mountains on the central California coast, I had lots of opportunities for hiking and trail running in the redwoods. After a while something came over me and I just knew I had to travel over lots of land by foot.
After doing a little research I proposed backpacking to my husband and pre-teen boys who agreed we should go for it and go backpacking – and we should do that in Yosemite National Park! Well, that first year there were fires that interrupted our plans to backpack in Yosemite, so we just went car-camping. The following year I was determined – we were doing it! I had researched all year, purchased lightweight but inexpensive gear, and read many articles about backpacking with kids.
As we got closer and closer to departure date my husband was mysteriously lacking the same enthusiasm I felt… WEIRD! Finally I figured out what was going on and let him know that if he didn’t want to go it’s okay, because carrying a heavy pack for miles every day and sleeping on the ground is not for everyone. He admitted that he was worried about being out of touch with his business for so long and about a nagging ankle injury, so the boys and I decided to follow through with the trip anyway. We invited a friend to come along the same age as my older son, 13, and a cousin, 12, to accompany my younger son who was also 12.
Our planned route was about 29 miles long, starting from Tuolumne Meadows to Vogelsang High Sierra Camp backpackers camp via Rafferty Creek (~7 miles with a ~1500 ft. ascent), then on to Merced Lake backpackers camp (~8 miles with a ~3000 ft. descent), Little Yosemite Valley (~11 miles with a ~1000 ft. descent) and finally Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley via the Mist Trail which is about 4.5 miles with about a 2000 ft. descent.
Looking back on that first trip to Yosemite with myself and 4 boys in tow with almost NO experience, I just have to laugh. We were beginner backpackers! First, I didn’t have reservations for a permit, so I had to get in line by about 7am at the Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Permit Office while the boys were supposed to wait at the campsite and have breakfast. I had chosen a horrible campsite waaaaayyyyy far away from the campground entrance, so it took forever to get to the permit office. I was super cold and hungry by the time I got the permit, about 4 hours later. When I got back the boys had gone off fishing, and there was no cell service, but they were close by so we soon executed part 2 of the day’s plan: Operation Car-Dropoff.
The intention was to drop off our car in the valley and catch the bus back up to our starting place, but there was a torrential downpour and subsequent gridlock traffic in Yosemite Valley, so we couldn’t get to the bus on time (now I know we probably wouldn’t have gotten on anyway because we were so late it would have been full). We abandoned the plan, I put the soaked boys back in the car, and it took almost 2 hours to get to Tioga road because of gridlock in the valley.
It rained off and on from the time we had arrived, so we did our best to dry off our tents and tarps then pack up and head out for our first day. We were finally ready and departing on our 7 mile hike at about noon. Our packs, or at least mine, was at least 10 pounds heavier than what I would now know works better, and I brought a wonderful, luxurious, HUGE and heavy inflatable sleeping mat (but I slept great, haha). There were off-and-on rain showers throughout the day so we stopped often to put on ponchos and then take them off when the sun came back out and we started to bake. When we finally got to camp, 7 hours later, I realized that we were traveling at a rate of 1 mile per hour. Soon it was dusk and we ate dinner in the dark.
The OG crew is pictured above, about 3 hours into our first day.
My older son decided he needed to come back when he could use more time to fish. We all loved the amazing views, the adventure, and being in such a special place that few people get to see. By the end of day two I started to hear from others on the trail, “Oh – you’re that lady with the 4 boys. Good for you!” It helped that they were great kids who were very helpful and had positive attitudes.
Our pace continued at about 1 mile an hour over the 4 days. Every single day the trail had a different “personality.” There were amazing views in each section and it seemed like at least 2 major ecosystem changes. Such a rich experience!
The last morning my young charges, all athletes, were practically running down the Mist Trail with their packs on, despite hordes of hikers huffing and puffing their way up, not at all paying attention to “oncoming traffic.” (Note: I’ve since learned to take the JMT down that last stretch because it’s a way better experience!) When we got to the bottom I think that was the best shower I’ve ever had, and the most satisfying pizza ever! We barely made the bus for the long ride that would take us back up to our car about 30 miles away.
Since then I’ve learned innumerable lessons, refined trip planning skills, experienced more places, acquired better gear, read more articles, and have taken many new, inexperienced hikers and backpackers on every challenging trip. I am passionate about empowering others to experience adventures like this.