Today was the first day of this trip where I could sleep as long as I wanted to. I woke up at 10am and got coffee, went to Curry Village for a shower, relaxed in the lounge and read a lot. My knees and feet could still feel the impact from the big hike the day before. Kneeling down became almost impossible!
In the afternoon I walked over to a swimming spot – the Merced river winds through the whole valley, creating beautiful sandy beaches and natural pools. Disco and two girls joined me and I had rather warm beer while resting in the sunshine. After a while, a baby deer crossed the river and walked right towards us. It looked curious – maybe it wanted a sip of my beer?
Disco and I arrived early at the Yosemite Facelift opening evening. The annual clean-up project was introduced and three very inspiring women spoke: Heidi Wirtz, Kimmy Fasani and Emily Harrington. They talked about current and past projects, sending super hard routes and personal issues like how fewer women used to climb in the 80s and 90s or how to be a mother and a professional snowboarder at the same time. It was very inspiring and promoting diversity in the outdoor sports scene.
I hope some of her courage and strenght rubbed off on me.
Disco got more pale ale for us, I got autographs on my new helmet and we rode his motorcycle back to camp4. Buzzing with climbing enthusiasm from the talk, I felt the urgent need to find a climbing partner for the next day, I was happy to find the note I had left at Saseen’s table earlier answered in front of my tent. We hit it off the first time so I was psyched to go climbing with him again!
Finn Goes West - Hiking & Climbing in the South-Western USA 