Andrew Skurka 5 Day Yosemite Adventure
Yosemite National Park
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During July 2020 I participated with Andrew Skurka Adventures in a five day guided backpacking trip in Yosemite National Park. If you do not know of Andrew, he is a highly accomplished long-distance hiker, adventurer, writer, and owner/operator/guide of Andrew Skurka Adventures. You can check out his website at andrewskurka.com.
Through his programs Andrew, and a team of world-class guides, teach clients how to backpack and help them gain critical experience doing it the right way in the field. First, the program requires several months of classroom training to learn and discuss the fundamentals of backpacking. After completing the training curriculum, the program culminates in a guided backpacking trip for real-world application of knowledge learned. I joined the Yosemite National Park five day adventure group on July 20 - 24, 2020.
For me, the entire experience really was a "light-bulb" moment. I greatly benefited from learning Andrew’s philosophy of how to backpack the right way. Once you understand this mental model or framework, it is easy to replicate and feel confident in approaching any future backpacking trip. The other piece of the puzzle is experience - building your situational knowledge and skills over time in the field. The opportunity to spend five days in the remote backcountry of Yosemite, guided by experts Brian Robinson and Christy Rosander, was invaluable experience for me.
Check out my blog post A Day in the Life to see what a backpacking day looks like! Check out my other trip reports, Day Hikes and Multi-Day Backpacks, to see how I applied my Yosemite learnings on my own adventures over the remainder of summer 2020.
Note: A few of the photos in this report are not my own, but rather taken by my other group members - Jim, Ryan, Patrick, Neil, Aly, Ruben, Brian, and Christy - who shared after the trip.
Through his programs Andrew, and a team of world-class guides, teach clients how to backpack and help them gain critical experience doing it the right way in the field. First, the program requires several months of classroom training to learn and discuss the fundamentals of backpacking. After completing the training curriculum, the program culminates in a guided backpacking trip for real-world application of knowledge learned. I joined the Yosemite National Park five day adventure group on July 20 - 24, 2020.
For me, the entire experience really was a "light-bulb" moment. I greatly benefited from learning Andrew’s philosophy of how to backpack the right way. Once you understand this mental model or framework, it is easy to replicate and feel confident in approaching any future backpacking trip. The other piece of the puzzle is experience - building your situational knowledge and skills over time in the field. The opportunity to spend five days in the remote backcountry of Yosemite, guided by experts Brian Robinson and Christy Rosander, was invaluable experience for me.
Check out my blog post A Day in the Life to see what a backpacking day looks like! Check out my other trip reports, Day Hikes and Multi-Day Backpacks, to see how I applied my Yosemite learnings on my own adventures over the remainder of summer 2020.
Note: A few of the photos in this report are not my own, but rather taken by my other group members - Jim, Ryan, Patrick, Neil, Aly, Ruben, Brian, and Christy - who shared after the trip.
My five day adventure group hiked a loop north from Tuolumne Meadows using various Yosemite National Park trails plus sections of the Pacific Crest Trail and the Yosemite High Route (requiring backcountry / off-trail travel). We covered ~60 miles with ~12,000 feet of elevation gain in 4.5 days of backpacking (all between 8,000 to 11,000 feet above sea level).
We navigated through green valleys, followed beautiful streams, climbed multiple mountain passes, completed class 3 rock scrambles, got hit with rain/hail/snow (fortunately not much), and swam in an alpine lake. During three out of five days on the trip we used backcountry travel to navigate through remote sections of the park with no established trails. Backcountry travel was a new experience for me, but wow, absolutely the best part! I loved the physical challenge and the unbelievable beauty of the landscape kept you motivated (and in awe) as we traveled across the remote corners of Yosemite.
We navigated through green valleys, followed beautiful streams, climbed multiple mountain passes, completed class 3 rock scrambles, got hit with rain/hail/snow (fortunately not much), and swam in an alpine lake. During three out of five days on the trip we used backcountry travel to navigate through remote sections of the park with no established trails. Backcountry travel was a new experience for me, but wow, absolutely the best part! I loved the physical challenge and the unbelievable beauty of the landscape kept you motivated (and in awe) as we traveled across the remote corners of Yosemite.
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Day 1
Our trip started at Murphy Creek Trailhead, just down from Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park. We hiked up to join the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in Glen Aulin. It didn't take long to get our first taste of the giant granite slabs that are so prevalent in Yosemite. We stopped for a break at Glen Aulin and enjoyed the beautiful waterfall and river. As we headed back out, it started raining and we hiked in the rain for a couple more miles up into Cold Canyon. After about 11 miles Brian led us across to the far side of the canyon and we pitched camp on an elevated, wooded area. The attempt was to avoid the cold, but the canyon still ended up living up to its name that night (cold and wet). Before heading to bed this first night we covered several introductory topics including a "tent tour" of everyone's chosen shelter, tips on how to cook the famous Andrew Skurka meals, and a hilarious (but informative) discussion from Brian on best practices for pooping in the woods.
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Day 2
We continued hiking on the PCT crossing over Virginia Canyon and creek. At the creek we stopped for our first navigation lesson and an impromptu foot care / first aid session as well. After a long climb out of the canyon, we arrived at Miller Lake for lunch. Everyone was hot and tired and we needed to dry out our tents, still wet from the night before. We took a leisurely lunch break, swimming in the lake, lounging on the grass, and letting our gear dry out. After heading out from the lake we caught great views overlooking Matterhorn Canyon, a preview of where we were heading the next day. We then hiked down into Matterhorn Canyon and along Wilson Creek where we ran into a Yosemite Park Ranger who asked for our backcountry permit. He was carrying an absolutely giant pack and a huge gun strapped to his leg. Obviously, he had not taken Andrew's gear shakedown lesson (lol). We eventually pitched camp at an established PCT campsite after about a 12 mile day. Before dinner Brian gave another navigation lesson, in preparation for the next day...our first backcountry (off-trail) navigation! As we were heading to bed a rogue deer entered camp and would not leave. Later, in the middle of the night, when I got out of the tent to use the "bathroom" she spooked me nearly half to death.
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Day 3
Finally, we took to the backcountry! Hiking off-trail out of our camp we practiced our map/compass navigation skills up Wilson Creek to Camp Creek and down into Piute Canyon. Piute Canyon is also known as Slide Canyon thanks to a giant piece of mountain that broke off and created a slide of car (and maybe house) sized rocks. Christy let us do the navigating this entire way! We each took turns leading the group for a section and paused often to re-assess the map and confirm our direction. We stopped for a lunch break along Piute Creek before climbing up the end of the canyon and successfully connecting to the Burro Pass trail. We ascended to Burro Pass, which provided excellent views of Piute and Matterhorn Canyons below as well as the Sawtooth Range. The scenery was larger than life and one of the most beautiful vantage points I've ever seen. It was clear we were in the remote Yosemite wilderness now.
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After descending Burro Pass, we immediately began a short, but steep climb up Matterhorn Pass at over 11,000 feet. This was the most difficult section of the hike, but the experience and views from the top were exhilarating! We did not linger long at the top as it was cold and very windy, but to get down was the next challenge! Christy outlined the class three climbers decent and taught us several rock scrambling techniques to use. It was a definite adrenaline rush as we one by one climbed down a series of rock faces to Spiller Springs canyon below. We pitched camp down the canyon, on an elevated and wooded plateau, after about a 13 mile day. We had arrived at camp late, so we all quickly ate our Skurka beans and rice and headed to bed exhausted.
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Day 4
The next morning we continued hiking off-trail following Spiller Springs further down canyon and then connected back to the PCT near Virginia Canyon. After that, we took an off-trail route up to Upper McCabe Lake. When we arrived at the lake a thunderstorm rolled in, generating hail and some snow. We took shelter for a few minutes, but the storm passed quickly and we were able to proceed hiking up Don't Be A Smart Pass. Sitting at over 11,000 feet, this pass was another steep climb with some rock scrambling and, yes I can confirm, you definitely wouldn't want to be a "smart pass" on this ascent. Views from the top were again stunning, highlighting Upper McCabe Lake to the north and Roosevelt Lake to the south. We could even see the famous Yosemite Half Dome in the distance. We descended over the pass which had a dusting of light snow thanks to the earlier storm. After hiking the length of Roosevelt Lake we set up camp on a granite shelf with beautiful 360 degree views and marked another 13 mile day. As our last evening, we debriefed from the trip by sharing our favorite moments, what we had learned, and our general feedback. Later we enjoyed alpenglow on the surrounding mountain peaks before bed.
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Day 5
On our final day we had about a 7 mile hike back to Tuolumne Meadows. On our last off-trail travel section, I volunteered to take the lead on navigating the group through a forested section and successfully delivered us right out to Young Lakes. We made our way via trail past Lembert Dome and back to our cars parked in Tuolumne Meadows. Luckily Andrew had cold beer waiting on our return for some celebration (and plenty of storytelling) after five days well spent.
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Tracks Credit to Jim Harmon