To Try in 2016: Mount Dana

Do not do this for the view.  When you peak, you look down, you will not be impressed. There, I said it.

But…if you just want to know if you could do it, just casually walk up 13,000 feet in three miles. Just to try.  Just to see.  What if? Before you go to Peru and tackle Machu Picchu, wouldn’t you like to know how you body reacts to altitude?  A friend’s daughter had to be air lifted back down on her way to Everest Base Camp. Her brain and started swelling inside her skull. Better to know beforehand if you have this problem, I say.

Mount Dana is located just outside Yosemite National Park.  You start at about 9,000 feet and get going until you reach 13,000.  You can do it in a few hours. It takes no technical climbing skills, just pacing, leg work, and the stubborn kick of a mule.

The driving question behind this, behind a lot of backpacking trips is this: can I do this? And there is really only one way of knowing for certain.

It’s a new year, it’s time for new things.