Day 1
We meet at the Tuolumne Meadows store in the Yosemite High Country at 9:00am. After a pack check, pack fitting and gear discussion we head South on the John Muir Trail towards Cathedral Lakes and beautiful Cathedral Peak and make our first camp in the Cathedral Lakes area. Along the way we will have numerous lectures on proper pacing and the natural history of Yosemite. We then spend the evenng setting up a low-impact camp and discussing Leave No Trace principles as well as camp cooking and proper food storage.

Day 2
After breakfast we discuss basic wilderness first-aid concerns. We then break camp and move on cross-country where we spend considerable time learning navigation with map, compass and GPS. We will also discuss basic principles of self-rescue and survival when things go wrong. We then set up another camp a short 3-4 mile hike away from the previous one and enjoy a gourmet backcountry dinner.

Day 3
After breaking camp once again, we head back towards the trailhead at a leasurely pace covering additional wilderness travel skills such as creek crossings. We should arrive back at the cars around 3pm.