About this Photo – Hiking Yosemite

Backpacking in the National Park

In the Spring of 1971 I graduated from college. I had already been drafted and taken my physical exam and was now waiting to get called up. Along with my girlfriend, we decided to take a trip to the west coast. We ended up backpacking and were gifted a bus ride from the San Francisco area to Yosemite National Park by my generous uncle.

This article is the another in a series of articles that I’ve called About this photo to draw attention to a few of those memorable photos that may be hiding in a shoebox or on your hard drive.

Wow. To be in Yosemite. What a fantastic gift. Here’s my favorite photo from this event. My girlfriend is leaning over the rail high up at Glacier Point admiring one of the waterfalls in the valley below.
We decided to scrap suitcases for these backpacks.	All of our belongings had to fit into the backpack including clothes, cooking equipment, tent, etc. Needless to say, they were heavy.
We also made it up to the waterfall. Yes, I look fondly back on our first visit and the photo that I took of my girlfriend. She happens to be my wife since then and we’ve revisited the park several times since 1971.

Written by: Arnie Lee