What made this father/daughter hike in Yosemite work? Respect, reliance on each other and appreciating what it means to be young

The first night camping set the pattern for our trip. We slipped into roles without asking each other who was going to do what. We just did what needed doing.

On our hike, Alanna set a moderate pace. The Vogelsang High Sierra Camp became our point of no return. If we kept going now, we had to continue all the way. I knew how much it meant to her, and I too wanted to know whether I could still handle a 10-mile-a-day backpacking trip.

We forged on, up and over the pass, my feet beginning to ache, and down the other side into a wonderland of granite and pine until we reached Florence Creek, a torrent we had to cross. It was harrowing, but working together we made it and celebrated by camping nearby.

The next day Alanna hiked ahead, and sometimes I had to remind her to stay with me. My feet were forcing me to remove my boots every hour to let the pain subside, while she rested without complaint.

At one point when I found her waiting around a bend, I asked her to slow down. “There’s no need to go gangbusting down the trail,” I said.

“But Daddy,” she said, “I like gangbusting. What else would we do all day if we weren’t hiking?”

I smiled, because I remembered being like that. There was a time when hiking was the whole point.

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