On Assignment - Yosemite Climbing for NG By Renan Ozturk

วันก่อนมีเพื่อนถามว่า ไปโยเซมิติมากี่ครั้งแล้ว คำตอบคือบ่อยจนจำไม่ได้ แต่ความทรงจำของ "ครั้งแรก" ยังใหม่เอี่ยมอยู่ในหัวใจเสมอ ... ความรู้สึกที่บรรยายไม่ได้ ขณะที่เือื้อมลงไปล้างมือในลำธารอันเย็นเฉียบ แล้วสายตาเหลือบมองความอลังการของ เอล แคปิตัน (El Capitan) ท่ามกลางกลิ่นสนหอมกรุ่น ... เสี้ยววินาทีนั้นยังพิมพ์อยู่ในใจ แม้กี่ปีผ่านไปก็ไม่เคยลืม

คงเป็นเช่นคนเหล่านี้กระมัง ที่ยังคงกลับไปครั้งแล้วครั้งเล่า เหมือนกับที่นี่คือบ้านอันอบอุ่น คือวัด คือชุมชน คือศาสนา คือความเชื่อ คือแก่นของชีวิต

Description by Ozturk
"As a climber sometimes our biggest job is to try to do justice to the amazing stories of our friends and peers.  For this piece I worked with our crew at camp4collective.com to tell thenorthface.com athlete Jimmy Chin's story as he in turn highlights modern day climbing in Yosemite for a National Geographic feature story.

It seemed so serendipitous to be 'on assignment' in a place that we all cut out teeth as adventurers and which also ended up becoming the namesake of our collective! "

Shot on the Canon 5d, L series lenses

Camping Solo in Yosemite (July 15-16, 2006)

I did it!!! Yes! I went SOLO to camp in Yosemite this past weekend and am so glad I did it.

I was afraid for a long time -- of getting lost, of not having a place to camp, of being too cold if I can't start a fire, blah, blah, blah... But the time has come when I really wanted to go. What triggered me was when I dropped in at the REI store in Berkeley and talked to one of the staff there - Michael. He said that I can still get a camp site even without a reservation if I go there early... say before 9 a.m. and it's pretty safe to go alone. These campgrounds are Crane Flat, Porcupine Flat and Camp 4. So I got an idea and head out Saturday morning at 6 a.m. I took 580 toward Hayward/Stockton and took some other number before taking 108/120.

Great timing because the traffic was very light and I made it in 3 and a half hours. When I arrived all 3 of the said sites still had vacancies.. but I was pretty tired and a bit worried... The ranger said Porcupine Flat was another hour and I totally forgot about Camp 4... So I went to Crane Flat which is only 8 miles down hwy 120 from the East Gate. Here's my campsite. 

 

 

 

 

And I also carry a small stove with me.  Here I was, cooking on a bear-box -- where you have to keep all the food and smelly things here to prevent yourself from having bears staring down your throat at night.  Here I am cooking my breakfast on the bear box.