solo travel will change your life

Oh my God! Yo! Good morning and welcome to the long-awaited Yosemite vlog. Oh my God, we're here. I'm having a break in the car. Oh yeah, breakfast of champions and we're about to do a... I'm trying not to think of the exact distance. 23, 24 kilometer hike. I think it's going to be roughly eight hours. It is the one that I have been told by everyone to do. The John Muir mist panorama and four mile loop. I'm so f***ing hyped. I'm going to smash this and we're going to go on this absolutely epic hike. Whoa, this dude's a wilderness explorer. Holy f***, we're just starting. Oh my God. Wow! I don't know how prominent it is on the camera and how much the microphone is picking up. But here in person, the sheer noise of the waterfalls and the gorges next to me is absolutely crazy. It is so loud. Beautiful, I love it. Waterfalls coming up, it sounds like a plane taking off. This is the hardest part of the hike so far. These switchbacks are insane. If you go out in the woods today, a little bit, I really want to see one so badly. That's pretty much just me on this entire trail. What a time of year to come. I've got the bike to myself. Woo! Six hours, 41 minutes on the move. 20 kilometers, 1416 meters gained. So this is pretty much the top and then we start going down. I'd estimate it will be around about an eight hour hike, but I mean, look at this. One waterfall we hiked up and then two beneath it. That is crazy looking at it from this perspective, thinking that we've just come from there. My shoulders are feeling the effects. We're done. Nine hours, 45 minutes, 29 kilometers, 1458 meters. Wow, that's satisfying. That's crazy thinking that's what we just came down from. Good morning. Do you want to see my super comfy pillow? First layer of my pillow is my jacket. Second layer is a bin bag with all my like spare clothes. Damp towel with my jeans. Ooh, ooh, ooh. So we've arrived at today's adventure location. It is raining or like, you know, on and off raining. Anyway, the location where we're going today is Mariposa Grove. It is where you can leave from to go and see like the giant sequoia trees. They're like the biggest trees in the world, I think. Quick outfit change, get into the complete waterproof gear. I thought it'd be a really good day to come out and do this because it's quite like misty and mystical. And I don't know, it kind of suits being overcast up here, I think. And also if I'm down in the valley or hiking in there, I could be just like missing out on some epic views if the clouds roll in. So let's get going. Well, we got a little break in the rain, hey? Walking through these trees and these trails in this kind of weather feels right. It kind of feels respectful. It kind of feels like you're respecting them. Just so misty. The ground's wet and damp and you're kind of like trotting along quite slowly. And it's quite empty because of the kind of a day it is. Like look, I've got this whole section up to the people up there. Basically free so I can walk through at such a slow pace. And just take it all in. And all the rain's just like hitting the little leaves around. And it's so like quiet and fitting. It just suits, the weather suits the environment really well. That's what I'm trying to say. And it feels like you're respecting the environment by coming on a quiet, slow, rainy day. Good morning. Oh my god, it is like 5.30 something. I'm sweating in here because I have just ran around this car park in the dark looking for a bathroom and I cannot find one. I have no idea what I'm going to do because we're about to do Josemite Falls Upper Trailhead. And we're going to start off in the dark, hopefully get a decent way up just in time for sunrise. There's going to be a good chunk in the dark using this bad boy. Anyway, we have to go so we can make it in time. Don't know what I'm going to do about the bathroom situation but that's life isn't it? We're coming up to option one for sunrise. So it's whether or not I stay here for it or apparently I power on for another 0.8 miles and I hit an even better one. Until official sunrise so get the biscuit. It's called Oh My Gosh Point. All three sections of the waterfall, which is the tallest waterfall in North America. And I'm up here by myself at sunrise. Ha! So after this trip, I have decided that I absolutely love hiking. Most hiking I've ever done in the coolest locations I've ever been without, you know, risking sounding like an absolute first-timer, which I am. I get the hype now around it. Not that I didn't before but I just hadn't really immersed myself in it enough to fully see where hiking lovers were coming from. But now having seriously done it, it's just out of this world. There's something so satisfying about being like entirely self-sufficient for the day while also having a purpose and a journey and an adventure ahead of you. I think the person who came up with the saying, it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. I think they were hiking. They had to have been hiking when they thought of that. It kind of feels like it's in our DNA. We've done hikes and adventures like this for all of our bloodlines, history. And like, you know, we've had to do it out of necessity. That's how we got to where we are today, me, you, everyone. So it's so cool to come out into... Does this count as the wilderness? Probably not if you talk to a pro, but to me, it counts as the wilderness. Come out into the wilderness and walk. Walk with a purpose and a destination in mind. I love it. It's time to commence our descent. Don't actually need more water right now, but I bought this little water filter sucking straw for like emergencies. You can't actually drink the water here because it's pretty dirty, but you can if you have a filter that works. And I just want to do it because it's cool. 16.5km, 1.1km gain and nearly eight hours. Oh my God. I practically ran that way down because my feet hurt a lot. Like my toes, like digging into the front of my shoe. I forgot my towel. I left it at the campsite. I was about to sit down, eat my salad and relax and watch sunset, but then I thought, I'm only here for a couple more days. I'm going to drive up to Glacier Point and catch sunset. It's an hour's drive away. The car's a 10 minute walk away. Or if I run, it's like a three minute run away. I can't see where she's going, but I hope it's here. Life ain't what it seems. There's still a part of me that's trying. I'm gonna lay on my chair. You can find a little rest from hiding. Let's go. Don't let it follow you. Don't worry. Just don't let go. Yo. So I know it feels like an exact replica of yesterday morning. It really feels like that for me as well. That five o'clock alarm. That one hurt. Anyway, I have to be quick again because the sun is obviously coming up. We are doing another morning hike way quicker than yesterday's. It's just like a little stroll. It's top of Sentinel Dome, which is very near Glacier Point, which is where we watched sunset together last night. Apparently, where I was yesterday for sunset is great for both sunrise and sunset. Basically, this is my last sunny morning here. I've driven all the way back to where we were last night and I'm going to hike up. I've got to see sunrise here, just like I've seen sunset here. Anyway, a lot of yapping. I'm really tired. I'm trying to put my pants on in the car. It's not really working. It's freezing out there. Let's go. Soul searching Fall apart Tunnel vision Hiding in the dark I ain't gonna holler Before I really bleed Salvation A quick fix remedy You said I never could, ever could change I thought I never could, ever could change They said I never could, ever could change Damn right, never would Leave the light on Just leave the light on Leave the light on If I'll ever change Hi. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think that is me wrapping up the vlog. Of my life so far, some of the most amazing four days ever. One of the most amazing trips ever. This entire America trip has been absolutely insane over here for over a month. I have an extra day in Yosemite because of... Anyway, the explanation is really boring, but I got a little bonus at work Because my photo actually, which is really exciting, got featured on Calvin Klein on their official Instagram page. So that I did a job with them and then they decided to use it on the official page. So I got a little boost from that. So I was like, look, I've got a little boost. I'm in Yosemite. My camping year has an extra day that I booked for contingency at the end of the trip. So it's not due back till tomorrow, but I don't have a campsite for tonight. So I booked a little glamping tent right down in Yosemite Valley. So I'm going to go to that. But yeah, thank you so much for watching. I genuinely can't put it into words and I'm not just using that phrase. I'm honestly saying that I think the vlog speaks for itself. I can't do or say anything more. I hope it portrayed the park, my feelings here, the adventures that we went on. Truly, truly, truly, like, I don't know how I'll be able to top this vlog. But, you know, who knows? Life's crazy, hey? Thank you so, so much for watching. Absolute blast as always. This time has been the most absolute blast ever. I'll see you guys very, very soon for the next video. Bye.