I sometimes joke that two of my favorite things to do in New York City are:
Leave NYC to take a break from the city and get some fresh air
Arrive back in NYC and feel main character energy staring out the Uber window at the Manhattan skyline
Maybe you’ve had this similar cycle of feelings if you’ve spent time in New York. There’s something indescribable about arriving back rejuvenated and feeling the city’s energy. It’s what keeps me here, even though more and more of my hobbies are better suited out west. I’m writing this on my flight back to NYC after spending my weekend backpacking in Yosemite (eagerly awaiting feeling #2 in a couple hours).
It was my first time backpacking in almost a decade since my Boy Scout days. I remembered what makes backpacking fun and magical. On the surface for most city-oriented friends in New York, the concept of carrying a heavy backpack into the woods and camping may not sound very appealing.
I consider a weekend backpacking to be Type 1.5 Fun; the type of fun where you lie down at the end of the day satisfied from the fatigue you earned.
Type 1 Fun is pure fun all the way through.
Type 2 Fun is miserable when it’s happening and fun in retrospect.
Type 1.5 Fun is a combination of both challenging and enjoyable parts.
Our weekend in Yosemite backpacking to Young Lakes was Type 1.5 Fun - an ideal balance of mildly painful climbs and simple outdoor luxuries.
Most wilderness permits are issued 6 months in advance by lottery, but the remaining 40% are released 7 days before at 7am PT. I was on a flight back home to the Bay Area when the permits were released. Trained by my NFT-mint-click-at-the-exact-time experiences from 2021, I snagged 4 permits for Young Lakes via Dog Lake Trail.
The plan was to drive up from the Bay Area Friday, backpack 7 miles to the three Young Lakes, spend the night at the Upper Young Lake at 10,000 feet, hike out Saturday morning, and have the rest of the day to relax at our campsite in the Yosemite Valley.
We set off on the trail around 2pm. The first couple miles were an uphill climb. I remember early on we stepped to the side of the trail to adjust our packs, and an older couple that looked somewhere in their 70s came up on the trail. I smiled when the older gentleman quipped “this can’t be happening” as they walked ahead past us.
We reached the Young Lakes at golden hour. There was an ethereal glow over the ridge, casting a radiant reflection on the alpine lake. No James Turrell or Olafur Eliasson light and space art piece could reproduce this. It was awe-inspiring, and having it to ourselves made it even more magical. It felt like we earned it. I thought about a sunrise hike I did with my girlfriend at Acadia National Park to the easternmost point that sees the first sunlight in the US. It was nice hike, but the sense of achievement of watching the first morning light was marred by the Stanley Mug Dunkin’ Donuts crowd rolling up to the summit in their cars after we had just hiked for 2 hours.
As the sun set, we found a place by the Upper Young Lake to set up camp and enjoy the fruits of our labor - a decadent backpacking meal of homemade freeze dried spicy tortilla soup, freeze dried kung pao chicken, dashi pellet broth with sesame soy instant noodles, and tinned fish.
With backpacking, every small gesture means so much more because you have to carry it in. I packed a couple Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. beers as a treat. I snuck off to chill the beers in the ice cold lake for a surprise reveal. I'll always remember the pure delight as we walked to the lake to "discover" cold beers in the Yosemite High Country Wilderness at 10,000 feet.
There is something special that brings people together through a shared struggle or shared objective. While I can enjoy beach-y resort style vacations, I don’t find spending a week in beach chairs or beach clubs fulfilling (unless the mornings were spent surfing). There is no earned fatigue. As I’ve traveled more, I’ve learned that my favorite travel includes some element of outdoor adventure that goes off the beaten path.
My working list of favorite type 1.5 fun moments that make me feel alive:
Taking my pack off to take a break after a climb
Blue gatorade after a long run
Hiking to find untracked powder
Paddling as hard as I can to catch a wave, arms feeling like they are going to fall off
The best indicator of type 1.5 fun is “earned fatigue”. It’s that feeling at the end of the day when you’re tired, and you earned it in pursuit of something fulfilling. It doesn’t have to be from an outdoors activity - I’ve felt earned fatigue after a productive working day designing or building an app, and from an active social day (as an introvert).
A friend recently sent me a short essay called “The Happiness of Excellence”. The essay describes three primary forms of happiness: the happiness of pleasure, the happiness of grace, and the happiness of excellence:
The happiness of pleasure is largely sensory. It’s a good meal when you’re hungry, the smell of air after it rains, waking up warm and cozy in your bed.
The happiness of grace is gratitude. It’s looking over to see the love of your life sleeping next to you and whispering, “thank you.” It’s taking inventory of what you do have. It’s when you speak to something greater than yourself, expressing humility and awe.
And then there is the happiness of excellence. The kind of happiness that comes from the pursuit of something great. Not the moment you arrive at the top of the mountain and raise your fists in victory, but the process of falling in love with the hike. It is meaningful work. It is flow. It is the purpose that sears identity and builds character and channels our energy toward something greater than the insatiable, daily pursuit of our fleeting desires.
I think Type 1.5 Fun embodies the happiness of excellence - it requires work, has both enjoyable and challenging moments in the pursuit of something greater, and builds identity and character.
And to continue a little theme of my past essay, it’s more fun with friends.
P.S. One of my favorite pieces of Yosemite Lore is Dope Lake - a plane carrying 6,000 pounds of weed crashed in a lake, and a mini gold rush was triggered. Podcast and article.
In the spirit of paying it forward - a "secret" tip I used to gatekeep to book popular campsites: There's this amazing website Campflare that sends you email/text notifications of campsite cancellations (which happen more often then you'd think!). I’ve camped in Yosemite Valley 3 times, each secured less than a week before the trip.
Spencer Yen
