ESCAPE to Yosemite 2025

Mountains, mist, and many many memories

 

We did it! Another year of ESCAPE. We had a great turnout for every trip this year, visited some new places, and shared a lot of good times. Read on for a recap of our culminating camping trip and information about an upcoming family picnic and alumni reunion! 

We took 42 students to Yosemite National Park for a weekend, hitting many of the park’s highlights and getting back to Mariposa Grove for the first time in several years. There’s a huge amount of planning that goes into this trip starting months beforehand. We need campsites, food for 60+ people, tents and sleeping bags, a whole lot of other camping gear, and over a dozen drivers. It’s all worth it though when we finally get to be there and to see students experience Yosemite. 

On our first day, we got on the road and went straight to Mariposa Grove. We haven’t been to see the giant sequoias since before the pandemic due to renovations, so it was great to be able to get back to the big trees (it’s pretty humbling to stare up at a tree that is nearly 3,000 years old). After a short hike in the sequoia grove, we set up camp in Wawona and had a delicious dinner of chili nachos. 

Saturday is our big hiking day, but first we enjoyed hot coffee/cocoa and eggs, bacon, and pancakes by the morning fire. Even with the time crunch of needing to head out to the valley, there’s something special about camp mornings. After breakfast we piled into cars and drove into Yosemite Valley for the main event of the day: hiking the Mist Trail. When we got to the bridge at the base of Vernal Falls, we saw a bobcat hanging around near the trail! It stayed around long enough for many in the group to get a good look and take some pictures. Then after returning to the parking lot, we got our second wildlife treat of the day: a black bear! Finally, we got back to our campsite for dinner, campfire, s’mores, and glowsticks. 

Our last day was an easy drive back through the valley to see Bridalveil Falls (though it looked like more mist than waterfall) and to watch from the meadow as climbers attempted to scale El Capitan. After a quick pitstop for pizza, we were back in Richmond, tired but happy. It was a wonderful weekend. We’ll be sad to say goodbye to the 8th graders, but looking forward to seeing our returning students along with new members next fall. 

In the meantime, join us for an end of year celebration! We’ll be closing out the year with a family and alumni picnic on June 7 at Point Pinole. All are welcome! We would love to see you there. Please RSVP at this link

Check out the video if you have a few extra minutes!

ESCAPE Spring Adventures 2025

Moss Beach, Pt. Reyes, and new shirts!

 

The end of the year is fast approaching! We had a couple of really lovely trips with students this spring, first to the Moss Beach area to visit tidepools and Pt. Reyes National Seashore for some hiking and marine wildlife. For both trips, the California flora and fauna was a real highlight, with everything from elephant seals to beautiful wildflowers and tidepool sea creatures.

In March we drove down to Moss Beach for a new ESCAPE trip to the tidepools. Our first stop was the Pacifica pier, where we enjoyed a nice walk out onto the ocean and watched folks fish and crab from the pier. A few brave students even held some of the freshly-caught crabs! At Moss Beach, we took advantage of the negative tide and saw all sorts of small creatures — sea stars, anemones, crabs. So fun! And finally, what was probably the most memorable part of the day for some students: Taco Bell on the beach! What better place to enjoy a Baja Blast??

In April we had a beautiful day in Pt. Reyes National Seashore with some easy hiking and a nice picnic. We started with 300 steps down to see the old lighthouse (that trek that felt much more difficult on the way back up). It was cool to see the line of the beautiful new blue t-shirts as we took the stairs! After that, we hiked the Chimney Rock Trail and saw elephant seals way down below us on the beach and fields of absolutely spectacular wildflowers. Over at Drake’s Beach, we saw fewer elephant seals than we’ve seen in the past but did get a closer look at the some pups. Finally, we ended the day with some food and relaxing at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. Even had a surprise Easter egg hunt for students at the end! Overall, a fun day for our last regular day trip of this school year.

Soon we are off on our culminating weekend in Yosemite National Park. Many students have been talking about this trip all year. We can’t wait to be out there! As always, thank you for following along. We are grateful to have so many friends and family supporting the club. Below are videos from the last two trips if you have a few minutes to check them out!



Tide pools at Moss Beach



Pt. Reyes National Seashore