30 Dec 2020
I booked a guided snowshoe hike in Yosemite with YExplore as a Christmas gift for my wife Michelle and I (along with new snowshoes). We are avid hikers and spend a lot of time in Yosemite, but are novices with snowshoes. This was my first time and Michelle’s second. We spoke with John on the phone before the trip and explained our goals were to primarily learn about snowshoeing and if possible try a new trail. John brainstormed with us and adjusted the original plan to accommodate both of our goals.
Leading up to the trip, Catherine did a fantastic job with communication. She is incredibly detail oriented, professional and friendly. When we arrived at the link up spot, John had already scouted out the trails to make sure the conditions were right to have a good experience. While he certainly can’t control the snow, I’m confident he would have been ready with a “Plan B” upon our arrival if required.
He was patient as we cut the zip ties off our new shoes, adjusted our poles, and figured out how everything worked, coaching us along the way. The trail was perfect and beautiful and along the way, John took some amazing photos and gave us some photography tips. He explained some of the history of the area and at many points stopped to provide an ecology or history lesson. He was friendly and professional and and we both enjoyed both his company and his coaching.
At the end of the day, John air-dropped to us a bunch of amazing photos he had taken along the way. Our objectives were fully accomplished and Michelle and I were both extremely grateful for a wonderful Christmas gift to each other.