Documented by Peter Zaytsev — who somehow kept meticulous notes through the whole thing.
Percona Live Bay Area 2026 wrapped on a Friday afternoon, and we had a weekend ahead of us. Yosemite was the obvious answer. Three hours from the conference venue under ideal conditions — which we did not have, leaving at 4:30 p.m. into Bay Area traffic — but still close enough to make a long weekend worth it. Twelve of us packed in four days and came back having done considerably more than we’d planned.
We left Mountain View around 4:30 p.m. Friday evening traffic made itself felt. The drive stretched to just over four and a half hours, with a dinner stop in Merced — a better call than eating near the park entrance, where options get thin fast. We arrived after 10 p.m. and went straight to bed.
We stayed at Cedar Lodge, just outside the park entrance. It carries an uncomfortable footnote in Yosemite’s history: the site of the 1999 Yosemite Park Killings. In a detail that nobody quite knew what to do with, our group was assigned room 509 — the room directly connected to those events. We noted it, acknowledged the strangeness, and slept fine.
If you’re visiting Yosemite on a May Saturday, early is the only strategy that works. We were out by 5:50 a.m.
A quick stop at Tunnel View first — always worth it, even when you’re looking directly into the morning sun — then on to the Curry Village parking lot. At 6:30 a.m. it was already competitive. We found spots, had a hot breakfast at the dining hall before it filled up, and got moving.
The plan was the Mist Trail up to Vernal and Nevada Falls, looping back down on the John Muir Trail. Part of the John Muir Trail was closed, so we took an alternate route that added some elevation. The hike ended at 16.6 km with roughly 850 m of gain and took about 7 hours — longer and harder than the original plan.
The waterfalls were running hard from snowmelt. Loud, genuinely wet, and busy — high season plus perfect weather plus roaring falls is a reliable formula for crowds. The mist created rainbows most of the way up.
Between Vernal and Nevada Falls, a few of us stepped off the main trail for some rock-hopping on the granite — quieter, better footing, better views of the water without the foot traffic. Yosemite granite has a texture that rewards that kind of detour.
Back at Curry Village after 7 hours on the trail, we ate pizza. When a few hundred people are all hungry at the same time in the same valley, pizza is the correct answer.
The original afternoon plan was Sentinel Dome — 360-degree views, short hike from the parking lot. The morning had run long, so we drove to Glacier Point instead. It sits almost directly above Curry Village, about 4 trail miles away; by car, it takes close to an hour. The view at the top is a full sweep of the valley with minimal walking required. A good trade.
Some of the group spent the evening by the bonfire. Others chose the equally defensible option of going to sleep.
Early again. We drove to Yosemite Lodge and walked to Camp 4 — the historic bouldering area that shaped modern rock climbing as a discipline. The nearby Starbucks and dining hall handled breakfast before we got on the rock.
Three guides, twelve climbers, seven routes across a range of difficulty levels. Most of the group had never climbed outdoors before. Three guides meant everyone could move at their own pace and get on as many routes as they wanted, without waiting or feeling pushed.
The guides were solid — knowledgeable, patient, good at reading where each person was. Equipment was in good shape. The session felt organized without being over-managed, which is the right balance when half the group has never been on real rock before.
Yosemite granite has its own logic. If your climbing background is gym walls or sport limestone, your forearms won’t be the limiting factor here. The granite rewards footwork and finger trust over grip strength — different muscle memory, different problem-solving.
First-time outdoor climbers in the group sent routes that looked serious from the ground. That’s the thing about good guiding: it removes the reasons not to try.
After lunch at Base Camp (better than a cafeteria in a national park has any right to be), the group split. Some rented bikes and rode the valley floor. Others found a spot in the meadow below El Capitan — made famous as the site of the Free Solo climb — and watched people spending multiple days on a single pitch. It puts a 7-hour day hike in a different perspective. A smaller group pushed up the Upper Yosemite Falls trail, reached the top, and made it back in 4 hours. That required a deliberate pace. They made it.
The day ended at The Mountain Room in Yosemite Valley — a proper sit-down dinner, good food, good company. The kind of tired at the table that comes from doing things rather than watching them.
Some people left early — flights, offices, the standard Monday math. Others had a slower breakfast before heading out. One person went back into the park; his flight wasn’t until evening and he wasn’t going to spend that time in a parking lot.
Three of us ran the old mountain road above the lodge before breakfast. It had been converted to trail, wound uphill through wildflowers, and made for a better start to the drive home than sitting in the lobby. The return took about 3.5 hours — daytime, light traffic. By Monday afternoon, everyone was back to regular life.
Four days, a conference, 16 km of trail in a single day, seven climbing routes, three separate afternoon itineraries, and one genuinely bizarre hotel room assignment. Yosemite held up its end.
We send something when there's something to send. Upcoming climbs, open spots, and the odd story worth your time.
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