Submitted by Caydie McCumber
It had been years since snow had fallen and stuck to the valley floor of Yosemite. The California drought had made any precipitation, especially paired with freezing temps, a rare occurrence. But rumours and radar predicted a storm to hit the coming weekend.
I had recently started seeing Jeff, the only person I had ever dated that was also a photographer. Jeff also shared my love for the outdoors, and had an adventurous spirit to match. When we heard that snow was forecast for Yosemite Valley we knew we had to go and photograph it. However, we also knew that we didn’t want to sleep in a hotel because of the cost, or a tent because of the cold. So after a bit of research we found a company that rents VW Westfalias and decided that was the best of both worlds.
Jeff and I picked up our Westy and headed towards the valley. It ran like a dream for the first 80–100 miles, but the following 50 miles or so came with a terrible emergency buzzing noise caused by a harmless oil leak on the exhaust pipe, which left a stream of black smoke in our wake. We laughed it off as best we could — it seemed like a fair trade for bringing such an awesome adventure mobile into one of my favourite places on earth.
The last light was fleeting as we rolled into the valley. We quickly pulled over to catch as many photos as we could before the sun dipped behind the treeline. Afterwards we rushed to our campsite at Upper Pines campground before the light completely faded. Setting up camp with the Westy was a breeze and mostly consisted of starting the bonfire just in time for the snow to begin falling.
The word glamping had never felt so relevant as we cooked an incredible meal inside of the van before sliding into the full size bed. The snow was now falling steadily outside and it felt like being a child on Christmas Eve again; nearly too excited to sleep knowing that gifts awaited me in the morning.
My eyes shot awake at 7am, and I sat up quickly to look around. It had snowed 4–5” overnight, and I couldn’t wait to get outside. After putting on as many layers as I could grab I reached for the sliding door to pull it open, but quickly found that it had frozen completely shut. I had to crawl out of the front seat, which was now piled high with tripods and camera gear. It was an awkward introduction into the snow. Once I was outside I noticed that the snow had driven nearly all of the campers away, save for the RV’s and other vans. It was nothing short of magical seeing what’s normally a crowded campground so under-populated.
Since the door to the van was frozen shut, we decided it would be best to give it some time to sit in the sun and walk to the Ahwahnee Hotel for coffee and breakfast. Along the way we documented the rarity that is a relatively empty Yosemite Valley. Areas that are generally congested with people and cars were completely abandoned. We had a national park, one that brings millions of tourists each year, to ourselves.
Caydie McCumber is a lifestyle, adventure and portrait photographer in SF and LA. You can see more of her work on her website CaydieMcCumber.com or on Instagram & Tumblr
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