Brandon Knight

Hey, my name is Brandon Knight. This summer I traveled with my family to Yosemite National Park where we did a lot of hiking and climbing. Leading up to the trip to California, I had watched several documentaries and seen countless pictures of the beauty Yosemite has to offer. However, when I first arrived into the park, I was completely astounded at the greatness and vastness spread throughout the whole park. Above all, no pun intended, I was most amazed by Yosemite's 3000 foot wall, "El Capitan." Six months prior to my family's trip out to California, we watched the National Geographic documentary "Free Solo" which is about the first person to climb up the sheer granite face of El Capitan without the use of ropes or any type of harness. I also like to say I attempted to free solo El Capitan after going up 10 feet on the wall without any ropes then quickly making my way back down. Moreover, throughout my week living in Mariposa, CA, I was thankful for the opportunity to separate myself both mentally and physically from my normal hectic routines and was able to take a step back and continuously be in awe of the grandness in nature this world has to offer.