I'm a Yosemite Guide Now. Here's What That Means.

Mar 2, 2026

It's official. MountainsCalling.me is a licensed, permitted, fully authorized Yosemite guiding operation. I'm holding a Commercial Use Authorization issued by the National Park Service on February 11, 2026.

That piece of paper took months of work, first-aid training and certification, insurance requirements, and a level of compliance paperwork that would bore you to read about. But it matters. A lot of people call themselves National Parks guides. Very few of them have gone through what it actually takes to operate legally inside the park. I have.

This post is about what I'm offering, why I built this, and who it's for. If you've been following along on social media or here on the blog, you know some of this story already. But let me put it all in one place.

What MountainsCalling.me Actually Is

I guide private day hikes and small-group backpacking expeditions inside Yosemite National Park. That's it. That's the whole business.

No shuttle tours. No check-the-box itineraries. No groups of 20 people following a flag. Every trip I run is either private — just you and me — or a small group, capped intentionally. You'll never feel like a number.

Every route is built around you: your pace, your goals, what you actually want to get out of the day. I'm not guiding the same hike in the same way every time. The park is always different. So is the experience.

Day Hikes

Private, full-day guided hikes for groups of one to seven people. Completely private — no shared groups, ever. We'll talk before your trip about what you want, what you're capable of, and where you want to go. Then I'll handle everything else.

Routes range from accessible Valley floor walks to big days in the high country — Clouds Rest, Yosemite Falls, Mist Trail, Mariposa Grove, Tuolumne Meadows. What you get depends on when you're coming and what you're ready for. We figure that out together.

What's included: pre-trip planning call, route selection based on your goals and conditions, first aid and emergency equipment, backcountry water filtration, post-trip recommendations. What's not included: park entrance, food, personal gear, transportation. No surprises.

→ See day hike details and pricing

Multi-Day Backpacking

If a day hike is an introduction, backpacking is the full conversation. I will run multiple expeditions throughout the core Yosemite backpacking season — spring snowmelt, summer high country, late summer into fall. Each trip has its own character depending on the route, the timing, and the group.

I already have a number of trips on the calendar for 2026, with more being added as permits are released through Recreation.gov. Spots are limited by design — these are intimate, guide-led expeditions, not group tours.

If backpacking in Yosemite is something you've ever seriously thought about — not just imagined, but actually thought about — this is the year to make it happen. I have the permits. I have the experience. I've spent hundreds of nights in this backcountry. You don't have to figure it out yourself.

→ Learn more about backpacking trips

→ See all 2026 backpacking trips

Why I Built This

Toward the end of my 63 National Parks journey, I caught myself thinking: why am I not just going back to Yosemite? I had to genuinely talk myself into completing the thing I'd spent seventeen years working toward.

That's not something I could have imagined feeling when I started. But that's what Yosemite does. It doesn't let go. It moved me across the country. It restructured my sense of what actually matters. When I'm there, very little else has any weight. It's one of the few places on earth where I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.

I've been there 57 times and counting, and still, every single time I go back, it gives me something new.

That's why I became a guide. Because I know what this place is capable of giving someone — I've felt it enough times to know it's not accidental. It requires the right conditions, the right pace, the right guide. I want to create those conditions for people. Because Yosemite changed my life, and that's not a small thing to sit with. At some point you either keep it to yourself or you figure out how to pass it on.

I can't make you slow down. But I can build a trip that does. I can take you somewhere quieter. I can make sure you're there at the right time of day, moving at a pace where things actually land. I can tell you what you're walking through — what shaped it, what lives in it, what it took to protect it. I can put you in the middle of Yosemite in a way that sticks.

That's the whole idea. Not a hike. Not a service. An experience that stays.

Who This Is For

You don't have to be an experienced hiker. You don't have to know anything about Yosemite before you arrive. You just have to want something real.

If you want your own space, your own pace, a guide who's genuinely invested in your experience and not just moving bodies from trailhead to overlook — this is for you. If you want to understand the place you're walking through, not just pass through it — this is for you.

If you want a tour group, a flag to follow, and a tight turnaround time — I am not the right guide. And that's okay. What I offer isn't for everyone.

How to Book

All trips are listed here at MountainsCalling.me. Booking is online, takes a few minutes, and secures your spot.

Day hike availability is live on the site and updated as dates open up — no permit lottery, no waiting. Just pick a date that works.

I've already secured wilderness permits running through mid-August 2026. Backpacking spots are limited by nature — that's not a sales line, it's just how permits work. If something on the calendar looks right to you, don't wait.

Questions before you commit? Email me directly at eric@mountainscalling.me. I personally read every message — not an assistant, not a form response, me. I'll give you a straight answer and we'll figure out the right trip together.