If you enjoy spectacular outdoor scenery and wish to explore this National Park with a personal guide who can unfold the majesty and wonder, then YExplore is your choice. They specialize in custom trips with a cadre of hiking and photographer guides that know every nook and cranny in the park. You can expect that your personalized trip will be tailored to your needs or you can choose from many scheduled outings. I have participated in several photo trips with John Senser focusing on moon rises, and his expertise has helped sharpen my skills while taking me to points of the park that I would not have ventured to. I even got a birthday present from my family to take 2 upcoming trips and I am anxiously surfing through the offerings to make that big decision. Yosemite is one of the great National Parks of this world, and YExplore is one of the best ways to see it.

My wife found Yexplore when she was looking for a guide to take us to halfdome in Yosemite. From the beginning John (the owner) was helpful. We have 5 children, 9 year old triplets and 16 year old twins, and John and Jacob guided us to the top of halfdome, even the little ones. Everybody coming down from the top could not believe that our kids made it to the top. I am sure that without them we would not have made it. They were very encouraging and kept everybody entertained during the 14 hour hike. I have nothing but good things to say about them. BTW the website is www.yexplore.com (not yexlpore.com)

In June 2007, I planned to hike Half Dome and had prepped for it for a couple of months in the San Francisco Bay Area. After a hiker had fallen from the cables the week before I was scheduled to go, I decided a guide might be a good idea rather than attempt the hike alone, the first time. I did a Google search and found several options, but chose Y-Explore because I thought it would be a good fit. As it turned out, the experience went far beyond expectations.

John made an excellent hiking companion, he set a good, sustainable pace. A couple of days before my Half Dome hike was scheduled, I decided to change from starting in the Valley to starting at Glacier Point. It adds about 5 miles but has much less traffic. It turned out to be the right decision, although it does make for a long day. The last three miles, back up hill, were brutal, but John kept us plugging along (We completed the hike in 11 hours).

The next day John suggested Ostrander Lake as a "recovery" hike and it was an excellent idea!

I returned to Yosemite in September 2007 to do the other major hikes on my list--El Capitan, Cloud's Rest and North Dome, all from the Tioga Road. Two days before I was to leave San Francisco, the first winter storm of the season was predicted during my hiking days. I usually only hike in warm summer weather, but John was able to provide me with a list of the clothing and gear I would need for snow hiking. El Capitan was scheduled first and that morning it was snowing at 7000 feet and the Tioga Road was closed--we had to start from Big Oak Flat Road instead. It was a long day but we made it to the top of El Capitan and back, about 10 hours. The next day the Tioga Road was open and everything was clear as if the snow the previous day had not happened. We hiked to North Dome and the views were spectacular--definitely a hike I will do again! The third day, the winter storm was back. We hiked through several inches of snow that day to the peak of Cloud's Rest (although we couldn't see anything as we were literally in the clouds). It snowed on us most of the day and several inches accumulated, but it was not too hazardous as the ground was not cold enough for it to really stick.

Half Dome was a major personal accomplishment, but the September trip was even better--originally from the Southeast, I've never really been out in heavy snowfall. It was so beautiful, a once in a lifetime experience! This was a trip I would have never done without the benefit of a guide--I could not have followed the route alone and it would have been dangerous to attempt it. However, John knew the trail system well enough to guide us through it and kept a sustainable pace throughout the day.

I'm planning another week at Yosemite late summer '08 and will definitely employ the services of Y-Explore again. I really liked the fact that each hike is customized to fit the hiker(s) and they are completely flexible on the details. Thank John and Y-Explore!

We found Y Explorers through a recommendation of the B&B where we had made reservations in Groveland, CA last April. I sent an e-mail inquiring about what tours were available. John called me back and was very helpful in outlining the tours that would be most appropriate for our family (2 adults with kids ages 10 & 12). John was great in asking us the right questions regarding our hiking experience & interests and we settled on a 5 hour family tour. Despite the weather - snow above 4000ft with cold/icy rain in the valley - John made the hike fun & entertaining, eventhough our youngest had wet socks most of the time. It was a memorable experience and only added to our appetites to come back in better weather to hook up with John and Y Explorer for a photo tour.