YExplore Yosemite Adventures

I booked a guided snowshoe hike in Yosemite with YExplore as a Christmas gift for my wife Michelle and I (along with new snowshoes). We are avid hikers and spend a lot of time in Yosemite, but are novices with snowshoes. This was my first time and Michelle's second. We spoke with John on the phone before the trip and explained our goals were to primarily learn about snowshoeing and if possible try a new trail. John brainstormed with us and adjusted the original plan to accommodate both of our goals.Leading up to the trip, Catherine did a fantastic job with communication. She is incredibly detail oriented, professional and friendly. When we arrived at the link up spot, John had already scouted out the trails to make sure the conditions were right to have a good experience. While he certainly can't control the snow, I'm confident he would have been ready with a "Plan B" upon our arrival if required.He was patient as we cut the zip ties off our new shoes, adjusted our poles, and figured out how everything worked, coaching us along the way. The trail was perfect and beautiful and along the way, John took some amazing photos and gave us some photography tips. He explained some of the history of the area and at many points stopped to provide an ecology or history lesson. He was friendly and professional and and we both enjoyed both his company and his coaching. At the end of the day, John air-dropped to us a bunch of amazing photos he had taken along the way. Our objectives were fully accomplished and Michelle and I were both extremely grateful for a wonderful Christmas gift to each other.

My two girlfriends and I originally signed up for the Vernal-Mist/Nevada-Falls hike (a challenging level hike). Several days before the hike, however, Catherine contacted me and suggested a different hike -- the Chilnualna Falls hike (also a challenging-level hike). With the National Park centennial, the approaching weekend, and warming temperatures, the trails for the Vernal-Mist/Nevada-Falls hike were apparently becoming very crowded. Catherine suggested the Chilnualna Falls hike as an alternative because it wasn't as popular and would, therefore, be less crowded. My friends and I agreed to do the Chilnualna Falls hike.I love that Catherine took this initiative with us. While crowds were streaming into the rest of the park, the Chilnualna hike was fairly empty. We ran into a number of hikers here and there, but the trail was otherwise quiet and peaceful. The best way to do a nature hike, in my opinion. Our guide, John, led our group of five women on the hike. John seemed mindful of each of our fitness levels, and often stopped to talk about what we were seeing. John is obviously passionate about Yosemite and nature in general and was great in sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with us. At one point in our hike, John took us (at least those of us who were willing) to the edge of some rocks, where the streams fall far below into a powerful waterfall. Somewhat daunting, but I'm so glad that John gave us the opportunity to do something I never have done on my own. Finally, later in the hike, John took photographs of us in front of waterfalls and other beautiful scenery, which he later emailed to us. Such an amazing experience, made richer by John's guidance. I highly recommend YExplore to those looking for guided hikes.

Last year I booked a Half Dome day hike with YExplore. My experience then was less than optimal, and when I communicated this to John afterwards, he immediately contacted me to make it right. From that moment when I first spoke with him until the moment he personally shook my hand at the top of Half Dome this week, my experience with this company has been absolutely stellar. John and Catherine are both incredibly friendly and professional business owners that earn all of the trust and good reviews shown here.On my second attempt of Half Dome, John and Matteo were our guides, with Katie the intern along as well. A better set of people to hike with I could not possibly imagine.Matteo is a fiery ball of enthusiasm. His passion for life is evident within the first thirty seconds of meeting him. I reveled in his vivacious descriptions of John Muir, talus slopes, trail building, and the scents of trees ("Really stick your nose in that tree!! Breath it in!!!"), among the many other topics he could start up easily to keep our 13-hour hike interesting. His presence kept the entire day educational, fun, and joyful.John is a natural coach. Although my own confidence may have faltered along the trail, I did not for one second doubt that he had my back, and I knew that he would not give up on me. When my anxiety rose, he calmed me down. He gave me instruction before I even knew I needed it. He built me up when I was breaking myself down. Without him behind me on the cables, I would not have made it to the top. Even the stranger who fell in to line behind us on the cables and eavesdropped on John's instructions said that John was the reason that he was able to make it to the top as well. The day that John hiked with me was his 123 summit of Half Dome.Of course, let's not forget Catherine, without whom none of this would have come together. Although I did not meet her in person, her communication was always so friendly and informative that I felt almost as if I had! When you book a hike with her, she not only floods you with loads of useful information about preparing for your trip, but she also checks up on you to make sure that everything is good to go. You will never feel lost with Catherine's email at hand.Anyone who is considering a guided hike in Yosemite should most definitely give YExplore a call. They are worth every penny you will spend. As my experience and the many five-star reviews here show, John and Catherine are satisfied with nothing less than an exceptional experience for every client. Although I originally booked with them merely to guarantee myself a permit, I am now grateful that my bad luck with the lottery led me to them. My own trip was far richer for it!

TL,DR: Our tour was pretty awesome.. John, our guide, was really passionate, nice, and insightful. We happen to go on a "good" day, and got a bunch of nice picture. Learn lots of fact about Yosemite.Me and my gf are weak sauce , so we sign up for the beginner tour. It was pretty challenging to be honest.. it was a REALLY long walk (4+ mile) , but in the end it was worth it... At first, my girlfriend was like: "We can walk around this place by ourselves, we don't need to pay someone to walk us around", but then... she completely changed her mind.We got a bunch of nice pictures at locations in Yosemite we didn't know existed, learned facts as we walk by different locations, and got tips about nearby places.As we talked to John, we really like him because he was very passionate about the park.. example: he would pick up trash as we walk, or tell facts like it's REALLY important, praises us for keeping up (I was dying).I would definitely recommend YExplore.

Enjoyed a 3 hour hike around the Tuolumne grove of sequoias, among other spectacular trees, guided by John. John was a fantastic guide, giving us a bit of history (natural and human) and teaching us about the different plant life around. Because it was just he two of us with John, I thought there might be some awkward silences, but i felt very comfortable with him and really enjoyed chatting and learning. We would love to take another tour with him in the future.

Booked a last minute tour and John was able to accommodate us. John was excellent. He was knowledgeable about the park and shared the parks history with us through the tour. He is passionate about what he does. He took us up to the lower Yosemite falls and gave us tips on what places would be best to take pictures. We hiked to El cap and had a beautiful hike. Definitely recommend Yexplore!.

Will definitely be booking again with John and Y Explore!!! Honestly when we booked the guided half dome hike I went into it thinking we were just utilizing the purchased permits as hadn't won the lottery ourselves but as the day progressed I became more and more grateful for the wisdom and knowledge of our guide. From breathing techniques and tips for ascending and descending the cables to the order of of our group and perfectly timed rest breaks this was worth every penny as we had not only a successful summit but an overwhelming positive experience! Hubby and I are excited to travel again to more destination with Y Explore in the near future!

I booked a private guided tour and paid $200/person for a hike up by the waterfalls and then for hiking on the park floor. The guide assigned to us was double booked and had to leave at 1 pm. She advised us that she normally does not have 2 tours in a day but the company had her double up because snow was expected. She only did the hike by the waterfalls. Viator sent me a link to rate my experience. When I did and complained about the above, I got threatening emails from the owners John & Catherine DeGrazio. If I did not remove my review -- which they labeled as a lie -- they would go to my business site and post false claims -- even though they were never my clients. In effect blackmailing me.I would be cautious with these people if they go to such extremes when you have a disagreement with them.Below is the email where I am threatened:

Best experience of our trip!! My two teenage boys and I hiked with our guide Alex to Upper Yosemite Falls. Alex was so fantastic! He was so knowledgeable and engaging. It was a memorable family trip made so much better with the help of YExplore Yosemite. The owner John was so flexible and helpful when our plans changed. I highly recommend booking a trip with this company. It was a 10 out of a 10 experience for us. We are planning our next adventure with them!! Thank you John and Alex for the best trip!

There are no words to describe how just wonderful this experience was. Although only one out of three of us finished, it was still awesome! We all felt like we were in good hands. John and Ashley's knowledge of the mountain was clutch!!