Terms & Conditions

1. Booking, Payment & Cancellation Policy

Booking Window: Bookings must be made at least 7 days before the hike date. No bookings are accepted inside this window, by any means. The booking calendar does not offer dates inside it.

Payment: Full payment is required at the time of booking to reserve your spot.

Cancellations:

Cancellations 14+ Days Before Trip: Full refund minus the 3% Stripe credit card processing fee.

Cancellations 0-13 Days Before Trip: Non-refundable.

Park Closures: Refunds or reschedules are only issued if:

Yosemite National Park formally closes the area for the trip date, OR

The specific permitted trailhead becomes inaccessible due to NPS action (road closures, trail closures, etc.)

No refunds for: Subjective environmental conditions (smoke, haze, air quality, weather preferences) unless they result in an official park closure or trail closure by NPS.

Trips operate rain or shine unless conditions create an unsafe situation as determined by the guide.

No-Shows: Clients who fail to arrive at the designated meeting location within 30 minutes of the scheduled start time forfeit the trip with no refund.

2. Guide Unavailability

If the guide is unable to lead the trip due to illness, injury, or emergency, clients will receive a full refund or the option to reschedule to another available date. This does not apply to client-initiated cancellations.

3. Guide Authority & Safety

Turnaround Authority: The guide has full authority to adjust routes, turn around, or end a trip early based on safety, weather, environmental hazards, or client condition. Client compliance with these decisions is mandatory.

Safety Dismissal: The guide reserves the right to deny participation at the trailhead, without refund, if:

A client lacks required gear (proper footwear, layering, water, etc.)

A client's physical or mental condition poses a risk to themselves or the group

The guide determines that participation poses an unreasonable safety risk

4. Client Preparedness

Health Disclosure: Clients must provide accurate health and fitness information to support safe trip planning. Notify the guide in advance of any medical conditions, injuries, or limitations that could affect your ability to complete the hike.

Mandatory Gear: Clients must arrive with:

Mountain-suitable footwear (hiking boots or trail runners with ankle support)

Sun protection (hat, sunglasses, sunscreen)

At least 2 liters of water

Appropriate layering for variable weather conditions

Personal Medication: Clients are responsible for carrying and managing their own required personal medications (e.g., inhalers, EpiPens). The guide's medical kit is for emergency use only and does not replace personal medication needs.

5. Transportation

MountainsCalling.me does not provide transportation. Clients are responsible for their own transportation to the meeting point and within Yosemite National Park.

6. Liability Waiver

All participants must sign a separate liability waiver acknowledging the inherent risks of hiking and outdoor activity, including but not limited to: falls, wildlife encounters, weather hazards, and remote medical emergencies. This waiver is provided upon booking confirmation and must be signed before the trip begins.

1. Booking, Payment & Cancellation Policy

Booking Window: Bookings must be made at least 7 days before the trip start date. No bookings are accepted inside this window, by any means. A trip inside it is closed to booking.

Payment Schedule:

50% Deposit Due at Booking (Default): A 50% deposit is required to reserve your spot. The remaining 50% will be automatically charged to the card on file 30 days prior to the trip start date.

Pay in Full Option: You may choose to pay 100% at the time of booking if you prefer.

Payment Failures: If the final payment fails, you will be notified and given 48 hours to update your payment method. Failure to complete payment within 48 hours will result in forfeiture of your spot and loss of the deposit.

Cancellations:

Cancellations 31+ Days Before Trip: Full refund minus the 3% Stripe credit card processing fee.

Cancellations 0-30 Days Before Trip: Non-refundable.

Park Closures & Permit Revocations: Refunds or reschedules are only issued if:

Yosemite National Park formally closes the wilderness area for the trip dates, OR

The National Park Service revokes the specific wilderness permit for this route.

No refunds for: Subjective environmental conditions (smoke, haze, air quality) unless they result in an official park closure or permit denial by NPS.

No-Shows: Clients who fail to arrive at the designated meeting location within 30 minutes of the scheduled start time forfeit the trip with no refund.

2. Guide Unavailability

If the guide is unable to lead the trip due to illness, injury, or emergency, clients will receive a full refund or the option to reschedule to another available permit date. This does not apply to client-initiated cancellations.

3. Wilderness Authority & Safety

Turnaround Authority: The guide has full authority to adjust routes, campsites, or end a trip early based on safety, weather, environmental hazards, or client condition. Client compliance with these decisions is mandatory.

Safety Dismissal: The guide reserves the right to deny participation at the trailhead, without refund, if:

A client lacks required gear (proper footwear, layering, etc.)

A client's physical or mental condition poses a risk to themselves or the group

Equipment is deemed unsafe or inadequate for wilderness conditions

4. Participant Preparedness

Physical Requirements: Backpacking requires carrying a 30-35lb pack over rugged terrain at elevation. Clients confirm they have accurately disclosed their fitness level, any chronic joint or cardiovascular conditions, and any injuries or medical conditions that could affect their ability to safely complete the trip.

Medical & Dietary: Clients must disclose all food allergies and medical conditions. Clients are responsible for carrying their own required personal medications (e.g., EpiPens, inhalers).

Bear Safety: Compliance with all National Park Service bear-resistant food storage regulations is mandatory and will be enforced by the guide.

5. Equipment

Clients are responsible for providing their own gear (backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad) unless rental arrangements have been made in advance. A lightweight 2-person tent is provided by Yosemite Life. All gear must be in good working order. The guide may inspect gear at the trailhead and deny participation if equipment is deemed unsafe or inadequate for wilderness conditions.

6. Transportation

MountainsCalling.me does not provide transportation. Clients are responsible for their own transportation to the meeting point and the trailhead.

7. Liability Waiver

All participants must sign a separate liability waiver acknowledging the inherent risks of wilderness travel, including but not limited to: wildlife encounters, altitude sickness, falls, weather hazards, and remote medical emergencies. This waiver is provided upon booking confirmation and must be signed before the trip begins.

1. What a Pre-Booking is

A Pre-Booking reserves your seats on a dated trip on my next-season calendar, at the per-person price shown for that trip when you place it. The trip, its dates, your party size, and your price are repeated on your pre-booking confirmation, and that confirmation is the record of what we agreed. The dates and route on the calendar are the plan; point 7 defines what counts as securing the permit. A custom trip I have priced for you privately is pre-booked on these same terms; your confirmation names it.

It is not yet a confirmed trip. Every Yosemite backpacking trip depends on a wilderness permit, and the park does not release permits until 24 weeks before a trip starts. A Pre-Booking is your seat while I get the permit.

2. Pre-booking deposit

$150 per booking (not per person), paid by card when you place the pre-booking. It is credited in full toward your trip deposit.

3. What I commit to

Your seats are held. When the permit window for your trip opens, about six months before it starts, I secure the wilderness permit, with Half Dome on it where the trip includes the summit. I honor the per-person price on your confirmation for the trip you pre-booked.

4. When the permit is secured

I email you the day I have it, with a private booking link. The rest of the standard 50% deposit is due through that link within ten days, with your pre-booking deposit credited against it. The balance is charged 30 days before the trip, as with every trip. From the moment you pay the deposit, the Backpacking Trip Terms and Conditions apply.

If I don't hear from you within the ten days, your seats go back on public sale and your pre-booking deposit is refunded minus the 3% Stripe credit card processing fee.

5. If I can't secure a permit

If I come back with nothing that works, meaning no wilderness permit for your trip's dates or up to three days either side of them, on the route or a comparable one (a nearby camp, or a different trailhead for the same kind of trip), you choose: move to another trip on the calendar with seats open, at that trip's price with your pre-booking deposit credited, or a refund of your pre-booking deposit minus the 3% Stripe credit card processing fee. The permit costs are mine.

6. If your plans change

Cancel at any time before you pay the trip deposit for a refund of your pre-booking deposit minus the 3% Stripe credit card processing fee. Nothing else is ever withheld.

7. If you pass on what I secure

A permit for your trip's dates or up to three days either side of them, on the route or a comparable one, is a secured permit: I have held up my end. If you pass on it, you can take the refund in point 6, minus the 3% Stripe credit card processing fee, and your seats go back on public sale.

8. Operating authorization

I guide under a Commercial Use Authorization issued each year by Yosemite National Park; the next season's authorization is issued in the new year. If it is not renewed, every pre-booking deposit is refunded minus the 3% Stripe credit card processing fee.

9. Travel

Don't book flights or lodging until I confirm your permit. I tell you the day I have it.

10. Half Dome and the cables

A Half Dome summit depends on the cables being up, and in a heavy-snow year they can go up after your dates. A secured permit for your dates is a secured permit either way. If the cables are down for your dates, we do the trip without the summit, or I move your dates if I can secure them.