TBA
Yosemite
Over Labor Day weekend, September 2007.
Drove up Friday afternoon, complete with the usual rental car antics. Tried to stop in Kingsburg, CA as they promised a Swedish Village-- then as we pulled in, every Swedish restaurant was closed. The handful of Mexican and Chinese (!) places didn't count, so we pressed on to Fresno for some In-n-Out.
Made it into Yosemite about 10pm, hauling butt over CA-41 and CA-140. Some gorgeous views of the night sky, but after too many memories of unpacking in the dark from previous trips, an executive decision to not stop was made and we pressed on. Frances, Wil, and a few others arrived earlier in the day to grab a pair of nice campsites and setup the tents, so at least we didn't have to do that in the dark. Woohoo!
Tho and the third (and last) part of the group didn't show up til 3am or so. Ouch. The rest of us woke up at 4am to watch the peak of the Aurigid meteor shower-- we saw one huge bright streak, two or three medium ones, and a few smaller ones, over 20 minutes. Awesome compared to what we'd see in light-polluted Los Angeles. The brightest one was wow.
The late night meant ultimately doomed hiking the next morning. A few of us were up early enough, a few were ready to go by 10am or so (not necessarily the same few), and then somewhere along the line it was decided that abandoning half the group was not a good idea. Plus, some of the 20lb of meat we had brought up was starting to look tasty for lunch. (6lb of galbi, 9lb of steak, 4lb of bacon, another couple pounds of chicken, plus hot dogs, burgers, etc.)
The day's hike was an easy one, Tuolumne Meadows to Glen Aulin. We passed by Tenaya Lake on the way in and stopped to play for a bit. Crystal clear water, blue skies, warm day, great view. Saw some rock climbers on the other side of the road doing some slab climbing, too. Parked near Lembert Dome (saw more rock climbers, oooo) and started hiking up to Glen Aulin. Before hitting Soda Springs and the old camp, we ooooh and ahhhhh'ed at bunch of deer along the trail, then trekked onward. A horse train was coming out as we came in, then less than a half mile before the three bridges on the trail, the lure of the water was too much. A large shallow pool cascaded through the rocks, and... well, the pictures say it all.
The guys and girls split up at this point- the guys made it about 30 minutes further down the trail, hitting more small waterfalls past the three bridges. At this point we were probably 4 or 4.5 miles into the trail (the bridges were the 3.5 mile mark), but to make it back before dark we decided to turn around. Patrick, Wil, and I hauled *ss, eventually catching the girls near the trailhead while Wil was "practicing" his bear noises. Delia had filled up a bottle of water at the springs and passed around the fizzy water to sample. Right before we finished, we saw an older woman hiking in with an old external frame pack and in bare feet. (!)
Dinner was chicken, mashed potatos, vegetable skewers, shortribs, and whatever else we had. Mmmmmmmmmm. With s'mores for dessert. And beer.
The next morning, Patrick and I headed up Clouds Rest while everyone else did something more sane. 14.8 miles round trip, 3000' of elevation gain. We made it to the top in 3 hours and back down in another 3 hours, which meant we were hauling down the trail. Our first rest stop wasn't until well into the first serious switchbacks from the Sunrise trailhead, more than 45 minutes in. The ridge tops out at 9200', then descends past some lakes and a NPS trail clearing camp before climbing again. We enjoyed the flat bit near the NPS camp and the large pond it was near, although another (less crazy than yesterday's) backpacker also blew our minds. She wore a hat saying "Sierra Club leader" and was carrying a full pack compared to our daypacks, yet kept pace with us.
The last 800' of vertical gain finishes up the rocky ridge to the 9926' top. By the start of the ridge the view is offering a strong hint of what you'll see up top, and by the time you make the top, the promised 360 degree view delivers. Fully.
Half Dome is 1500' lower to the south, the knife-edged peaks dead east, and the sheer scope of Yosemite in its entirety compose the view from Clouds Rest. While I have not yet climbed Half Dome, the view here is said to be better by many, complete with a 5000' sheer drop down into Tenaya Canyon on the north and west. Mt. Conness is northeast, Mt. Gibbs, Koip Peak, Mt. Lyell, and Mt. Ritter are east and east-southeast, Mt. Clark is south-southeast, and Half Dome and Yosemite Valley to the south.
The way down seems longer, but that's probably because of the last (first) ridge we have to climb. It was steep with too many steps formed into the rock on the way in (each just a little too high to be an easy step), on the way out, it sucked.
We dipped in Tenaya Lake on the way back, quickly dirtying the clear water with dirt, sweat, and sunscreen. Made it back early enough to start the fire, cook a steak, crack a few beers, and lounge around til everyone else showed up from their hike to Cathedral Lakes. The fact that we had all the steak and more galbi to eat meant we basically spent the whole night eating.
And drinking. Tho was very generous with the rest of the girls to the point that a bunch of us stayed up and talked past midnight to ensure no one went to bed too drunk.
The highlight of the return drive was a stop at KFC in Bakersfield for lunch, better known as the epitome of smooth and boring-- exactly the way you want the 5 hour drive to be!
Days 1 and 2: to Yosemite, Tuolumne Meadows to Glen Aulin
Days 3 and 4: Clouds Rest Trail and heading home
