:: Archive for July, 2008

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Tags: domes, illilouette gorge, jul08 yosemite trip, north dome, porcupine creek trail, trees, waterfalls, yosemite national park

From the summit of 9,926-foot Clouds Rest, the whole of Yosemite unfurls itself like a giant three-dimensional map. Even the haze from fires and agriculture cannot fully obscure the grandeur of Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, North Dome, or even distant El Capitan (the white clifftop at the top right). The sheer faces of Half Dome are dramatic from here, and it becomes clear how steep a climb to its summit will be.

Continued from Part 6: The Tempest.

The calm morning and bright sunshine belied the sound and fury of the afternoon before, when a vicious hail storm pounded the tree-studded meadow surrounding Upper Cathedral Lake. I laid my gear over a large boulder facing the sun so that everything would dry out. My hiking clothes, in particular, were still soaked from the rain, as were my boots. My sleeping bag was damp. The hammock’s canopy was covered in dew. The hammock itself was damp. My sleeping pad was wet on the edges and damp in the middle. Even the windshield reflector was wet. This would take awhile. I guess I’ll explore the lake.

The ground was still wet and dewy, and I had on my crocs, so I stepped carefully, trying to keep my socks as dry as possible. A series of granite slabs provided access to the lake, and the view of Tressider Peak reflecting in its mirror-still waters was inspiring. Already the bad memories of this spot were fading away like a bad dream exposed to the light. I noticed two people sitting on a rock across the water. We called out to each other, discussing the storm. They had set up camp about half an hour before it hit. There were, in fact, better campsites along that opposite shore, but I did not have the time to seek them out.

One could follow the shore easily around the eastern shore to the strip of trees and boulders beneath Tressider’s shoulder. The path to the western shore required crossing Tenaya Creek, which I, at that moment, lacked the footwear to accomplish. A waterfall was heard and briefly glimpsed on the mountainside, and I expect the creek created waterfalls of its own as it headed down to the lower lake. Part of me wanted to backtrack down to the lower lake — supposedly very scenic — but I was going to be getting a late enough start without the detour.

Though I broke camp around 7:30 a.m., I didn’t get packed up and on the trail until around 9:30 a.m. Clouds were already streaming in from the east, as the monsoonal flow once again was in charge of the mountains’ weather. I could expect another storm today. All the more reason to get going!
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Tags: backpacking, clouds rest, half dome, john muir trail, jul08 yosemite trip, sunrise lakes, yosemite national park

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Tags: backpacking, backpacking gear, jeff, jul08 yosemite trip, porcupine creek trail, signs, trailheads, trees, yosemite national park

The darkening skies were a warning of what was to come. The craggy summit of Cathedral Peak is a lone jagged spike from this portion of the Cathedral Lakes Trail, as foreboding as the thunder rumbling low and loud and the bristling lightning shooting over the not-too-distant Sierra crest. The air was deathly still. I had not yet made it to where I could camp, and I quickened my pace, bypassing scenic lower Cathedral Lake (where I also could not camp) and made a hasty scramble over the 9,600-foot-high saddle between Cathedral and Tressider Peaks.

Continued from Part 5: Glen Aulin To Cathedral Lakes.

A wall of wind and rain galloped down the broad basin from Cathedral Pass, 40 miles an hour, 50, maybe more. In an instant, the single stake holding the windward side of the tarp was flung from the ground. The tarp, attached at two points to the hammock, flapped wildly in the gale. Huge drops of icy rain smacked my campsite, and me, sideways, driven by the incredible wind. Booms of thunder echoed off the surrounding peaks; blinding lightning crackled in the sky. The temperature plunged.

Then it began to hail.
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Tags: backpacking, cathedral lakes, cathedral peak, jul08 yosemite trip, storms, yosemite national park

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Tags: jul08 yosemite trip, merced river, mist trail, vernal fall, waterfalls, yosemite national park

Here beside the Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp, the White Cascade of the Tuolumne River plunges the final 50 feet into a deep, swirling splash pool. A rocky beach lines the pool’s north shore, beside the camp, and a jumble of boulders, wet with the fall’s spray, creates a scramble along the southern shore to the curtain of water. The cold water beckons weary hikers, while the water’s roar drowns out almost all other sounds.

Continued from Part 4: Walking Among the Waterfalls.

Glen Aulin (pronounced like the name Alan) turned out to be one of my favorite places during the trip. The High Sierra Camp (HSC), a collection of white tent-cabins surrounding a central dining area and store, is one of five in the park. Behind it lies the backpackers’ camp, a collection of cleared areas in the trees running between some low cliffs and Conness Creek, which feeds into the Tuolumne near the bridge into the camping area.

What I call Glen Aulin Falls I later learned is known as the White Cascade of the Tuolumne River. It plunges 50 feet into a deep pool surrounded by a rocky beach. The only thing louder than the roaring falls was the sound of a rescue helicopter’s engine and its blades slicing through the air. A search-and-rescue ended well as I arrived. This particular view, from the rocky beach, is right before the sun disappeared behind the canyon wall, as its last rays kissed the falls goodnight.
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Tags: cathedral peak, glen aulin, grand canyon of the tuolumne, jul08 yosemite trip, tuolumne meadows, waterfalls, yosemite national park

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Tags: half dome, john muir trail, jul08 yosemite trip, liberty cap, merced river, nevada fall, waterfalls, yosemite national park