Yosemite 2012 - Mariposa Grove

The California Tunnel Tree, cut in 1895.

10/04/12 Thursday

We stopped at the Mariposa Grove on our way out of the park for a short hike around the giant sequoias.

Big one.

The short hike turned into a four-mile loop, as the trees are spread out on a hillside encompassing 1,200 vertical feet.

Nice pair!

The upper grove has quite a few giant trees. The hiking trail is also used in the winter for cross-country skiing.

You can see Nancy at the lower left.

The upper end of the loop features the Mariposa Grove Museum, the site of a cabin built in 1861 by Galen Clark, who was instrumental in preserving the giant trees.

Yosemite 2012 - Hiking Half Dome

A 360° panorama from the summit of Half Dome.

Early birds

10/02/12 Tuesday

We woke up at 3:00 to get an early start on our hike up Half Dome. It was incredibly warm—I was cooking oatmeal in the campground in my T-shirt.

We started hiking at 4:30, which meant about two hours of hiking in the dark.

Crossing the Merced River.

We passed the waterfalls on the Mist Trail in the dark. However, we got to see a nearly full moon and the lights of other hikers far below.

At the top of Nevada Fall.

We hiked at a moderate pace all the way up. Thankfully, the air cooled as we gained elevation.

The backside of Half Dome from Little Yosemite Valley.

We were able to put our headlamps away once we reached Little Yosemite Valley.

Hiking through the trees before the trail splits from the John Muir Trail.

You start climbing once when you leave Little Yosemite Valley, switch-backing up a lot of rock steps …

Starting up the subdome.

... that lead to the rock steps of the Half Dome subdome.

More rock steps, with Mt. Watkins in the background.

The subdome has a little bit of exposure and a lot of views.

Looking down at Tenaya Canyon.

The upper part of the subdome doesn’t have much of a trail, just open granite slab.

Getting psyched up for the cables.

Yosemite initiated a new program last year of issuing permits through a lottery to limit the crowds on Half Dome.

When we came here two years ago, Nancy was unnerved by the number of people on the cables. This year, with an early start and the permit program, there was hardly anyone.

The top of the cables.

As we were getting ready, we heard a clatter as a hiker about fifty feet up the cables had a hiking pole fall off his pack and tumble down the granite out of sight.

Nancy put on her sticky gloves, gulped, and headed up.

It’s 400’ of vertical. The middle part is the hardest as the pitch gets steeper and there are ledges and cable transitions to deal with.

Success!

We made it up in about twenty minutes without too much psychic trauma.

Nancy was thrilled to reach the summit—8,840’.

I explored the summit plateau and found a few small trees.

We hung out on the summit for an hour, eating lunch and watching other hikers come up.

Nancy is the fourth hiker from the bottom.

On the way down, I side-stepped down while holding onto one cable, while Nancy backed down while holding onto both cables. Her method was a lot better, as you get much better traction.

The real climbers hold onto both cables and walk facing downhill.

Made it!

We had to negotiate past the hikers who started at a more normal time.

There was one angry-looking father determinedly pushing his young, frightened son all the way up. I couldn’t help wondering how that was going to play out in about ten or twenty years.

It felt great to be back on flat rock.

Heading back down the subdome.

We still had the subdome to descend, but the exposure seemed much less after descending the cables.

The trail wasn’t designed for short legs.

We were glad to have gotten such an early start, as it was an incredibly warm day for October.

Looking south toward Mount Starr King.

When we reached the bottom of the subdome there was a ranger with an iPad checking hikers to see if they had a permit. I’d like to see Ansel Adams get a picture of that.

Working the knees

We took the Mist Trail back down. It’s shorter but steeper, with a zillion rock steps.

Vernal Fall or Vernal Trickle?

Nancy got some blisters on her feet with a couple miles to go, caused in part by the high temps.

This is the end, my only friend, the end.

The end of a long, hot day: 14+ miles and nearly 5,000’ of vertical.

We were feeling pretty grotty, but a shower, pizza and beer took care of that.

Yosemite 2012 - Hiking Lembert Dome

Praise Ra!

09/30/12 Sunday

Another night of camping with a low in the upper 30s.

After breakfast, we would find a patch of sun to warm up in when it appeared around 9:00.

How cruel—no dogs allowed at Dog Lake.

After three longish hikes over the last three days, we took it easy with a short hike up Lembert Dome in Tuolumne Meadows.

Looking across Dog Lake to Mt. Dana.

The trail climbs up for about 1.5 miles to Dog Lake, then curves back around to approach Lembert Dome from the backside.

Above the treeline.

The route to the summit—we found out later—is around to the left and behind.

Taking the extreme line.

I just followed the most obvious route, which is a little steeper than walking up the backside.

Nancy was not happy with my navigational (dis)abilities.

Cathedral Peak and Tuolumne Meadows in the background.

It became obvious that there was an easier way up when we approached the summit and saw a bunch of 4-year-old kids running around while their dads ate lunch.

Looking north.

It’s a short hike to the top and the views are well worth the effort.

Cruising back down.

Taking the easy way back down.

Approaching the treeline.

Instead of taking the trail back down, we followed some locals (i.e. the group of 4-year-olds) and bushwhacked around the dome back to the highway.

You can see some climbers if you know where to look.

We stopped on the way out to watch a couple teams of climbers on the west side of Lembert Dome.

Another night in paradise.

Fun day!

Yosemite 2012 - Ten Lakes Trail

Chilly at first, then another warm day.

09/29/12 Saturday

We went for another hike we haven’t done before, an out-and-back on the Ten Lakes Trail, which starts at the Yosemite Creek trailhead

Six-pack slabs.

The first mile features a lot of granite. You have to pay attention for cairns as the trail is not aways obvious.

Grinding up the switchbacks.

The trail trends uphill for about four miles, and then switchbacks up a steep 800’ hill to reach the trail’s highpoint.

Topping out.

The highpoint is just over 10,000’, a large meadow in a saddle.

Wait for me Honey!

We debated whether or not to make this the turnaround point, but Nancy demanded that we keep going, even though it meant a steep, rocky descent down an extremely technical trail where if you got hurt, rescue was out of the question.

With every step I wanted to turn back to the warmth and safety of civilization, but Nancy would fix me with a steely glare and swear like a sailor, so I just gulped and kept going.

Dropping down into a granite bowl.

Well, maybe it wasn’t quite that bad.

Taking the extreme line.

The trail drops 700’ from the high point to a series of lakes.

Water filters are handy—you don’t have to carry ten pounds of water.

We stopped at the highest lake to eat lunch and filter some water.

Snacks!

We didn’t have time to do any exploring, so we just hung out for a bit at one lake.

A popular spot for overnighters.

The lakes are nestled in a narrow valley that drops steeply down to the Tuolumne River. Each lake steps down a couple hundred feet below the previous one.

Finishing the switchbacks on the way out.

The hike back out of the bowl was easier than we expected, and pretty soon we were working our way down the switchbacks.

You get a view of Mt. Hoffman near the trailhead.

Most of the time you’re in the trees, but there are a few open spots close to the trailhead.

Sore yet?

Another good hike: 13 miles long, 3,200’ vertical. Nancy says she liked this hike the best so far.

It’s not a tan.

I haven’t had a shower in a few days, and it shows.