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.

Yosemite 2012 - Hike to May Lake

A view of Tenaya Lake at the start of the trail.

09/28/12 Friday

For our next hike, we decided to hike up to May Lake and possibly hike up Mt. Hoffman as well.

There’s three different trailheads for May Lake: one that’s up a road, one that is at the start of that road, and one by Tenaya Lake.

No water this time of year.

We opted for the trailhead just west of Tenaya Lake and had a hard time finding it. The only indication from Tioga Road is a “Horse Crossing” sign.

This part of the trail is actually the Old Tioga Road, or Great Sierra Wagon Road, that was built in 1882 to service a mine. It was 56 miles long and cost $61,000 to build!

Nowadays, it’s mostly used by horses on guided trips up to the High Sierra Camps.

Mt. Hoffman is in the background.

After 1.5 miles uphill on the Old Tioga Road, you reach a parking lot for the May Lake trail.

The 1.3 mile trail up to May Lake features lots of granite.

May Lake (9,270’) and Mt. Hoffman (10,845’).

By the time we reached May Lake, a little bit of weather was moving in, so we just started hiking up the granite slabs to the north of the lake and played it by ear.

The slabs are steeper than they look.

We thought about climbing Mt. Hoffman, but we approached from the wrong direction, so we kept hiking up until we felt like stopping.

Pretty rocks.

It’s interesting hiking up a vast area that’s all granite. We found chunks of white quartz on the way.

Clouds and wind and spots of sun.

We wound up hiking up about 1000’ to the saddle north of the summit.

Checking out the northwest side of Mt. Hoffman.

We ended up at about 10,200’, getting a view of the backside of Mt. Hoffman and its drainage into Yosemite Creek.

Ducking out of the wind to eat lunch.

Getting a snack before heading down.

Nancy works her way back down.

It was a knee-strainer hiking back down. The slabs are fairly steep and you had to pay attention to keep from stubbing a toe and pitching face-first downhill.

Stopping at May Lake to filter some water.

The Porcupine Flat campground doesn’t have any running water, so I had to filter a few quarts to take back home.

Made it!

As we came back down the Old Tioga Road, there was a lightning storm in the eastern part of the park. It was awesome listening to the thunder booming through the granite valleys.

Total hike, about 9 miles with 2000’ of gain.

Yosemite 2012 - Hike to North Dome

Left to right: Basket Dome, Mt. Watkins, Clouds Rest, Half Dome.

Breakfast!

09/27/12 Thursday

Yosemite is experiencing a heat wave, although you wouldn’t know it getting up in the morning at 8,100’.

So far, so good.

For our first hike, we’re going from Tioga Road to the top of North Dome to check out the view from the north rim.

Some serious blow-down.

The first half of the trail is fairly flat through the forest.

Indian Rock.

There is a small natural arch called Indian Rock, located shortly before you reach the north rim of Yosemite Valley. It’s located about a quarter-mile off the main trail.

Winding through the granite.

North Dome is actually about 500’ below the north rim, so the trail descends for a half-mile from an upper dome.

Clouds Rest and Tenaya Canyon in the background.

North Dome has a long, gradual rise up bare granite.

Buena vista.

The top of North Dome offers magnificent views of Half Dome and Yosemite Valley.

Trudging back up.

The hike was more tiring than we expected. It was a hot day and the trail has quite a bit of up-and-down. Plus, the first hike of a trip always serves as a warm-up.

The total hike was about 12 miles, counting the hike back-and-forth from our campground to the trailhead. Total vert: well over 1,000’.