Day 2 Hike Tiltiill Creek Crossing
3.48 Miles Hike
1234’ Climb
233’ Descend
Although I did not prep properly for the Rancheria climb, I was fully aware of what the Tiltill climb would entail. The Hetch Hetchy reservoir sits in the bottom of a bowl. If you want to get out of that bowl, climbing is in your future. Looking at the map I figured that day would be Tuesday when the group climbed to the Tiltill Crossing.
The group had plenty of discussion about the name Tiltill whether it was pronounced Til-Till or whether it was pronounced Tilt-ill. No decision was reached. But it was going to be a short hike only 3.5 miles or so according to Mrs. DM’s pre-hike emails. I was glad for the short hike since most of it would be uphill. Originally I thought the hike would be as steep and tiresome as the hike to the top of Yosemite falls, which was a bear, but it was shorter. On the flip side, I didn’t have the ginormous Backpack on the hike to the top of Yosemite Falls.
My breakfast for the day was my leftover Biscuits and Gravy that I had for dinner from the night before. I thought I was being extremely clever using my freeze dried meals for two different servings. The pouch did say it was two servings. I figured I would use it for two meals. Smart!. Too bad the meal looked slightly less savory than chunky vomit for the second serving. I choked it down. The body needed fuel for the upcoming climb.
And climb we did. The Younglings took off up the switchbacks without a care in the world. Mrs. DM followed closely behind them. DM and I held to the rear position. The distance between our groups grew with every step. Oddly, though, despite the experience of the previous day, I had a tad more energy than the previous day so I was not the last hiker. DM suffered just a bit more than I. I like to think that my walking 4 miles every morning for the last few months helped a little bit with my wind.
I spent a lot of time on the climb looking for the ridge line above us to start to disappear and see more blue sky than hill. It took awhile but eventually the downhill portion of our journey happened. My shirt was completely soaked through with sweat as were my shorts and underwear. I chafed an inordinate amount. The relief at walking downhill was extraordinary. And that’s how Yosemite sucks you in and makes you want to come back, a painful beating coupled with a strong dose of beauty. At the bottom of the hill, the trees vanished and the vista before us was this giant beautiful meadow studded with wildflowers. I just had to stand there in awe and look. I could also tell I had more energy for the hike because I started to take more pictures than I had the previous day. I wasn’t getting those dramatic granite hillsides but the wildflowers more than made up for it.
The hike to the Tiltill crossing was only a couple hundred yards further on from the meadow. Oddly, on the map, the meadow was listed as a pond. Mrs. DM met us at Tiltill Creek Crossing surrounded by backpacks. The Younglings had ventured forth to find a campsite for the night. Around Mrs. DM’s perch were giant green leaves that DM referred to as Backpackers Toilet Paper. I’m sure they had some fancy name, but from then on, whenever I would see them, I would refer to them as Backpackers Toilet Paper. The BTP was a broad leaf plant that had giant leaves that were soft and strong and perfect for the job they described. It added a whole new level of comfort to the hike.
The hike ended early. I think it was around 10:30 when DM and I made it to the creek. I was ready for some sitting down and water drinking. The Younglings found us a nice spot underneath some trees that had plenty of flat areas for tents. A group of backpackers from Chicago had already taken the best spot closest to the creek but our spot wasn’t that much further away.
There was just one snag with finishing the hike so quickly. The Younglings were still ready to go. While DM and I were dragging our asses into camp, they were thinking about doing two more miles up the next grade and camping there. Wait! What?
I could understand their logic. They had plenty of energy. It would cut down on the hike to Lake Vernon, which was an almost 7 mile hike. And the Tiltill campsite had snakes. Rattlesnakes.
As I was going to the creek to start filtering some water to slake my never ending thirst, the Chicago hikers informed me they had seen a rattlesnake slither through their campsite, headed towards the water. I thanked them for the warning and told them I would keep an eye out.
I was filtering water into my Nalgene bottles when the Cub walked up to the creek. I informed her of the warning of the snakes. The Cub did not looked pleased about the information. She started scanning the area for the nope ropes. She pointed at a rock a few feet behind her and asked “Like that?”. I looked over at the rock and saw the little triangular head and said “Yep, just like that” The snake was really close. It was hard to tell if it was a rattler because the colors were a bit more grey than brown. But it was definitely a snake. I told everybody to freeze while I went to grab my camera. The Cub left. By the time I got back the snake was gone.
But that might have been the tipping point for the Younglings hanging around.
I, on the other hand, had no intention of continuing on. Although I wasn’t completely exhausted by the hike to Tiltill, I still felt the effects of the hike to Rancheria Falls. I was more than happy to relax for the rest of the day. Plus, I wanted to fill up with water. I think I drank about 7 liters of water and didn’t go to the bathroom once. My big fear, besides another two hours of hiking straight up a hill, was not having enough water. I feared I would fill up my two bottles, drink them on the hike, and then not have any water for the four mile hike to Lake Vernon. There was a creek listed on the way to Lake Vernon, but it was five miles from Tiltill and there was no guarantee there would be water in the creek. I give as prime examples the two ponds listed on the map on the way to Tiltill where one was a meadow and the other was a grass infested marsh. I did not feel good about continuing on.
I made these arguments to the group. Their argument back was that I would still have to make the hike tomorrow on two bottles of water. But tomorrow, I would be rested and water logged by drinking a bunch of water before we started.
For a short while, I thought I had swayed the group to hold off hiking until the next day. Then everyone started packing up their gear. The cub looked at me and asked if I was going to be okay on my own. The only answer I could give her was a thumbs up. DM was still on the fence about going. He decided to see if he could make it by throwing on his pack and heading up the trail.
I guess I was going to spend the night alone. And do the hike by myself the next day. I did give some thought about what would happen if I were hurt. But I really, really didn’t want to do any more climbing that day.
Just as the group was set to head out, DM returned. He was still having problems and didn’t want to do the hike either. I gave an internal sigh of relief that I wouldn’t be spending the night alone or hiking by myself to Lake Vernon.
DM and Mrs. DM had to do a bit of gear shuffling. She was going to spend the night under the stars but at least wanted the tarp to sleep on. DM managed to hold on to the cat hole shovel™ The caboose would remain intact for another day.
3.48 Miles Hike
1234’ Climb
233’ Descend
Although I did not prep properly for the Rancheria climb, I was fully aware of what the Tiltill climb would entail. The Hetch Hetchy reservoir sits in the bottom of a bowl. If you want to get out of that bowl, climbing is in your future. Looking at the map I figured that day would be Tuesday when the group climbed to the Tiltill Crossing.
The group had plenty of discussion about the name Tiltill whether it was pronounced Til-Till or whether it was pronounced Tilt-ill. No decision was reached. But it was going to be a short hike only 3.5 miles or so according to Mrs. DM’s pre-hike emails. I was glad for the short hike since most of it would be uphill. Originally I thought the hike would be as steep and tiresome as the hike to the top of Yosemite falls, which was a bear, but it was shorter. On the flip side, I didn’t have the ginormous Backpack on the hike to the top of Yosemite Falls.
My breakfast for the day was my leftover Biscuits and Gravy that I had for dinner from the night before. I thought I was being extremely clever using my freeze dried meals for two different servings. The pouch did say it was two servings. I figured I would use it for two meals. Smart!. Too bad the meal looked slightly less savory than chunky vomit for the second serving. I choked it down. The body needed fuel for the upcoming climb.
And climb we did. The Younglings took off up the switchbacks without a care in the world. Mrs. DM followed closely behind them. DM and I held to the rear position. The distance between our groups grew with every step. Oddly, though, despite the experience of the previous day, I had a tad more energy than the previous day so I was not the last hiker. DM suffered just a bit more than I. I like to think that my walking 4 miles every morning for the last few months helped a little bit with my wind.
I spent a lot of time on the climb looking for the ridge line above us to start to disappear and see more blue sky than hill. It took awhile but eventually the downhill portion of our journey happened. My shirt was completely soaked through with sweat as were my shorts and underwear. I chafed an inordinate amount. The relief at walking downhill was extraordinary. And that’s how Yosemite sucks you in and makes you want to come back, a painful beating coupled with a strong dose of beauty. At the bottom of the hill, the trees vanished and the vista before us was this giant beautiful meadow studded with wildflowers. I just had to stand there in awe and look. I could also tell I had more energy for the hike because I started to take more pictures than I had the previous day. I wasn’t getting those dramatic granite hillsides but the wildflowers more than made up for it.
The hike to the Tiltill crossing was only a couple hundred yards further on from the meadow. Oddly, on the map, the meadow was listed as a pond. Mrs. DM met us at Tiltill Creek Crossing surrounded by backpacks. The Younglings had ventured forth to find a campsite for the night. Around Mrs. DM’s perch were giant green leaves that DM referred to as Backpackers Toilet Paper. I’m sure they had some fancy name, but from then on, whenever I would see them, I would refer to them as Backpackers Toilet Paper. The BTP was a broad leaf plant that had giant leaves that were soft and strong and perfect for the job they described. It added a whole new level of comfort to the hike.
The hike ended early. I think it was around 10:30 when DM and I made it to the creek. I was ready for some sitting down and water drinking. The Younglings found us a nice spot underneath some trees that had plenty of flat areas for tents. A group of backpackers from Chicago had already taken the best spot closest to the creek but our spot wasn’t that much further away.
There was just one snag with finishing the hike so quickly. The Younglings were still ready to go. While DM and I were dragging our asses into camp, they were thinking about doing two more miles up the next grade and camping there. Wait! What?
I could understand their logic. They had plenty of energy. It would cut down on the hike to Lake Vernon, which was an almost 7 mile hike. And the Tiltill campsite had snakes. Rattlesnakes.
As I was going to the creek to start filtering some water to slake my never ending thirst, the Chicago hikers informed me they had seen a rattlesnake slither through their campsite, headed towards the water. I thanked them for the warning and told them I would keep an eye out.
I was filtering water into my Nalgene bottles when the Cub walked up to the creek. I informed her of the warning of the snakes. The Cub did not looked pleased about the information. She started scanning the area for the nope ropes. She pointed at a rock a few feet behind her and asked “Like that?”. I looked over at the rock and saw the little triangular head and said “Yep, just like that” The snake was really close. It was hard to tell if it was a rattler because the colors were a bit more grey than brown. But it was definitely a snake. I told everybody to freeze while I went to grab my camera. The Cub left. By the time I got back the snake was gone.
But that might have been the tipping point for the Younglings hanging around.
I, on the other hand, had no intention of continuing on. Although I wasn’t completely exhausted by the hike to Tiltill, I still felt the effects of the hike to Rancheria Falls. I was more than happy to relax for the rest of the day. Plus, I wanted to fill up with water. I think I drank about 7 liters of water and didn’t go to the bathroom once. My big fear, besides another two hours of hiking straight up a hill, was not having enough water. I feared I would fill up my two bottles, drink them on the hike, and then not have any water for the four mile hike to Lake Vernon. There was a creek listed on the way to Lake Vernon, but it was five miles from Tiltill and there was no guarantee there would be water in the creek. I give as prime examples the two ponds listed on the map on the way to Tiltill where one was a meadow and the other was a grass infested marsh. I did not feel good about continuing on.
I made these arguments to the group. Their argument back was that I would still have to make the hike tomorrow on two bottles of water. But tomorrow, I would be rested and water logged by drinking a bunch of water before we started.
For a short while, I thought I had swayed the group to hold off hiking until the next day. Then everyone started packing up their gear. The cub looked at me and asked if I was going to be okay on my own. The only answer I could give her was a thumbs up. DM was still on the fence about going. He decided to see if he could make it by throwing on his pack and heading up the trail.
I guess I was going to spend the night alone. And do the hike by myself the next day. I did give some thought about what would happen if I were hurt. But I really, really didn’t want to do any more climbing that day.
Just as the group was set to head out, DM returned. He was still having problems and didn’t want to do the hike either. I gave an internal sigh of relief that I wouldn’t be spending the night alone or hiking by myself to Lake Vernon.
DM and Mrs. DM had to do a bit of gear shuffling. She was going to spend the night under the stars but at least wanted the tarp to sleep on. DM managed to hold on to the cat hole shovel™ The caboose would remain intact for another day.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm