Yosemite 2021

[Drunk Monk]

No worries. Tara & Stacy are veg, but Alex & Bri are not. And you know my penchant for salmon jerky on the trail. 

And Alex is a guy. He's a close friend of Tara's from High School and has backpacked with us before after we introduced him to it. He climbed Half Dome with Tara and me. We did a similar route as our trip - Tuolumne to the falls  - only we took a slightly different route. He's also going to UCLA now studying music. 3 gals/3 guys, 3 in their 20s/3 in their ...well older than that. It's a very balanced squad.

[Greg]

"The knowledge that the feat of climbing this grand mountain had on several occasions been attempted, but never with success, begat in Anderson an irrepressible determination to succeed in such an enterprise. 

Imbued with this incentive, he made his way to its base; and, looking up its smooth and steeply inclined surface, at once set about the difficult exploit. 

Finding that he could not keep from sliding with his boots on, he tried it in his stocking feet; but as this did not secure a triumph, he tried it barefooted and was unsuccessful still. 

Then he tied sacking upon his feet and legs, but as these did not secure the desired object, he covered it with pitch, obtained from pine trees near; and although this enabled him to adhere firmly to the smooth granite, and effectually prevented him from slip­ping, a new difficulty presented itself in the great effort required to unstick himself and which came near prov­ing fatal several times.

"Mortified by the failure of all his plans hitherto, yet in no way discouraged, he procured drills and a hammer, with some iron eye-bolts, and drilled a hole in the solid rock; into this he drove a wooden pin, and then an eye-bolt; and, after fastening a rope to the bolt, pulled himself up until he could stand upon it; and thence con­tinued that process until he had finally gained the top - a distance of nine hundred and seventy- five feet! 

All honor then, to the intrepid and skillful mountaineer, Geo. G. Anderson, who, defying and overcoming all obstacles, and at the peril of his life, accomplished that in which all others had signally failed; and thus became the first to plant his foot upon the exalted crown of the great Half Dome... This was accomplished at 3 o'clock P .M. of October 12, 1875:''

[Drunk Monk]

Those early pioneers were bad ass. 

BAD ASS!

And we're not talkin bunnies here.

[Greg]

I always liked the story of John Muir climbing onto a ledge behind Yosemite Falls and almost getting knocked to his death. The wind shifted and the water from the falls blasted him.

[Greg]

I'm just saying....

[Drunk Monk]

gosh.

do you still want to come?

[Greg]

I've bought food I will only ever eat on the trail. I have to get it out of the house.

[Greg]

15 days out from the DM Death March™

I have all the gear. Now, I just need the strength.

[Greg]

I just tried on the backpack. It's really heavy.

Probably going to be worse once I put the gear in it.

[Greg]

I should whine less.

It's been a long time since I posted on this forum. I've been mostly grounded by the pandemic, of course, but also have focused my attentions elsewhere. I did manage to get in a brief trip to Yosemite last October, and a couple more just recently. This post is just to update info about a few of the previously mentioned hikes. Much of this stuff has been previously been discussed in my abandoned trails post. See 

link

My buddy and I visited the park for a few days in October. On arrival we did the hike along Sunnyside Bench, which is in good shape and just like it always was (see link). My buddy continued up the slickrock to the base of dried-up Yosemite Falls, and out via the Falls Trail.

The next day we hiked up the old horse trail to Fireplace Bluffs, then back down the abandoned Big Old Flat Road to the valley. The old horse trail was fine, just like always, as far as we went. (see link) It's an old indian trail, and those guys really knew how to pick a route that doesn't require any maintenance. Once in a while there are bushes to go around. If you follow my gps map you should have no trouble.

At Fireplace Creek we just bushwhacked up the hill to the old road. This time we went up on the west side of the creek, having done the east side previously. It gets pretty steep, with some interesting boulders and outcrops, but nothing you can't get around easily with basic route-finding skills. If you just wanted to get up to the old road, the east side of the creek would be easier. After putzing around in that area for a while, I made the fateful decision to head back down on the abandoned old road (see link and link. Big disappointment. This old road/trail was one of our family favorites. Kids and grandkids loved that hike down from the intersection with the El Cap Trail. Not any longer. The washouts are much worse, as are the fallen logs, no surprise, but the big difference now is the poison oak. Climate change, I guess, but I can no longer recommend this hike. Until and unless someone sneaks some poison oak spray onto this route, I would declare it off limits.

Not much else to report from that October trip. A day hike up the Four Mile Trail and onward to the top of Sentinel Dome, then back down again, was fine but left me feeling a bit creaky. Some hiking around Mirror Lake and Hidden Falls (see same link as for Sunnyside Bench) set us up for an early departure back to San Jose.

In this year's Spring Lottery for Half Dome permits I won Sunday June 6 for a party of four. A couple of weeks before that some of us went to the valley to see if we were in good enough shape. Not much to report. We did some stuff in the valley, hiking from Curry Village (no shuttles, and the parking situation in the valley was dire on this last week before entrance quotas went into effect). We hiked a short way up the Snow Creek Trail to get the view, while two younger members of the party split off to look at Hidden Falls. One of the potential Half Dome hikers wanted to go up to the subdome to check out his fitness, so we did that the next day. We learned plenty. The lines at Curry were extreme that week. 40 minutes in line just to pick up a room key (we had registered when we arrived, but the rooms weren't ready) 40 minutes in line to get a pizza. Most importantly, even though the coffee addicts were in line when the coffee corner opened at 6:30 am, they didn't get back to the tent until 7:30. At this time the Curry Grill was closing at 6 pm and the pizza deck at 7. After that, no food. So with the late start and some photography we had to turn around at the lookout into Tenay Canyon before the subdome (the two younger members went on up the cables (they had gotten a last minute permit), but they are faster than us and depended on us to get beer and pizza before they closed.

The next update I want to make concerns another half day, leaving-the-park hike: The Old Couterville Road (see link). Another old family favorite. This normally starts in the boulder field on route 140, but it is also suffering from poison oak as you get onto the trail. Fortunately, there is a use-trail along a half-buried old telephone cable that goes up to the real trail from just a few hundred feet west on the highway. Once you get on the old road, the first quarter mile or so is soon to be engulfed in poison oak, but it is still possible to dance through it without touching any. Someone has been trimming the worst tree branches and the washouts haven't gotten any worse, so the rest of the route is fine. We really need enlist a rogue poison oak poisoner if this route is to stay open.... Darn global warming.

As for the actual Half Dome cables trip, it was fine. We arrived a few days early, and the valley was brutally hot. We got there about noon, and had brought bicycles. Things are cooler on a bicycle and there are places to swim in the creek. The next day we acclimated with a trip up and down the Four Mile Trail.

The following day we got some easy acclimation on the Mt. Watkins hike (see link). That hike is also still fine.

There were five of us on the hike. The average age was 72. At 80, I was the patriarch. We biked to the trailhead, arriving at 6 am. Went up the Mist Trail because it was shorter and the river already shrinking in the heat. We were on top at noon, taking it easy, and were easily down in time for dinner. The two who had never been up the cables were happy to use a safety line and carabiner, which I am willing to comment on if anyone cares.

I don't expect to be doing this in another 20 years. Only 2% of people who reach age 80 also reach age 100 (see link). It's good to do this stuff while you still can. My hiking buddy is already thumping for a Tenaya Canyon traverse this Fall. We'll see

[Greg]

I'm doing today's morning 2mile walk wearing the partially filled backpack and the new camera support.

[Greg]

Dammit. Two pieces of my equipment have gone into hiding. My Yosemite topography map and two special filters for my camera.

Meanwhile, I'm watching the thunderheads boil in the direction of the park.

[Drunk Monk]

How did the camera support work out?

I can't find my sierra cup. I'm also missing some sock liners and need to get some new water bottles. Tested out the new water filter - despite its small bags, it's pretty quick. Should be okay.

[Greg]

The camera support is good. I can wear it underneath my backpack. Tomorrow I will put the camera on it when I go on the walk. Good times.

I found my bottles. I've got my inflatable lamp. I have my sleeping bag airing out on my office door. I found my stuff sacks. It's all coming together. I just need to know where to find some strength and stamina!

[Drunk Monk]

It's all coming together. I just need to know where to find some strength and stamina!

Mighty Yosemite will inspire you. 

Either that or being chased by bears and rattlers will be motivating.