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| | | Wawona-Merced Pass-Tuolumne-Yosemite, CA | | | |
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Wawona-Merced Pass-Tuolumne-Yosemite, CA
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| Hiking | 76.80 Miles |
5,000 AEG |
| | Hiking | 76.80 Miles | | | |
| 5,000 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This was a modified hike of my previous version. Due to safety (as you read the log) I had to change it. Here goes:
Day 01 7-6-10: I drove down from an awesome family reunion in Oregon on the 5th and stayed the night in Stockton. From there I took the 120 into Yosemite Valley and got my permit. There I learned that the third leg of my trip along the high ridge to Foerster Creek was still covered in snow. I didn't worry about it too much because I could take an alternate route through Triple Peak Fork that was a lower elevation. What I didn't ask about was Red Peak Pass. This was right after Ottoway Lakes on that leg and would be over 11,000 ft. If the ridge the Ranger was talking about was covered in snow and ranged from 9,200 ft. to 9,800 ft. then the Red Peak Pass was surely covered. I didn't think about it too much at that moment because I was so happy to be there. However, that short comment made by the Ranger about the snow would completely change my trip later. Anyway, I continued down into Yosemite Valley and took some pictures at the lookout and then continued on to Wawona at the south end of the park to check the trail head and site see the Giant Sequoias. I wanted to see the largest single living organisms that have EVER existed on Earth (even larger than the dinosaurs.) I knew I wouldn't have time to do this the next day on the 7th, because I had to leave early. From there I went back to see my Mom and Dad in Dry Gulch campground, which was just outside the West end of the park on the 140. I spent time with them, slept the night and left my truck there to pick up at the end of my trip.
Day 02 7-7-10: I woke up at 4:00AM and started getting ready. I did some last minute checks on my equipment and made sure I wasn't missing anything. I prepared the resupply bag for my dad. After eating breakfast, we drove in on the 140 to the 41 to Wawona. It was slow going on the 41 due to construction but we were early so we were only delayed a little. When the crews are in full swing, the trip can take 3hrs. My dad dropped me off at the trail head and I got started on the first leg of my journey at almost exactly 7:00AM. I was at max pack weight with water and food at 53lbs. and was about to ascend over 4,200 ft. in 9 1/2 miles to Crescent Lake. I was psyched and ready. It was going to be a heavy day but I had trained for it and knew I could make it. The hike that day was a steady uphill climb with almost no downhill sections at all. Some of it was steeper than others. I took breaks and drank all my water (132 oz.) before 1:00PM. It was surprisingly hot and humid; almost like a tropical rain forest. I took the legs off my combo pants and rolled up my sleeves. It started raining also so I put the pack cover on. I met a husband and wife day hiking about 5mi. in. They questioned me about the monsoon conditions regarding lightning, etc. I told them these conditions can produce lightning, rain and hail at higher elevations. They were planning on spending the night but decided to turn back. They felt unprepared for the weather. I kept going but the warm temperatures and wet conditions also produced a lot of mosquitoes. I was getting bitten all over my legs and arms but didn't want to stop and cover up. I felt that if I kept moving they wouldn't bite me so much. I was wrong. Rule #1: cover every inch of your body in those conditions. I started to encounter snow patches toward the last 1/3rd of my hike that day. I wasn't too concerned. What did concern me was the fact that on that last 1/3rd of my hike that day (except for animal tracks) my tracks were the only human traces on that trail. I was probably the first person of the season to be on that section of trail. I finally made it to the lake in the late afternoon and was dead tired. I looked at my GPS and my triplog showed that I did exactly 11 miles. This was not good. It meant that all the mileages that I calculated for my trip legs were short. Anyway, I set up my shelter and gathered water. I made dinner and passed out. I woke up about 7:00PM and it was still light. What woke me up was a huge doe (female deer) wandering around my camp about 10 feet from where I was lying on the ground. I said "Hey" and it ran. Those things will dig into your pack to steal food also. I was amazed at how big that dear was.
Day 03 7-8-10: This is the second day of hiking and waking up my joints were stiff, especially the arches of my feet. I could barely walk getting up out of bed. That first day was a pretty brutal hump and I felt it. I had to suck it up and get moving though, no turning back now. After I moved around a bit I loosened up. I knew the next leg to Ottoway Lakes would have 3,500 ft. of climb and almost 2,200 ft. of descent in it. I would end up 1,300 ft. higher than I was but the calculated distance was 13.74 miles but would probably be something like 15 miles. It would be taxing but I could make it. The conditions were similar to the first day in that it was muggy and hot. The trail was wet everywhere and there were bugs. I covered up this time and would wear my head net when I stopped. It worked out pretty well. However, I was becoming concerned. I saw no other human (or pack animal) tracks on this trail. A large number of trees were down and the snow patches were getting more numerous and larger. I fell through one hole in a snow patch and went up to my waist. On another, I slipped and fell over (with my pack on.) I got the hang of it and could guess pretty well where it was solid. My biggest concern was that on the larger patches I would lose the trail completely. I knew the general direction but would spend time bushwhacking back to find the trail. This, combined with the careful crossing of the snow patches was slowing me down. When I hit Merced pass around 4:30PM I knew I would probably be hiking until 6:00PM to get to Ottoway lakes. I took a break at Merced pass to eat and mull things over and a guy wandered over to me who was camping nearby. I was so happy to see another human being. I asked him about the conditions ahead and he said that he hadn't been that way (to Ottoway lakes.) However, he had met a group of 4 people earlier who had been there. He said that they said that Ottoway lakes was a beautiful place but they tried to climb Red Peak Pass and had to turn back. I asked him if they told him why they had to turn back and he said that he didn't get that information from them. I estimated that it was because that pass was pure snow with no trail visible. That pass involved a 1,500 ft. climb in only 1 1/2 miles. It was steep and would be treacherous. I was without crampons and an ice axe, so for me, to attempt that ascent would not only be exceedingly slow (even if I could end up in the right place) it would be dangerous. Let me see, I'm by myself, snow covered pass, more snow after that and I've got probably 40 miles to cover to get to my resupply on the afternoon of the 12th or I'll be reported missing. It was already becoming "athletic"; this would be life threateningly taxing. At that moment, even though I was at over 9,300 ft. and feeling loopy from the altitude (which also started making me lose the trail) I made the right decision and decided to take another low altitude route and get back to Yosemite Valley and take a bus up to Tuolumne Meadows. I could take my time through this other 16 mi. route which would take me down through Upper and Lower Merced Pass lakes and around the southwest side of Mt. Starr King into the Valley. From there I could take a bus or something to get up to Tuolumne before the afternoon of the 12th. That was my new mission. I was on an unreported trail and I had to make it to the new destination without an incident. That evening I hiked down to Lower Merced Pass lakes and stayed the night. I saw another deer, this time, a young buck with antlers. Once again, I was about 20 feet from it and it just looked at me.
Day 04 7-9-10: It was a bright clear morning at Lower Merced Pass Lake. It was beautiful. I felt much better that my survival was not in jeopardy and I could enjoy the hike. I started to see more human tracks on the trail as I went along. This also made me feel better because in case I got hurt someone might come across me. I was lowering my altitude and my head was getting screwed on straight. All was good. I went about 12 or 13 miles and camped. I could have broken it up shorter but I wanted to get down and get up to my resupply point and figured I'd hike an alternate route from there in the day or so I had to wait. I was still on an unreported trail as far as the itinerary I left with people so if something happened to me they wouldn't find me as quickly. I did tell that guy I met at Merced Pass what I was going to do but that would have been a long shot if rescue teams found that guy to question him. I could only really relax when I got to my resupply point as soon as possible. I camped off the trail someplace and it was clear so I decided not to set up my rainfly and just lie down under the stars. It was great. It was clear and the sky was full of stars. However, I kept dreaming of bears and the thought of them stumbling over me or licking my face would have me wake up yelling. It's so quiet that anybody camping miles away was probably freaking out because of that. Imagine being woken up by some guy in the mountains miles away yelling "Aaaahhhh, Yaaahhh, AAAAHHH!" at random intervals in the middle of the night. Anyway, no bears; I was thankful for that.
Day 05 7-10-10: I woke up early and started down into Yosemite Valley. I went through Nevada Falls and took the mist trail through Vernal Falls. It's a pretty steep section from Nevada Falls that way down to the valley floor. It's like taking really steep flight of stairs with 18" steps and 8" treads for 2 miles. You descend over 2,000 on that section of trail. With a full pack, it's harrowing. It is especially tough on the mist trail near Vernal Falls because everything is wet. However, I got some epic pictures, so it was worth it. I got down to the Valley at around 10:40AM. I know the exact time because I missed the YARTS bus that goes up to Tuolumne Meadows by 10 minutes. The next bus would leave at 5:00PM, so I had a long wait. I milled around a bit but ended up dozing off at the bus stop (because I woke up so many times yelling the night before and was still tired.) In the afternoon I met a nice English school teacher who was retired in Switzerland and teaching part time there. She was on a 45 mile backpacking trip with her adult daughter. I was pretty impressed with that. Not just the fact that they were doing it but also the fact that somebody who lives in Switzerland came to Yosemite for a backpacking vacation. That is a pretty good testimony about how special Yosemite is. Anyway, they were also going to Tuolumne Meadows to start their hike which would take them from there through Donahue Pass to the Devil's Post Pile area. That evening we arrived in Tuolumne and stayed in the backpacker's camp there. It's kind of a "catch all" camp area where only walk-in campers are allowed to spend one night before and after their permit hike. I was kind of bending the rules a little but I figured they would understand considering my alternative to take my original route had to change for safety reasons. There are quite a few old hippies milling around that area, trying to relive the times when people sold sand candles and tie-dye tee shirts around Yosemite back in the early 70's. As they would say, this was before "the man" cracked down on that sort of thing and made them follow rules. I found it kind of humorous. Anyway, I got a good night's sleep and looked forward to the next morning when I could do a short overnighter anywhere around the area.
Day 06 7-11-10: This day was to be one of the best days of my trip. After getting up fairly early in the backpacker's camp I decided to get out of there before 8:00 or 9:00AM. I wandered over to the waiting area around the store, wondering what I would do for the day and I happened to see 5 guys in the same place. I thought I recognized one of them and asked them where they were from. They said "Arizona". I asked the guy I recognized if his name was Jim and he said "Yes". He recognized me (because we met before, hiking in the Superstitions and where he worked at the Hiker's Shack) and it was a wonderful coincidence. They had planned this hike in the Sierra's for months in advance and we just happened to meet at that place, on that day before they started. They were headed down Lyell Canyon to camp at the base of Donahue Pass to continue on a 50 mile or so hiking route that was similar to the lady and her daughter I met earlier from Switzerland. I asked if I could tag along with them for a ways and they were happy about that. I took 99 pictures that day. It was more than I took of any other area the whole trip. The sky was dotted with clouds, there were snow capped peaks in the background, the stream was deep and clear so you could see to the bottom. The meadows were lush and green and there were relatively few bugs. Every corner we went around we thought that "this is the most beautiful place" then we would turn another corner and say "no, this is the most beautiful place." It was awesome! What made it so excellent was that I was able to experience this with other people and not just by myself. By myself would have been fine but being able to share it made it even better. I let the guys go at the junction which is around 6 miles in and found a place to camp. Late in the day I saw the woman from Switzerland and her daughter pass. They were amazed at the beauty of the place also. This was truly an excellent day, one which I will always remember. I felt truly blessed to have experienced it, one of those lifetime memorable moments.
Day 07 7-12-10: I could take my time and wake up late today. My only requirement was that I had to be back at that store in Tuolumne Meadows around mid day to meet my Dad for the resupply. I could take my time hiking and take more pictures. It was an easy 6 miles and I got there around 10 or 11 AM. I met some hikers doing the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) who were incredibly interesting to talk to. Now this is a trail that takes almost a year to complete. It's over 3,600 miles and starts down at the Mexican Border in California and ends in northern Washington at the Canadian Border. I learned a lot from them about their equipment and how they ration their food, etc. They typically travel with only a 35 lb. pack. This is with food and water! One of the ways they do it is that they only eat probably 1,500 calories a day and most of their food is powdered. They cook only infrequently to conserve fuel, which is typically burned on an ultra light alcohol stove. Everything is stripped down to the bare essentials. They travel in groups and sometimes by themselves. However, Tuolumne Meadows is a meeting place for them along the trip. There were probably 15 or 20 of them there by the evening. There were even a couple of women doing it by themselves. One was from the East Coast someplace and the other was from Brazil ("Elaine" was her name.) Pretty gutsy of them to try that, I was impressed. That night I slept in the Backpacker's Camp again and set off to finish the rest of my hike according to my original plan.
Day 08 7-13-10: As I had used up my extra day earlier waiting for a bus, I had one more extra lay-over day I could spend at a camp along the trail. My original plan was to make the rest of the 27 miles of the trip down into Yosemite Valley in two days but I thought I should spread that out to three. My first destination was Sunrise High Sierra Camp, which is south from Tuolumne Meadows. As I met many hikers along my previous walks and asked them where they came from and where they were going, I wanted to get information about where I was going also. Anybody I asked about Sunrise Camp who had been there said "There are bugs, lots of bugs." Even on the way there I noticed they were getting more and more numerous. I came across a woman who was hiking north from there and she said, "The bugs are intense, and I'm from Maine!" Ok, I'm convinced now. That lower section through Long Meadow would have to be changed and there was no way I was going to camp in Sunrise Camp. I questioned that same woman from Maine about camp options and she agreed with me that up on an open slope, exposed to the sun, as far away from water or the meadow as possible, with a little wind would be the best option. So, this was my task, to find a spot like that. Anyway, I prepared for battle against the miniature vampire hoard I was about to wade through. I had long sleeves and long pants with a head net and a hat. I sprayed deet all over my hands and around my neck. After the fact, I should have sprayed my clothes but I'll tell you why later. At any rate, I headed into the first meadow. I could hear them; it was like a huge hive of bees but with a random rhythm. Bees buzzing in groups seem to be more organized in their rhythm but mosquitoes are more random, like they are insane. It is insane, because you only hear that sound because there are millions of them, clouds of them. Every step disturbs a cloud of hundreds. If you stop, hundreds of them land on your body. As I walked they were all over my shirt and pants trying with all their little might to penetrate the cloth to get to the skin. I moved as fast as I could to get out of that place. I did find a nice rock out cropping far above the meadow to camp. At night, there were no mosquitoes there. I was happy that I made it through the gauntlet. Early the next morning I checked the damage, I was bit over 20 times through my shirt. I should have sprayed my shirt with deet also. My next step was to reroute my hike though a place called "Cloud's Rest". It's one of the highest points in Yosemite Valley. I had a pretty good idea that it would be free of mosquitoes.
Day 09 7-14-10: I headed on to Cloud's Rest and saw some incredible views of the peaks and valleys of Yosemite. It's a little bit of a scramble up the rocks so left my pack at the bottom near the trail. I knew I couldn't spend a long time because the Marmots will ravage my pack if I leave it too long. Marmots are these furry creatures that resemble a badger or something like that. They are inquisitive and smart; probably, as smart as a raccoon or something like that. I had to make my picture and sightseeing venture there quick. On my way down from Cloud's Rest I met a father and son doing the JMT (John Muir Trail). They had just started on this 218 mile hike from down in Yosemite which will extend to Mount Whitney, near Bishop. That peak is the highest point in the Continental United States at 14,495 ft. I warned them about the blood sucking hoard they were to encounter in the Long Meadow and Sunrise Camp. They agreed that they would try the Cloud's Rest route to avoid most of it. I told them about Cathedral Pass on the other side of Sunrise and the meadow north of it would be a great place to camp if they kept moving and didn't stop. The kid somehow thought they were going to hike to Tuolumne Meadows that day (which was more than 18 miles from where we were as I was talking to them) and it was already 1:00PM! Only the Dad had a head net, so I gave mine to the kid. With one night left for me, he needed it far more than I did. The kid started to look scared. He should be. They seemed a little unprepared starting late in the day like that and seemed to be in over their heads for the whole thing. They told me about a camp that was about 4 miles down from where we met. It was a place where I could find water and some nice flat camp spots. They had stayed there the night before on their first night. I headed for that place. Good thing I broke that trip from Cloud's Rest into a two day decent. It's 9,926 ft. at Clouds Rest and probably 4,200 ft. in the Valley. That's a decent of over 5,800 ft! By the time I got to that camp the pinched blister on the tip of my little toe was throbbing and both of my knees were blown. I was so glad to get there and take a rest. I felt like I needed crutches. That night I slept under the stars again because it was clear. I saw another deer in the camp when I sat down to rest before dinner. At night I could clearly see the Milky Way (part of our own galaxy). It's been years since I've seen that many stars. I rested soundly, for some reason I wasn't worried about bears anymore. I was almost home.
Day 10 7-15-10: My final day in the wilderness. I savored every moment. I knew I had to pace myself for the rest of the decent to save my knees so I took it slow. I went by Nevada Falls again and took some excellent photos from a different angle on a different trail. I decided to take the John Muir Trail down into the valley (instead of the mist trail) because it was longer, at more reasonable slope and was dry. I made it down into the valley by 2:00PM. Perfect, I would have plenty of time to eat something from the sandwich shop and wait for my Dad at the store to pick me up at 4:00PM. However, there was a big problem with that. I told my Dad to pick me up at the grocery store in Curry Village and I was waiting at the grocery store in Yosemite Valley. Back in December, I went to this grocery store in Yosemite Valley with my Mom and Dad. I thought this was the place but I was waiting at the wrong store! 4:00PM rolls by and I don't see my dad. Then it's 5:00PM and I figured I told him the wrong time or something. It's 6:00PM and I start to worry. My dad's cell phone doesn't work for some reason I don't have my cell phone and I have no way of getting a hold of him. I thought that if my Mom got sick, that could have been the reason he didn't show (which is very bad!) I'm thinking that I have to do something. I have to get to my Dad's place outside the park as soon as possible. Our standing rule is that if I didn't show, he would check the next day at the same time and if I'm still not there he would report me missing. So I know that he would at least come back one more day. The thought that my Mom might be sick or there is some other problem got me worried so I decided to hike out of the park to Dry Gulch camp ground where my Dad is the host. Even if he did have is phone working, it doesn't work down there anyway. I have to physically get there. The problem is that it's probably at least 35 miles from where I was at that moment. There are only a few times when I would think it would be appropriate to hitchhike and this is one of them. One thing is for sure, I have to do it during daylight if I hope for any chance of success. So I start walking with my thumb out. My goal is to look as much as possible NOT like a freeloading lazy hippy trying to sponge a ride off of somebody. I remember a comment my Dad made when I was little. He would never picked up hitch hikers but one time he saw a guy on the other side of the road wearing a clean white shirt and a tie hitch hiking and said "Now that's a guy I would pick up." Mind you, he didn't pick him up; he just acknowledged that he would think positively about that. Hence the difficulty I faced. I had probably 5 seconds to make an impression on people that I was not a typical freeloading hippy in Yosemite who had nothing but time on his hands. I was on a mission. It was difficult with the 9 days of trail dirt on my clothes and unshaven appearance. I kept walking forward like I was going someplace, with my back to traffic, stuck my thumb out and hoped for the best. Then I got a bright idea, I put a five dollar bill in the hand that I had my thumb sticking out with. This was marketing 101; I had around 3 to 5 seconds to impress on my prospective ride that I wasn't a freeloading hippy but I was just like them "A hardworking guy, trying to get somewhere, probably a job, willing to pay for gas, etc." It worked! Within 5 minutes I got a ride. It was a family that let me ride in the back of their pickup. It wasn't the whole way but it was to the junction at the 41. This saved me loads of walking. By the way, I wouldn't recommend women try hitchhiking unless they are also holding a loaded shotgun. Anyway, at that drop off point I was pretty thirsty so I ran over to the river and started feverishly pumping water through my filter to get something to drink. I was moving fast because daylight was fading and I had to get back out along the road to get a ride. There was a family from someplace in Europe (I couldn't clearly understand their language) who were horrified at my appearance. In whatever language they were speaking they were instructing their children to get away from me (like I was Golem or some kind of feral human raised by wolves or something.) They were expecting me to grab a fish out of the river and bite its head off. It was hilarious. Anyway, I got picked up quickly again by a young British couple. They took me all the way to the West gate on the 140. Now I was only 6 miles from my goal. I talked with the Ranger at the gate briefly and he suggested I just stand there (like a poor slob) and stick my thumb out. No way! I was getting results with my five dollar bill and moving like I was going someplace. 30 seconds later, bingo, I got another ride. This time it was a kid who knew the ranger and was probably told by him to help me. Either way, it worked. I got a ride all the way back to my Dad's place and it was still light. Perhaps it was the fact that I was actually willing to walk the 35+ miles and sleep in the forest to make it to my Dad's place that motivated me but I was thankful for the rides. I got to my Dad's place and he was there with my Mom, safe and sound. He told me he waited where I told him and said that "There are two markets in Yosemite." It was my fault for the miscommunication, either way, I was there. I told him, "I guess I earned my merit badge in hitch hiking" and he had a good laugh. I said my goodbye's and drove down to Merced. I got a hotel and took a long, hot shower. Except for the long drive back to Arizona, my trip was over.
The totals for my 9 days of hiking were: 36.6 miles on my initial route from Wawona and route change down into Yosemite Valley, 12.2 miles on my excursion into Lyell Canyon and back and 28 miles from Tuolumne to Yosemite. All total, it was 76.8 miles. |
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Pencak aka Larry Rudd
"I think I'm a verb"
Buckmaster Fuller |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Anyway, this is obviously the best time to go the the Superstitions. All of the creeks were running and every draw had a waterfall. Huge pools that would be great swimming holes if it only were summer. An excellent hike this time of year.
Download the GPS route and use it. It's well worth it and made the hike more enjoyable for me.
