June 8, 2014 - Snow Creek(Indian Rock)

 Title: June 8, 2014 - Snow Creek(Indian Rock)

Trail head: Porcupine Flat

Hike Info:

Type:  Hiking

Trail: Indian Rock/Snow Creek

Destination: Yosemite Valley

Distance:  8.94 miles

Start Time:  9:26

End Time:   4:08

Travel Time: 6:42 (1.33 mph)

Moving Time: 4:43 (1.90  mph)

Elevation Rise: 527'
Descent:  3,777'

Maximum Elevation: 7,901

Description:
Let me begin with saying, I will probably be loosing a toe nail from this hike. Does that mean that I hated this hike? No Way! A great trail and a hiking companion I enjoyed, what more could a hiker want?

Karol and Gary at the Start

 Got up early as we want to make sure that we get to Murphy's Inn by 8 when John and Cathey leave. Sherri gets up at 6. Donna H leaves early, but still a bit later than what I thought she would. We head to the Whoa Nellie Deli and the three of us-Karol, Sherri, and I-share two breakfast burrito's. We are content. For once I think John is in relax mode. We leave Lee Vining a bit later than I expected. Only Dennis, Karol, John and Cathey, Sherri and I will be walking this trail. Rose and Darrell wind up doing the same Indian Rock trail as us, but not part of this group. 

Karol and I will be walking part of the trail, then branch off down the Snow Creek trail. Sherri and Dennis will pick us up at the bottom in Yosemite Valley. We leave the car at 9:30, later than we were hoping for. It is starting to be warm, but not bad, yet. The first couple miles of our walk is more of rolling terrain. We go down the old Tioga road bed-it still has asphalt on it. The decline is a bit steep-how did those old cars make it up this thing anyway? Then eventually leaves the road bed and changes into a trail. Lots of trees to provide shade. We cross a few creeks and in general make good time. Because of the moistness, I get to start slapping myself in a vain attempt to rid my body of mosquito's. About two miles in, we come to the junction with the Snow Creek trail. Sherri, Dennis, John and Cathey continue on to the Indian Rocks and Natural Arch area. Karol and I leave them and head down the Snow Creek Trail.

A common mistake is that if it is downhill, it must be easy. Well when that downhill is just short of 4,000' over six miles, your body takes a pounding. You throw in exposure to the sun and things can get ugly pretty quickly. But for Karol and I, this trip was offset by so much eye candy that it compensated for the aches we would feel.

Snow Creek

Snow Creek

So what was this trail like? It ran 150 yards parallel with Snow Creek for most of the way to a foot bridge. Far enough away in the beginning that you knew it was there, but no bugs were inflicting themselves on me. After a mile and a half, we come close to Snow Creek, and what a sight awaits us. First, there are the usual Sierra cascading creek. This is always good for a break. But then, we go down a little further and see that where we were standing, the water actually goes under granite, only to emerge in some falls-not the Snow Creek Falls either which is way further down. I think I am falling in love with this creek!

Granite Arch and Waterfall

But as we travel down the creek, I start looking for the footbridge across the creek. Not so much because we cross the bridge, but that will mark where we come out of the Snow Creek drainage and now descend the wall of Tenaya Canyon. Someplace a bit before noon, we see the bridge and break for lunch a hundred yards down the trail. Pleasant time, but we can feel that the air is warming up. So we do not lollygag around, but we do enjoy our lunch. I almost feel like I am mooching off of Karol. I had raved so much about Nutella, she bought a bottle of it. Not only that, she supplied me with some salami. I am really enjoying the lunch.

Gary and Karol at Point 7600'

Before hitting the trail, we wander out to Point 7600. This point overlooks Tenaya Canyon. What a view! If Karol thought Olmsted gave her a great view, this puts her right in the middle of the action. To the north of us is the Watkins Pinnacles; across is Clouds Rest and there is Half Dome as you do not see it anyplace else. On Half Dome, I am not sure, but I think I see people going up it. But even more impressive is the depth of the canyon. We look straight down. Tall trees look shorter than matchsticks.  We could spend a whole long time up here and not tire of it. But we do need to get down.

Upper Tenaya Canyon

Lower Tenaya Canyon

We cut over to meet the trail at the end of the point. Now the trail starts to descend in earnest. Not only does the landscape change-the gentle, but persistent downhill to a "we are going down a 3700' cliff"-but the whole scenery changes. First for starters, even though the creek may only be a couple hundred yards away, we never hear it, let alone see it again. A rock ridge blocks that view. Another is the pines give way to more chaparral-brush with oaks and some pines. Consequently we are more exposed to the sun. Even though the temperature reached 84, being in the direct sun and the reflecting granite rock made it feel at least ten degrees warmer. We are constantly sucking on our water. Fortunately, for whatever reason, I am doing pretty well in that department so I have an excess and keep well hydrated. It enables me to share my supply.

But what really hurt was the gravel. Several places there was a granite sheet with gravel on it. a couple of times Karol slipped on the granite-I came close to going down myself. One of the times Karol strained her calf muscles. So for about three miles going down this trail, she was favoring one leg. Does not make for a fun walk.

Half Dome

But she kept smiling and enjoying herself. Just that makes the going better. We would watch the other wall getting taller and taller. Or Tenaya Creek become more than just a trickle into something which even has a few minor falls.  Or seeing the granite forms change their shape as our perspective changes. As we descend, one of my favorite parts is watching the tall trees come up to greet us. It is almost like they are there to honor us into their lands.

Karol walking the trail

Karol has been keeping cool by having a wet scarf around her neck. When we reach the bottom, we and rest for a few minutes. I go a little ways to get water from Tenaya Creek. Not that we would want to drink it yet, but at least I am able to dip clothing into the water to cool us down. Also filled one of Karol's empty water bottles so we had cool water with us to soak the cloth. We do not stay too long as the mosquito's have found Karol.

Now that we have reached bottom, we can almost taste relief from the heat. But the level ground does not seem to help the strained muscle too much. That mile to Mirror Lake is wearing on us.  When we get to Mirror Lake, we stop at an outhouse. A SAR worker, Shelby, was taking down a poster about a missing hiker. So I asked her if it would be ok to give Karol a ride down to the shuttle. After getting permission, she did even more. She took us to Camp Curry where Sherri and Dennis are waiting. What a surprise having us drive up in a SAR vehicle. Thank You Shelby!

As long as we are at Camp Curry, we grab a couple ice cold water bottles. Tastes so good. Then on to Todds for dinner. Good food is always the way to end a hike.

Trail Lesson:

Start early, stay hydrated. But mostly enjoy where you are and who you are with.

Snow Creek

Snow Creek close to our lunch spot

Climbers on Half Dome

Half Dome

Half Dome