August 13, 2024 - Lyell Canyon

 

Title: August 13, 2024 - Lyell Canyon
Hike Info : Description :  Menu : Extra Photo's :  Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Backpacking

Trail head: Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Office

Trail:  John Muir Trail

Destination:  Lyell Canyon, Junction with Vogelsang Trail

Distance:  6.47 miles

Start Time: 1:08

End Time:   6:12

Travel Time: 5:04  (1.28 mph)

Moving Time: 3:46   (1.72 mph)

Elevation Rise:  875'

Descent: 661‘

Maximum Elevation: 8,931'

GPS Tracks

 
Description:

I slept “in” until 6. Spent a few minutes getting ready for a 7am start time. But we did not get out of the house until 7:30. This will cost us in a little while. We stop in Oakhurst and Sherri picks up a pastry and coffee from Judy’s. The cost? We joined an hour wait to get into Yosemite at its southern entrance. But we got in and went to the Wawona Ranger Station. And here we had another wait as the ranger who issues permits, Courtney, was on break. But once she came back, we were able to quickly get our permit.

Sherri starting our hike

And then it is close to a two hour drive to get to Tuolumne Meadows. I will admit that even though it is long, it is beautiful. Along the way, we see several vehicles from Stanislaus National Forest stationed along the road to work the Middle Fire. This is a fire which is caused by lightning, but through cooperative agreements, there is a sharing of resources.

Bridge across the Tuolumne

We get to Tuolumne Meadows at 12:45 and take a few minutes to get ready. Our boots touch the ground at 1:10. A friend of ours, John is walking the JMT and is going through Tuolumne Meadows. I suspect with our delay, we may be about two hours behind him. But then again, we will keep a lookout to see if we see him. It would be wonderful if we could.

Even though we have not had lunch, I would like to get a few steps in before we eat. Sherri is agreeable to this. We walk beside the road to the Tuolumne Lodge until we reach the trail which crosses the Tuolumne forks off. I have wandered here before on the wrong trail, going up the Dana Fork, but today, we crossed the Dana Fork and shortly afterwards crossed the Lyell Fork. Within a hundred yards, we joined the JMT. It is 1:35 and time for lunch, after going 7/8ths of a mile.

 

 

Gary at lunch

Lunch was pre-made Peanut Butter and Nutella sandwiches. This time also serves to provide a bit of rest for our legs. And now we are off again. The trail takes us through a forested area to Rafferty Creek. There are times when this creek is a raging torrent. But not today, there may be a puddle of water here and there, making this sturdy bridge look sort of silly. Still earlier in the season I would guess it is well appreciated by hikers.

The trail goes around the ridge which bounds Rafferty. I have told people that Lyell Canyon is the second flattest trail in the Sierra-that is why we are taking it. But it would be a mis-assumption that it is flat. It has little 5-10’ rolling terrain. We stop and talk to a hiker or two, but no John. One of the hikers asks if we are from Fresno. Bruce and I have taken Osher classes together. I did not recognize him, but he knew who I was; he just did not know my name. 

 

 

 

 

The Trail is not boring. First, you have this wandering river called the Tuolumne which meanders in a snake pattern in the bottom of the canyon. Then the Kuna Crest rises 3,000’ above us to the east. I can only see the lip of the canyon towards the west and it is only about 1,200’. Still looking up the canyon towards Donohue Peak, it is impressive. To top it off. Sherri stops suddenly and points straight ahead of us. Usually that means a deer, or maybe a bear. But I needed to fix my gaze just a little higher than that. A hawk-I am not much of a birder, so I cannot tell you what kind, nor am I quick enough on the reflexes to have taken a picture-was flying straight towards us about 20’ off the ground. Spectacular. I think God really knows how to cook!

 

 

I can tell that this hike is being made with someone not in terrible good shape-that would be me. I am walking OK, but the legs are tiring. My mind is wondering where the trail junction is so we can camp there? I am also thinking that if we felt good, of trying the loop to Vogelsang. But I do not think I could do well on the climb up.

Tuolumne in Lyell Canyon

But we get to the junction and look for a place to camp. It is Tent City. With shadows lengthening and it being 6:10, I feel like we cannot be too choosy. There is a spot above another tent, a ways down, still it will feel like we are spying on them. With the shape we are in, this seems like a good place. Tomorrow we can look for another place. I thought we were going about 5¼ miles today, but the GPS has us as 6.8. Still not a great excuse.

We sit and rest for a few minutes. The people below us are a father/daughter team. That is good to see. But the daughter comes up to our camp and I notice she has a badge on identifying herself as a wilderness ranger. Allisson checks our permit and we talk for a few minutes before she departs.

 

 

 

 

 

Good Night Moon

I have now had enough time to wonder. The trail junction looks different, so I go down to my now good friend the ranger and ask her if the trail has been changed. She thinks it is a possibility as there appears to be the remains of an old trail running through her camp. The other question I ask is if she has seen John? No. Oh well, it would have been nice to have seen him.

We have our dinner-another Peanut Butter and Nutella sandwich. The tent is up, the water is drawn and we do our business. We both feel tired and get into our sleeping bags at 8:30.

 

 

Menu

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
At home	Peanut Butter&Nutella Sandwich	Peanut Butter&Nutella Sandwich	Clif Bar, GORP,, Jelly Belly

Extra Photo's

Moon over Potter Point

Looking north from Lyell Canyon

Sherri on the trail

Flowers and Plants

Fly Amanita

Fly Amanita

Alpine Gentain

June 29, 2013 - Island Pass

Title: June 29, 2013 - Island Pass

Hike Info:

Trail:  John Muir Trail

Starting location: Pond at 10,185'

Destination: Island Pass

Distance:  6.7 miles  ¹
Start Time:  8:00

End Time:  3:45

Travel Time:   7:45 (0.86 mph)

Moving Time:   4:37 (1.45 mph)

Elevation Rise:    1,440' ¹

Maximum Elevation:    11,060' ¹ 

There are a great many pictures today. Many of them can be found at the bottom of this page.

Description:

Lyell Canyon

Got up at 6 and started to get prepared for the day. Washed clothes from yesterday, and  then did the usual. Sherri  got ready and made breakfast. We crossed the creek, wading across and put our stuff together. This was around 8. It was not too bad of a creek crossing. Only came ankle high, water was cold, but not as bad as we thought it might be. The crossing was about a hundred feet toward our pond from the outlet of the pond.

We immediately start climbing the first of our 1450' up towards Donohue Pass. Today I am not following Sherri because with two bear canisters I need to keep my own pace. But we both do pretty well. Actually, better than either of the other times we hiked this. It takes us 40 minutes or so to get to our other crossing of an outlet. Sherri decides to take off her shoes to cross. I think I can cross on the rocks. Well, I did mostly, that is until a rock rolls and my boot splashes into the water, followed by the other boot. Fortunately, it was only about an ankles worth of water before I recovered. Unfortunately, the water slopped over my boot top, getting the socks a little wet.

Sherri wondering wheres the top?

Gary Charging Up Donohue

At this crossing, a woman, Nicole, came up and crossed the same way as I did, but without getting wet. We would hike with her most of the day. We talked for awhile, then she took off. We followed her shortly, and slowly afterwards. The rest of the climb was of the one foot after the other variety. But there were some very awesome views of Lyell Canyon, Glacier and Peak to help moderate the effort.

We Made IT!

We made it to the top of Donohue Pass around 10:30. This is better than expected. Traditional picture taking and all of that. Nicole was up there as well. Pretty nice pass top time. Not as hot as we expected. In the distance we see thunderclouds forming, but does not look like a problem for today.

Coming down the south slope of Donohue, we do this pretty well. Sherri is taking the rocks much more in stride than into past. She is going down faster than I have seen her do before. Around 11:30 we catch up with Nicole and invite her to have lunch with us, which she accepts. She recently got her MBA from USC and will start work right after the JMT.  This is one of her first backpacking experiences, but she seems to have a good head on her shoulders.

Rush Creek

After lunch we hike together, down towards Rush Creek. The creek we are following is unnamed and is pretty gentle until the descent into Rush Creek. We do cross Rush on logs and stop for a small break. We are now in the drainage which goes to the Great Basin. We see many fields of snow gracing the northern flanks of the mountains.

But now we leave Rush Creek and take off on going up towards Island Pass. This is a trudge up it. It is only a 600' climb, but still the sun is on us. So we climb and rest. We meet some PCT'rs coming down. One is from San Jose. Even more so, she was born in Palo Alto at the same hospital I was born at-about 40 years apart.

We make it to Island Pass (37.73581, -119.19275) around 3:45. After talking about options, Sherri and I decide we will stay here rather than going on to Ruby Lake. So we  say goodbye to Nicole who is ready to make some miles today. We then set up camp, battling mosquitoes. After awhile we give up and crawl into the tent and just relax-reading and listening.

Sunset

Sierra Spectacular

Dinner was beef stroganoff. Not as filling as usual. Guess I will live off of my fat. We take a walk around a pond after dinner, waiting for the sun to set. Clouds have filled up the sky. On the plus side, it is making for a gorgeous sunset with the thunderheads rising majestically in the darling sky. On the other side, will it rain? We decide that we will compromise. Cover the packs, but leave the rain tarp off the tent. When we wake up at night, if there are no stars, we will put on the tarp. We watch an episode of Dr Who-Rose, and then go to sleep.

Today's JMT Lesson:  If it looks like you are at the top, you're not.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Oatmeal and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola. Tang.	Peanut Butter and Nutella on crackers	Beef Stroganoff	Clif Bar, Jelly Bellies, CytoMax, Propel, GORP

¹The supplied figures come from either the book John Muir Trail: The essential guide to hiking America's most famous trail by Elizabeth Wenk. Also some information comes from topo maps as well.The tracks from my Foretex did not get saved. This will become a problem for the rest of the trip. Getting either no or incomplete set of tracks. Below is the readings from today's status on the GPS. I view it as only somewhat accurate.

Distance:  7.3 miles

Moving Time:   4:37 (1.58 mph). 

Elevation Rise:    920'

Maximum Elevation:    11,190' 

Pictures:

 

Outlet from last water before Donohue Pass

 

Closing in on the top of Donohue Pass

Rush Creek Basin

Nicole and Sherri Crossing an Unnamed Creek

Sherri and Nicole Marching Toward Banner Peak

Nice Clouds

Waugh Lake

Donohue Peak with Sherri and Nicole

Mountain Heather

June 28, 2013 - Lyell Canyon and beyond

Title: June 28, 2013 - Lyell Canyon and beyond

 (Preliminary)

Trail:JMT-Lyell Canyon

Starting location:  Tuolumne Meadows

Destination: above the Lyell Footbridge

Actual Destination: pond at 10,185'

Distance: 10.6 miles ²

Start Time: 7:30

End Time: 5:00

Travel Time: 9:30 (1.12 mph)

Moving Time: 5:07 ( 2.07 mph) ²

Elevation Rise: 1,506' ²

Maximum Elevation: 10,185'

Description:

Steven

Slept OK at Murphy's Inn in Lee Vining. Even though we had the A/C running last night I thought it was a bit stuffy. Woke up several times, but feel asleep. Sherri was up some also. Finally turned on the iPad around 5:30and read my devotions before getting up around 6. Got the last minute items put away, then off into the car at 6:30 and stopped at the Whoa Nellie Deli for breakfast on the way out. Steven and I had a breakfast burrito-which I did not finish, and Sherri had a eggs and ham croissant. Good eats with lots of food. Nice combination. Got to the trail head at 7:30.  Pretty good for us.

Morning Start

Our third instance of doing a little bit of cheating. There are two places where we could pick up the Trail. The first is the wilderness ranger station, where Steven picked us up.  Then there is the long term parking about a mile down the trail-see the purple line on the map. We opted for the mile down the trail-it cuts off a mile of walking beside the road, particularly since we have done this section of the trail several times and so far it had not added anything, except being tired.

So off we went, waving goodbye to Steven, thanking him for driving us around and the food drop off. We hiked this first piece three weeks ago with Betty. Not much has changed, except some of the mud has dried up. The Lyell Fork still is running strong and the grass is green. Before hitting Rafferty Creek, we see a buck and five deer. Nice sight. 

View From the Trail

Even though the pack is heavy on Sherri, mine is only a little more than the first days, we make good time, averaging about 2.5 mph. We meet the father of the PCTer which we talked with at Sunrise Meadow a couple of days ago. The opening comment he made was that this was the second JMTer who was carrying a Kelty which he had met, before realizing the first and the second were the same person. His daughter, Jessica-trail name Night Crawler¹, because she traveled at night in the desert, is with him. We chatted for a few minutes, then headed our separate ways.

We pass the Evelyn Lake trail junction and continue on. A little bit later, we stop and have lunch. Thanks Steven for making our peanut butter and Nutella sandwich. Tasted good. A little bit later, we came across the hidden campsite which Andrea, Sherri and I found.   This is the one which Zander stumbled across while we were there.

Campsite from six years ago

We keep going up Lyell Canyon, it is slowly rising, about a hundred feet in a mile. At the end of the level part, we stop for a Clif Bar and a break before a climb. There was a bit of frustration with some miscommunication. Also with the iPod not working how we thought it should. But when we started walking again, that gets shoved aside and our energy is concentrated on climbing 600' in the next mile to the footbridge which crosses Lyell Creek.  It is hot and dry, so we walk a bit then breath a lot. But step by step we get up it.

Lyell Glacier

Along the way, we talk with a guy who will be going up to Lyell Glacier. We then see him by the footbridge. We talk for a time, getting rested.  Clouds are gathering, cooling the air. So we decide to go another mile and 500' up to a pond. This will help out tomorrow when we go over Donohue Pass. This climb was a lot better than the first one. Being rested and cooler really helped.

Our Bedroom View

We have a spot  to camp (37.95887, -119.12091) at with a view, you would pay big bucks to have-we only needed to perspire.  This is at an unnamed lake, only known by its elevation-10,185'.  We watched several people cross the creek we will be crossing tomorrow. We do take some interest in observing peoples styles of crossing-some decide quickly to plunge right in and wade across, others try to keep dry and go across some marginal rocks-only one person was successful. Most decide to wade. One of the people is Lucy who is writing her blog. We exchanged cards. it was informative watching various groups crossing the outlet to our pond. Dinner was tamale freestyle-filling and tasty. We resolve some of the iPod problems. Then it is time to go to bed, around 9. The sunset was pretty good off of the snow above us.

 Today's JMT Lesson: Known and own^* your equipment.

^*The owning is not so much possession, but mastery of what you bring.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Oatmeal and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola. Tang.	Peanut Butter and Nutella on crackers	Tamale Pie Freestyle	Clif Bar, Jelly Bellies, CytoMax, Propel, GORP

Notes:
¹We have a strange world which we live in. After reading a draft of this blog, Lindy, a PCTer and a person who is doing the JMT this year, met Night Crawler's Dad up in Seattle. Also Night Crawler gets mentioned in several blogs: PJG and Guy on a Buffalo.

²The supplied figures come from either the book John Muir Trail: The essential guide to hiking America's most famous trail by Elizabeth Wenk. Also some information comes from topo maps as well.The tracks from my Foretex did not get saved. This will become a problem for the rest of the trip. Getting either no or incomplete set of tracks. Below is the readings from today's status on the GPS. I view it as only somewhat accurate.
Distance: 11.3 miles

Moving Time: 5:07 ( 2.2 mph)

Elevation Rise: 996'

Maximum Elevation: 10,185'

Place: CA-Donohue

Donohue Pass, Peak(12,023') (Mono Craters 15')
(Long, Lat)

Description:
The pass was named in 1895 by Lieutenant N. F. McClure for a sergeant in his detachment. (N. F. McClure.)  From Place Names of the High Sierra (1926) by Francis P. Farquhar

Trips:

• June 29, 2013 - JMT Trip
• July 2012 - JMT Trip
• July 2007 - Andrea and Sherri's JMT Trip

Pictures:

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References:

•  Wikipedia
•  HikeJMT
•  JMT Book
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