May 15, 2025 - Yosemite Backpack

 

Title: May 15, 2025 - Yosemite Backpack

Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons :  Menu : Extra Photo's :  Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Backpacking 

Trail head: McGurk Meadow Trailhead

Trail: McGurk Meadow, Pohono Trail

Destination: Bridalveil Creek

Distance:  2.12 miles

Start Time: 10:45

End Time:    12:04

Travel Time:  1:19  (1.61 mph)

Moving Time: 1:06   (1.93 mph)

Elevation Rise:  334'

Descent: 507‘

Maximum Elevation: 7,084'

GPS Tracks

 

 

Type: Hiking

Trail head: Bridalveil Creek

Trail:  Pohono Trail

Destination: Dewey Point

Distance:  5.23 miles 

Start Time: 1:57

End Time:   7:05

Travel Time: 5:07  (1.02 mph)

Moving Time: 3:42   (1.41 mph)

Elevation Rise: 1,266 '

Descent: 1,203‘+

Maximum Elevation: 7,351'

GPS Tracks

Description:

I get to go backpacking with my kids. Well, at least two of them-Rachel and Steven. It did not work out for us to backpack last weekend when Andrea was with us. Still, it is good to be out there. Two more things: they are no longer kids and two, we do not know if we are really going to be able to backpack. When I go to recreation.gov, it shows no permits are available anyplace in Yosemite. Our plan is to go to Yosemite and see if we can find availability. If not, we will do a day hike today, return to Fresno and go on a hike tomorrow with Sherri.

The three of us say our farewells to Sherri and leave at 7:45. I am driving. We stopped in Oakhurst at MacDonalds for some substance. Then at the Visitor’s Information. Both the Park and Sierra National Forest no longer have a presence there. All which the docent can tell us is that we will need to go into the Valley to get our permit. We enter the Park and go to the Wawona Ranger Station, which is closed. But I notice they have a bulletin board out in front. Is it possible we can do self-registration? Yes!

 

Now the question is where to go? I proposed a couple of places: Alder Falls or Bridalveil Creek. We chose the more relaxing trip to Bridalveil Creek. We set off for the McGurk Meadow Trailhead and arrived about 10:30. It takes us a few minutes to get ready, but our feet touch dirt at about 10:45.

Rachel's Log Crossing

Sherri and I have gone down this trail all the way to Dewey Point as a day hike. Also nine years ago, Sherri, Sonya and I did an overnighter on this trail after an aborted JMT and Chain Lake trips. Memories. That is one good thing about taking a walk down a trail you know well.

But today is a day for new memories with my son and daughter. We go the first ¾ mile down to McGurk Cabin. Here I make my usual comment that McGurk must have been a pygmy as the doorway to his cabin is only about 3’ tall. Then we see the beginnings of the greens of his meadow. Somehow this meadow which does not look that big continues for over a mile. It is a breath of refreshment, especially since so far we have not attracted any mosquitos.

There are two notable things about the trail today. First, there are good patches of snow, even about 10-15 yards long. Nothing which causes a problem, just being on the alert for any ice under the snow. Then the other thing is the trail crew, if we have any things year, has not been out yet. It is a bit early for them. There are numerous logs across the trail. Some we go around, some we go over and one tree we do a limbo under. I guess I am going to get my exercise today.

We get to the junction with the Pohono

Looking east from Dewey Point

trail pretty quickly-after all it is mostly downhill. It is about a quarter mile to Bridalveil Creek. Once there, the mission is to find a campsite. While the area is pretty level, there is a slope to it. For Steven, that does not matter as he sets up his hammock. For Rachel and I who will be sharing a tent, it does. But we find a place which is reasonable and pitch our tent. Then it is on to lunch as it is a little past noon now.

We discussed what we wanted to do. It was decided to go to Dewey Point, only a little more than two miles away. The trail does have some debris, but not the number of downed trees like we encountered from McGurk. The trail leads us around the Valley rim, but never at a place where we have a few. It is mostly forested.

There is a sense of a rolling uphill towards Dewey Point. I am breathing hard, but by stopping occasionally I make it to the Point a little after 4. The view is spectacular. Anytime you look into the Valley, it is enough to take your breath away. Today it is not only figuratively, but literally. But Yosemite provides even a better backdrop. The snow is still heavy above 8,000’. Tops of mountains show a bit of granite but their flanks are coats of white. One can stay here a long time just gazing. God does know how to paint a picture.

Rachel takes a picture of our conquest. Then I leave a few minutes ahead of them. I realize that I am the weak link of this party, so I leave a few minutes before the others. I start off following some footprints to the southeast of Dewey, but quickly realize this is not the way. I spot the mileage marker just 20 yards away and head towards that.

 

When I got back on the trail, something did not seem right, so I stopped to let my body catch up with what I wanted to do. The next thing I know, Steven is asking if I am OK. I am wondering where I am, as in why am I on the ground. From what Steven said, I was out for about ten seconds. After a couple of minutes I got up, a bit concerned about what happened. Rachel puts her Apple watch on me to get some heartbeat and O2 readings. I looked at my CGM to make sure I did not go low. Everything looks good. Heart rate 115-130, O2 low 90’s and blood sugars at 180. After some discussion, we decided to call my brother David who has had some EMT training. We described the situation. He walked us through some of the concerns and possibilities.

With David’s input, we discussed what to do. I am feeling better, so the decision is to try to walk back at least to the junction, about two miles and see how I am doing. Rachel keeps David on the phone until we leave the service area. But that is not too much of a concern as both Rachel and I have PLB’s. Steven walks in front of me, pacing me, with Rachel making sure I look OK. The pacing is slow, very slow with lots of breaks.

 We get to the junction and I am doing OK. So Steven goes quickly to camp to draw water for dinner. By the time I get to camp, it is 7pm. Fortunately there is a lot of sunlight left. I rest while Steven and Rachel prepare dinner. Dinner is freeze dried lasagna and chicken pot pie. We have a little bit more than we needed. Still it is better to have too much than not enough.

By this time, the sky is darkening. But even more which we are aware of is that it is getting cold. Around 8:20, Steven retreats to his hammock while Rachel and I duck into our tent. Even in the tent and sleeping bag, the temperature gets a bit brisk until the bag warms up. I read for a bit and then go to sleep around 9:00.

Trail Lesson: Realize what is important in your life.

Menu

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
At home and McDonalds	Ritz Crackers, Peanut Butter, Nutella	Freeze dried lasagna and chicken pot pie	Clif Bar, GORP, Jelly Belly

Extra Photo's

Clark Range From Dewey Point

The Gunsight

Ribbon Falls

McGurk Meadows

Clouds Rest and Half Dome

El Capitan

 
Flowers and Plants

Snow Plants

Snow Plants

John Muir Trail 2016

John Muir Trail 2016 (Attempted)
From August 7 through September 5th, August 10th 2016

Starting: Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park
Ending:   Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park

A Half Dome Morning

I will start out this entry with the question: if you do not achieve your objective, have you failed? In this regard, our group's objective was to hike the John Muir Trail over a 28 day period. Four of us left the Trail after four days, another left it after hiking 22 days  at Independence. One is left to complete this quest. On the surface it looks like a failure.

But on another level, it is not success nor failure which counts. But it is the effort, the companionship, the growth, adventure experience and memories which says this is a trip I will treasure.

Please bear with me, just another paragraph or two or three of blathering. The biggest thought which I had about coming off the trail was why am I OK with this? Why am I feeling good about it? I was not hurt, exhausted, tired or anything else which would be normal for an aborted hike. I was enjoying the walk, even though it was hard, the people, and the scenery. 

And yet, there was a bit of a hollow feeling, not of something unfilled, but of thinking there should be something else there. In case there is a mistake about the feeling, I am not an empty yourself of feeling, emotion type of person. But I hike and backpack to experience God's creation, absorbing what it has to offer. But I think that Sherri may have come close to the mark when she thought that maybe that was all we were to experience, particularly since we have done the JMT before. Maybe this was the taste we needed and that was all.

When you look at the lead up time and planning to do this trip, you wonder. On the other hand, two people who had not experiences the Trail were able to do it. Also the people who we were able to help along the way. Maybe that was why it felt OK to come off when we did. For whatever reason, I am content.

August 10, 2016 - Tuolumne Meadows

Title:August 10, 2016 - Tuolumne Meadows
Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons :  Menu : Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Upper Sunrise Creek

Hike Info:

Type:  Backpacking

Trail:John Muir Trail

Destination: Tuolumne Meadows
Actual Destination: Cathedral Lakes Trail Head

Distance:  10.71 miles ¹

Start Time: 8:00

End Time:  7:14   

Travel Time:  11:13 (0.95 mph)

Moving Time:  7:38  (1.40 mph)

Elevation Rise: 2,828'

Maximum Elevation: 9,932'

 ¹Usually I figure anything less than a half a mile an hour is GPS error. But because we were going uphill, I lowered that threshold down to two tenths of a mile per hour

Description:

Gary Resting

I have some dread of today. First, there is a natural dread of the next climb. We did not do so well with the first part from Little Yosemite Valley to here. What will today bring? Rose's feet are starting to show some wear and tear; Sherri does not climb steep well; and I am still getting used a heavy pack. But on the later, I do take Rose's tent to lighten a little of the load off of her feet. But the second dread is the distance we must travel today. I suppose we could stay an extra night out-we do have enough food. But it would wreak havoc with rides, lodging and the rest of the JMT trip. But that is a discussion for the end of the day. This is the effect of our little cross-country short cut Monday.

Smog Level

Rose gets off to a comparatively early start with Sherri and I following about 15 minutes later. While we are  climbing pretty well, it is a slow slog. Occasionally we will see something scenic, but most of the time our concentration is putting the next step up the slope with frequent rests to catch our breath. Having been up this slope three times before gives me a combination of thoughts. First, there is the memories of people whom I met-an engineering professor from the Air Force Academy, a man coming down who felt he needed to be guided, my daughter who encouraged me up this hill the first time, my wife who I got to return my daughter's favor. Having been up this before, I know what lies before me and understand the effort it will take.

Mt Starr King

When we move away from Sunrise Creek, or it disappears-I am never sure which, I know we have gone up a ways and that this section of the hike will end. As the trail becomes less vertical-I really hesitate to say it flattens, our spirits rise and we start looking for Rose. When we reach the top of what I call Sunrise Ridge-I do not think this is a real name, Sherri and I stop for a break. It is 9:45, taking us a little less than two hours to climb up the final 1,000' of this ridge.  Also this is a good place to enjoy some eye candy.

But we have many more miles to go so it is off. While these miles are easier than what we have done, they are higher with less air. Sherri and I continue on the trail thinking we might catch Rose now that we are no longer gasping for air from climbing.

Matthes Crest

But like a lot of things on the trail, it is easy to get distracted. How did I? Well a husband and wife was going down to the Valley and I stopped to say hi-Sherri sort of went on. Well this hi, gets into a good conversation. They are doing a yo-yo hike, starting at Horseshoe Meadows below Whitney, going to Happy Isles and then back down. They figure it will take around 40-45 days. But he has type 2 diabetes and is doing the hike to take off 30 pounds and bring down his blood sugars. We compare numbers and he is way higher than me. We both are taking care of elderly parents which leads to how to take care of them and ourselves. This is a tight-rope to walk between sacrificing yourself and being self-absorbed. I do not think there is a formula for this, but maybe a place where we need to create boundaries and balance. Something to ponder for awhile.

Rose in Sunset Meadow

But now I need to play catch-up. I am able to stretch my legs and move pretty quickly down the trail. After about 10 minutes I catch up  with Sherri-she has been waiting for me. Then in about 15 more minutes we are at Sunrise Meadow. We still have not seen Rose, but we ask a few people if they have seen her-no. But then above the meadow Rose calls to us and has us come up to the High Sierra Camp. So we have a great lunch spot, overlooking the meadow-a good place to relax. Rose tells us that she was feeling well enough that she did not stop at the top of the ridge and just came on down for lunch.

After a relaxing hour, we are off again. For a ways, it is level or small climbs. We meet a trail crew who are "relaxing" by going to climb Half Dome. Those folks-and do not think of males only-are really in good shape.  Compared to them. we have a long way to go before being in shape. 

Almost at Long Meadow

After climbing up to the next level, we reach Long Meadow. This is the start of our last climb of the day. This climb is not bad, except for the legs and lungs are not completely functional from our previous efforts. But we persevere.

Cathedral Pass

Do you remember Susan and Sarah from yesterday? They pass us up this afternoon again, up towards the top of Cathedral Pass.  They both are nursing tender feet.  Maybe before I go on I should say that Cathedral Pass is really a non-pass in my mind. On the trail we are actually heading down into the pass and I have never been able to figure out exactly where the pass is. It is not where it looks like a pass should be-it is someplace along the side of a slope.

Anyway, back to Susan and Sarah. They stop at a scenic rock outcropping to rest. So do we because from here, it is downhill. We find out several things. First, they met Kate and Sonya and told us they are doing good. Next Sarah's Achilles Heel is starting to swell up.  This can be serious. We are concerned and I give them our card and ask that they let us know how things are doing. And then we move on as we have our own concerns as well. Rose's toes are getting blisters and she is starting to hobble. The trail is taking its toll on all of us.

Cathedral Meadow

We stop at the Upper Cathedral Lake for a few minutes-those packs are heavy and we wanted to feel better. But on they come again. If things had gone great, we would have meet our meetup group at Lower Cathedral Lake. But it is getting pretty late and they should be all gone. We need to get down while it is still light. We stop at my favorite spring along the trail and I take a sip and cool myself off.

Sarah and Susan catch up to us again at the spring. This time Sarah is really hurting and they are moving slow. Sherri and Rose go on. Susan has taken Sarah's pack and tries to walk with it in front of her. Because she is now blind, I help guide her. But after a mile, this is not going to be workable.  So I lash her pack onto the top of my pack. These Kelty's are made strong. I think they will now carry more than I can. But with both packs I think I am someplace in the 70-80 pound range. Fortunately, it is downhill.

Susan and I take off. Not sure what we will be doing, but at least we will have the packs down at the trail head. We talk about things on the way down. Even though Susan is not religious, we say a short walking prayer. Surprisingly, I feel pretty good carrying this weight, so we make it down to the trail head where Sherri is waiting for us. She stays with Susan and I find the bear lockers and stash Sarah's pack. Interestingly, a ranger is there to bring down another person with a banged up knee. I explain the situation to him, but as a third party, I really cannot do much. But he agrees to talk with Sarah on the way to his other rescue. It turns out that Sherri and I had met Ranger Cliff A three years ago when we did the JMT.  Susan is going back up the trail to be at least with Sarah-we also stash her pack as well.

It is after 7 and Rose has found Jeff, her husband and our ride down to Lee Vining. So you would think that is the end of the drama for the evening, wouldn't you? After going to our hotel-Murphy's Inn-and getting showered-that feels so good, Sherri and I met Jeff and Rose for dinner. We hobbled down to Bodie Mike's to satisfy our inner cravings. First Rose told us that Sonya will be coming off the trail because of a family emergency. Then as we were eating you could see that Rose was contemplating the status of her feet. By the end of the meal, she was convinced that it was time for her to come off the trail as well.Kate and Kim will be going on.

This leaves the question of, "What will Sherri and Gary do?" Somehow when Rose said that her feet was in too poor of shape to continue, it was seemed like it was the thing for us to also leave the Trail. Why? I am still not sure.

The next day, we had breakfast at the Latte Da Coffe Cafe. Enjoyable and relaxing. Last night's decision seemed like the right choice.  So when Jeff, Rose, and Sonya loaded up, so did we. Kim and Kate hit the trail around 11 that day and we headed off our separate ways.

From Sunrise Ridge

Trail Lesson:      Why do you hike? Figure that out and your will be happier.

Menu

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Oatmeal and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola. Tang.	Ritz Crackers, Tortillas, Peanut Butter, Nutella	Hamburgers at Bodie Mike's.	Clif Bar, GORP, Propel, CytoMax, Scrytch, Coffee Candy, Jelly Belly

Extra Photo's

 

Mt Starr King

 

Unknown Peak South of the JMT

Matthes Crest

Cathedral Peak

South from Sunrise Meadow

Long Meadow looking North

 

Cathedral Meadow

Animals

Fritillary

 
Flowers and Plants

 

Wild Onion

August 9, 2016 - Upper Sunrise Creek

Title: August 9, 2016 - Upper Sunrise Creek
Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons : Background : Menu : Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants

 Trail head: Little Yosemite Valley

Hike Info:

Type:  Backpacking

Trail: John Muir Trail

Destination: Upper Sunrise Creek
Actual Destination: Sunrise High Sierra Camp

Distance:  6.12 miles ¹

Start Time: 8:20

End Time:  3:55  

Travel Time: 7:35 (0.81 mph)

Moving Time: 4:51 (1.26 mph)

Elevation Rise: 2,739'

Maximum Elevation: 8,555'

 ¹Usually I figure anything less than a half a mile an hour is GPS error. But because we were going uphill, I lowered that threshold down to two tenths of a mile per hour

Description:

Half Dome with its early morning line

I got around 6:15. We had our breakfast of oatmeal. I pack up and get ready to go while Sherri tends to her feet. Sherri leaves at 8:15 while Rose and I got off at 8:30. Sonya and Kate were early birds and they left maybe about 7:30 some 45 minutes before us.

Rose with Mt Starr King

The first mile and three quarters is just straight up: we rise up 1000 feet.  I can really feel the weight on my shoulders, but it is a little bit lighter than yesterday. What is surprising to me is I'm hearing Sunrise Creek as we are climbing the Half Dome Trail-not that we are doing Half Dome. I have never heard Sunrise along this trail. So when  we came to a rest stop, I celebrate this sound by dumping about a liter of water. I will not be needing it on the way until we pass Upper Sunrise Creek.

At another stop, a couple of hikes-Susan and Sarah-stop to help get my water bladder straight on my pack. We will be seeing them again.

When we got up to the Half Dome junction Sherri was waiting for us. This is the first milestone on our hike today. Two more to go. We stopped, snacked, moaned and groaned and  felt a need rest for a while. Sherri got ahead of us again, but not for long.

Next stop is less than a mile away at the Clouds Rest Junction. Sherri has already arrived and is  resting by a trickle of cool water-she put in her cool scarf and is enjoying the sensation on her neck. The water is  flowing pretty good and we were pleased to be refreshed by this.

Bunnel Point and start of burnt forest

Now it is time to continue along our trail. Our climb follows Sunrise Creek up for a ways. When we start going up the creek, we encounter a burnt out forest. It may have been in connection with the Meadows Fire ² a couple years ago. We travel through this burnt out section for the next 4 miles.

Looking East

When we get to the top of Sunrise Creek at least as far as the trail goes, we take a break for lunch. We are getting pretty much drained after this morning's climb. Lunch is Sherri's and mine  normal peanut butter, Nutttela and Ritz cracker fare. Having gotten ourselves somewhat rejuvenated-that is hard since we are still in the burn area and its ghost nature leaves very little shade. But we do manage to continue along the trail. There is a place which Andrea and I have camped before along an unnamed creek. The creek is still there, but the comfortable, secluded spot is no longer recognizable.  On the other hand there is a lot of different places where water is draining from the soil. This has been observed in other places were springs have gotten unstopped after a fire³.

Shovels and Rake Remains

We come to the junction where the JMT the parts from the trail going up to Sunrise Lakes, not to be confused with the Sunrise Meadow Trail which is where the JMT goes. We take a break there. As we observe across from us, there is remnants of shovels and rakes, which I assume is from when the Meadow Fire.

Liberty Cap

We continue on and the climb isn't as bad but we are climb up over 600 feet in the next mile and a half or so. Being tired from yesterday's push and today's climb, we are drained.  So far we have not are not advanced as far as what I was hoping to. But you can only do as much as what your body is going to let you do. So when we get to Upper Sunrise Creek we stopped and decide what we want to do. At this point, it is a unanimous decision that it's probably wiser to stay where we are now since it is around 5 o'clock. Also Sunrise Creek is still with us as a water source. I know that for the next two miles of up there really is not a good place for three people to camp-I am not sure there is a place for one person to camp.

Gary on the trail

Tomorrow we will need to get an early start since you have to do about ten miles and 2200 feet of elevation gain before we reach Tuolumne Meadows. Yesterday's short cut continues to have ramifications. Sort of like life. You screw up at a point in time and there is a ripple effect which reaches out for a long time.

We have an early dinner ours freeze dried chicken and something or another.  I was informed that is it  Chicken Teriyaki from Mountain House.  It was a good meal. But even better was topping it off with two cookies each. I make myself busy around camp and by 7 o'clock we have all turned in even though there is still sunlight out.

Trail Lesson:
You can only do as much as what your body is going to let you do

Background

Our trail through the ghost forest

²The Meadow Fire happened in the late Summer of 2014. We happened to be there on two occasions. The first on Sept 2nd when there were two fires and there were only 4 acres. A week later it had exploded into a 4,000 acre burn, closing down the JMT and Half Dome trails. This was a lightening caused fire which the Park Service had allowed to burn. It illustrates the hazards of letting a fire burn. As a note, most of the lightening caused fires are a good thing to continue to let burn. It helps keep down large fires and removes a lot of burnable material. But caution needs to be had.

• Wikipedia
• NPS Fire map

³A lot of times after a fire, old brush has been burnt away which allows for two things to happen with springs. The first is that the spring is visible. The second is the root systems of these plants no longer suck up all the water, allowing the water to flow. There may be other factors, but these are the ones which I know about.


Menu

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Oatmeal and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola. Tang.	Ritz Crackers, Tortillas, Peanut Butter, Nutella	Mountain House Chicken Teriyaki	Clif Bar, GORP, Propel, CytoMax, Scrytch, Coffee Candy, Jelly Belly

Extra Photo's

Back side of Half Dome

Bunnell Point

Mt Starr King

Rose in the burnt area

Looking east through burnt trees

Animals

Doe at our campsite

 
Flowers and Plants

Fireweed

Is this part of a sword fern?