Gary-Summer: Ostrander

Showing posts with label Ostrander. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

October 18, 2023 - Taft Pt and Sentinel Dome

Title: October 18, 2023 - Taft Pt and Sentinel Dome
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail head: Sentinel Dome Parking Area-West

Trail: Taft Point, Pohono, Sentinel Dome

Destination: Taft Pt

Actual Destination: Taft Pt and Sentinel Dome

Distance: 5.65 miles

Start Time: 9:41

End Time: 4:21

Travel Time: 6:39 (0.85 mph)

Moving Time: 4:07 (1.37 mph)

Elevation Rise: 1,592'

Descent: 1,437‘

Maximum Elevation: 8,153'

GPS Tracks

Description:

Rose and Sherri at start

A couple of weeks ago Sherri and I walked up Four Mile Trail for a short way. Enough of the way up that we decided to try walking it the full way to Glacier Point. Both Rose and Betty are interested in doing this-Betty has other obligations, but Rose is available. Unfortunately the day before Yosemite Fire decided to ignite a prescribed burn in the Valley. We are thinking that the fires will bring smoke. So do we really want to be struggling up this trail, breathing in smoke? The answer is no!

We still want to go for a hike in Yosemite, maybe on the Glacier Point Road. David-my brother, Sherri and I pile into the car a little after 7, drive up to Madera and pick up Rose. We drove on through Oakhurst and got to the Sentinel Dome Parking Area. One thing which we did not realize which would come into play later on is that there are now two parking areas for this trail-east and west.

By 9:40, we are off and walking towards Taft Point. If we feel up to it, we will continue on a triangle to Sentinel Dome. The trail does not seem familiar, but after a while, I recognize some landmarks and feel better. It is only a bit more than a mile to Taft Point. The trail dips down before ascending to the point. We pass by the Fissures. I know this is in my mind, but I remember the fissures a bit more dynamic looking. Could they have changed? Or is it just my memory being warped?

Ferns being passed by

AFissure

The view from the point is always amazing-at least my memory and reality jive on this. When you are looking down 4,000' into one of the most beautiful places on earth, there is no surprise that it elicits awe. Looking west where the burns were to take place, there is only a haze right now. We get our pictures taken and just wander around the area taking it in.

Approaching Taft Pt

Then we start back up the Pohono Trail

Taft Point

. It is about half a mile to the junction. I am up ahead, but David catches up with me. A little later Rose and Sherri come along, sounding like they are having a good conversation. At the junction, we have a decision to be made. Do we continue the Pohono Trail or go back to the car and then go up Sentinel Dome? It is actually shorter and easier to go back to the car. But our group decided to make it a triangle hike, even with an 800' drop to Sentinel Creek and a climb back up and further to get to the top of the dome. We decided to do the triangle.

Sentinel Dome from Pohono Trail

We decide when we get to Sentinel Creek to have lunch. We start our descent. We meet various people coming up the trail and stop and talk with a few. Sentinel Dome starts to loom in front of us. It is not as intimidating as some of the other domes we have seen. At the Creek, there is a side trail going out to a point which we have eaten at before. It did not disappoint. We eat and rest here for about 20-30 minutes.

During this time, I get to play tour guide to two different sets of people wondering how to get to Sentinel Dome. We start walking again. We quickly get passed by both groups. One is wondering if this is as steep as it gets-nope, it gets steeper. Apparently one of their group probably will not be able to make it. So I give them instructions about how to go and where the friend can stop.

David and I keep a slow steady pace and get to another overlook where we stop and gawk at the view of the Valley.While we wait, David lays down and rests. I suspect that I lack energy more than David. Once we are all together, we take off again. There have been changes since the last time I have been up here. There is a node on the Park’s communications has moved. Plus the trail seems to have changed a bit. Such as the trail seems to loop around where it did not go before.

David resting

On the way up Sentinel Dome, we meet both groups which we talked to before. They both are grateful for the advice I gave. All of us decide that we have enough energy to go up the Dome. One step at a time brings us all to the top. The view from the top is 360 and there are very few sights which compare with this view of Yosemite. Half Dome, the Sierra Crest, and the Clark Range to the east; Ostrander Rocks to the south; El Capitan and the Valley to the west; and Yosemite Falls to the north. When looking down the Valley, we are seeing the prescribed burns we were concerned about. They do not look too bad, at least a lot of smoke.

Now it is time to go back down the dome. I have been down the Dome several times before. Today for some reason I am apprehensive about coming down it. Maybe it is because last time I slipped and fell and broke my pinkie finger. I think Sherri is more concerned about coming down it than I am right now. For some strange reason, I feel more confident coming down now with Sherri matching my footsteps. The bottom line-maybe the wrong choice in words-we make it down without incident.

Prescribed burn close to El Capitan

It is a mile back to the car. David and I walk at an easy pace, but still faster than Sherri and Rose. We get to the east parking area. This is the trail I remember. The light clicks on and I realize what a sign is trying to tell me. The west parking area, where we are parked, is a new lot. David and I discuss things. He will stay at the east area and direct Sherri and Rose there. I will walk the 100 yards to the west one and collect the car.

Sherri and Gary and Sentinel Dome

After picking everybody up, we head on down the road. The next question is, do we want to eat before we get home? The answer is a resounding yes! Now where. We decide that if El Cid looks reasonable to get into, we will go there. Else we will try a new place in Oakhurst: Los dos Carnales. El Cid looked like we would get in quickly, so we stopped. After reading the reviews on the other restaurant, we will try there as well. After eating it is back down to the Valley. We let off Rose at her place and then stagger into our house, tired, but feeling good.

Extra Photo's

Panorama view from the top of Sentinel Dome

View looking west from Sentinel Point

Looking east from Sentinel Dome

Across the Valley from Sentinel Point

Yosemite Falls from Taft Point

West end of the Valley from Taft Point

Gary at Taft Point

David at Taft Point

Tree on Taft Point

Smoke from prescribed burns

Prescribed burns

Half Dome from Sentinel Dome

A tree on edge of Sentinel Dome: left from Pohono Trail; right on the Dome

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

March 3, 2021 - Badger Pass

Title: March 3, 2021 - Badger Pass
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's

Trail head: Badger Pass Parking Lot

Hike Info:

Type: Snowshoeing
Trail: Glacier Point Road, Dewey Point Ridge Trail
Destination: Top Knoll on Ridge Trail
Distance: 2.60 miles ¹

Start Time: 12:45
End Time:    3:51
Travel Time:  3:05 (0.84 mph)
Moving Time:  2:01 (1.29 mph)
Elevation Rise: 486'
Descent: 482‘
Maximum Elevation: 7,648'
GPS Tracks
¹Tracks are from the Garmin 60csx instead of my wrist GPS, a Foretex 401.

Description:

Sherri getting snowshoes on

Once again it is just Sherri and myself. Rose and Betty have other obligations. But unlike last week, we are a little bit better prepared. We are going up to Badger Pass area, about a two hour ride. We probably should have gotten a little earlier start than 10:15.

On the way up, we talk some about truth. Yes, there is that Truth which as a Christian, I believe is Jesus and from which all other truth derives from. But in this day of our culture, we do have a lot of different perceptions about what truth looks like. This may depend on who is speaking, at least that is what I see. If it is one of our political leaders or even religious leaders speaking, we tend to evaluate the “truth” of what they are saying by our own perceptions. And then Sherri got a good one in about someone’s“truth” coming out of their ass. I had just read in the Old Testament of this exact thing happening. Sherri did not see the humor in that.

This keeps us occupied for most of the trip up to Yosemite, stopping briefly in Wawona, arriving at Badger Pass around 12:15. We ate our lunch in the car, got on our snowshoes and were off by 12:45.

The day looks a bit dismal. Cloudy skies, but the forecast only calls for cold. It was 37^o

The Knoll We Will Climb

when we stepped away from the car. I had asked Sherri how energetic does she feel? Not too much of a definite answer. So we will play it by ear. Our initial route is up the Glacier Point Road. This is the main passageway for most winter travelers. You can tell that it is: cold, not snowed in over a month and many people have traveled this route. How might you ask? Over half of the road is pretty hard and another couple of degrees, it would be very hard to travel without spikes of some type.

Mt Hoffman

We go up the road about half a mile till we reach the top. This is the dividing ridge between Grouse Creek to the west and Bridalveil Creek to the east. Here I ask Sherri the same question, how energetic are you? She said that she would follow me. So after we walked over a 5’ diameter fallen tree, we headed on the Ridge Trail for Dewey Point.

The Ridge Trail is a difficult route for cross-country skiers. The trail dances between trees and has several bumps. Also in a few places it is steep enough that we see where the skiers have side stepped up slopes. Then to add to the “fun” trees are down from a windstorm a month and half ago. But as snowshoers, we only had to contend with going up the hill-a bit of huffing and puffing. Also because of the lack of snow, time and narrowness of the ;ath, any ski tracks have been nearly wiped out. So no need to show proper etiquette and avoid ski tracks.

Gary

We get to the top of where the trail goes. There is a nice area without trees. But at the end is still the forest, blocking a good deal of the view. Still through openings we can see Mt Hoffman, North Dome and Clouds Rest. From here, the trail will slope down to Dewey Point. But do we really want to go down there? Particularly with pretty limited time?

The answer is No. Instead we climb a little ways to the top of the knoll. It is a fun walk on snow with only a track or two. We do not use the tracks to guide us. When we get to the top, I make a comment to Sherri that the “view from here is almost beautiful”. This is not knocking the area, there is a quietness, serenity being in the snow with no one else area. There is a quietness which is unbroken by humans, except for ourselves. But the almost beautiful comment is that I can see where El Cap is, but not really able to see it, or the Devil’s Dance Floor-ditto. It is like that and if it was not for the trees, the vista would be magnificent! Do I not want the trees? I certain do want them-I just want both: the trees and the view!

Burnt Trees sheared off by the wind

We start down the slope, but instead of heading east to the trail, we go more south, following the ridge down. Very nice going over snow which is neither too icy or too soft. We hit another patch where the trees are all dead from a fire. But when? I was initially guessing that part of the Ferguson Fire in 2018 may have been the culprit. But looking at where the fire stopped shows several miles away to the west. A Yosemite Fire history map shows a fire hitting the area in the 1980’s and then again in the 1990’s. This may have been the Steamboat Fire of 1990.

Recently downed trees

The other question is, did the January Mono Winds top all these trees at about 20’? There are logs all around, mostly under the snow. But now and again, we see a log uncovered on top. Has that tree fallen during the past month? It makes me eye the trees around us a bit closer.

But it does not change our route, well, we do weave our way around the fallen logs not covered by snow. But this is a pleasure. We keep looking at the Clark Range to the east and Horse Ridge to the south, where Ostrander Lake is. It is even a better view than on top, still not unobstructed. Enjoyable and we gawk for a while.

I am concerned about how steep the slope back down to Glacier Point Road. When we went by it coming in, it looked pretty steep. But there is a nice ravine to the southwest side which we follow down. This is fun! We make it down to the road. And now it is a half mile back to the car, downhill. So it is much easier. Two backpackers pass us going in. We talk for a minute before they go on.

By the time we get to the car, it is right about 4pm. We stopped in Oakhurst for a burger at Carl’s Jr. Then back home, arriving at 6:30, just in time for our Wednesday night family Zoom time. A good day

Extra Photo's

North Dome

Looking across to the Cascade Drainage and the Devil's Dance Hall

Tree on top of knoll

Sherri

Interesting looking stumps

Horse Ridge

Clark Range

Sheared Off Trees

Horse Ridge

Saturday, July 6, 2019

July 6. 2019 - Alder Creek

Title: July 6. 2019 - Alder Creek
Hike Info : Description : Menu : Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Mosquito Creek in Yosemite

Hike Info:

Type: Backpacking

Trail: Alder Creek

Destination: Usual campsite above Alder Falls

Actual Destination: Campsite about a quarter mile above Alder Falls

Distance: 4.5 miles ¹

Start Time: 10:30

End Time: 4:00

Elevation Rise: 2,164'

Descent: 914‘

Maximum Elevation: 6,082'

¹I forgot my GPS. So this is based upon estimates from previous hikes and from plotting route on Google Earth

Description:

View from 6S10

Fresno Dome

This trip is not turning out as expected. The original plan was to go on a three day backpacking trip to Chain Lakes with all five of us in our family, plus Lawrence-Andrea’s boyfriend, and another Andrea who our Andrea went to high school with. But Rachel needed to work Friday. So I stayed home with Rachel and we would go up Saturday. The rest of the group went up. They got a wilderness permit for Chain Lakes-the person in the Forest Service office said the road was clear to the Quartz Mountain trailhead. But it was not. There were at least three snow berms-the last one stopped them, damaging the protection under the Rav4. At that point, the group decided it was time to turn back, that is with help getting off of the berm. Instead they took a day hike to Fresno Dome and came back home to Fresno.

Mosquito Creek Trailhead

Wawona Ranger Station

Now we will try again, this time to Yosemite. Our options are Alder Creek, the Pohono Trail and Ostrander Lake. We will see which we get. The plan is to leave by 7am and get to Yosemite before the long line at the entrance station. We are thinking of trying for the Alder Creek trail, mostly because it will give us a quick route back, along with a nice experience. The two Andrea’s and Lawrence have not been there yet, so it would be new to them as well as someplace Sherri and I like to go, just not in mid-season.

Rachel, Sherri, and Andrea

We did manage to leave at 7:30. Andrea, Lawrence and Rachel are going over to pick up the other Andrea while Steven, Sherri and I go straight to Wawona and negotiate for a backcountry permit. We get to the southern entrance to Yosemite about 8:30. There is a line, but fortunately not that bad. It is moving quickly, until we get about six cars from the entrance station. There I had Steven get into the wrong line. This line took forever. We got to Wawona around 9:00am.

Alder Creek from the Mosquito Creek trailhead was available, so we gobbled up that permit. We only had to wait about 10 minutes for the other car. So off we go. Lawrance’s car went ahead of ours-which was a mistake. When we got to the trailhead, no second car was there. We waited around another ten minutes for them to show up. They had missed the hairpin turn and gone up the road a little ways.

Sherri and I start out before everybody else does, mostly because we will be the slowest. That is borne out as the rest of the gang passes us pretty quickly. But in our defense, the first ¾ of a mile goes up 700’, so this part of the trail is not for wimps. I take things one step at a time and pull away from Sherri. But Andrea and Rachel stay with her. I am glad for the break when we get to the junction with the Wawona trail. A man and his grownup son passes by and we talk with them. While they have been coming to Wawona for 30 years, they have not made it to the falls yet. We encourage them to. The father says that the cap Sherri bought me in Wawona was a Shirly Spenser design-she is from Fish Camp.

Andrea the exerciser

The air is a bit warm, but not as warm as I expected. The trail goes along the familiar route back towards Mosquito Creek. But when we cross it, or should I say, some of its legs, it is more of a trickle. We have been climbing, but more gentle than the first ¾ mile. After going over several ridges, it is time for lunch. Lunch is along the side of a hill. We devour the peanut butter, nutella and crackers. I think someplace some humus is reconstituted. Then Andrea shows her exercising skills-I am still on recovery mode from the climb up so far.

Trail above the falls

But fortunately, we only have on more real climb to tackle. Once we get to the top of the climb, we come across the old Sugar Pine Lumber Railroad bed. That means it is a flat walk to the Falls. We walk at a leisurely pace, taking in the forest around us, occasionally crossing a little stream of water. I admire the work which was done to build this bed.

I know that going around a certain bend, we will meet one of the pleasurable sights in the Sierra’s-the initial view of Alder Falls. It does not disappoint. We have also caught up with the rest of our group as they are reclining under the shade of a lone pine tree. But the view is keeping them there. I will admit I am also glad just to be off of my feet as well as being able to enjoy the Falls.

Evening at Alder Falls

We enjoyed the falls for over an hour. But then the debate was where to go? Should we go up to where we regularly camp or try for someplace with less distance. Everybody thought that if we could find a place for all seven of us closer to the falls, that would help us get out earlier in the morning. So off we go.

Our Campsite

We walk about half a mile to three-quarters up the trail. I am in the lead, mostly because I have a pretty good guess about where a campsite is. We walk through a fern laden forest with azaleas sprouting everywhere. Very fragrant. We will have the best smell campsite that I think we have ever had. But the azaleas are not the only flowers. We see snow plants and western wallflowers, lupine-of course-and many other flowers. It seems like this is how Spring should be in this area, not a month into Summer.

Presently I see what I have been looking for-a little worn path away from the trail. We follow it and there about 40’ from the trail is a great campsite complete with an established fire ring, not that we will be burning tonight. There are three tents and two hammocks. While the space is occupied, it does not seem crowded. My one item of concern is that we are closer to the creek than I would like. But looking up the trail a ways, all which I really find is a campsite on a slant and a pair of sunglasses. So this will have to suffice for tonight.

Evening at Alder Falls: Rachel, Lawra\ence, Steven, Andrea S, Andrea, Gary, Sherri

Dinner is beef stroganoff-dehydrated. Sherri had this stuff already packaged for us. After we clean up, we decide to go for a little walk. I think most people wanted to go further up the trail, but I was interested in seeing the Falls at sunset. So since I set out first, that is the way I chose. As it turned out, it is a good choice. The Falls and the area while not stunning, they are pleasant against the darkening sky. We stay around for half an hour and then head back, getting back just in time for darkness to fall.

Evening Sky

As you might have guessed by now, when darkness falls, it is time for bed. We all hit our sleeping bags around 9:00 and I stop reading by 9:30. Tired but feeling good.