(Warning: long posting. TL;DR version: No snow until 9000', camped on Clouds Rest, clouds covered everything, Quarter Domes great, wonderful trip!)
The ascent to Little Yosemite Valley was uneventful, except that the gate for the upper part of the Mist Trail was still closed. (Editorial: for no good reason.) After a lunch break in LYV, I continued chugging along the mostly forested trail. Although the Quarter Domes were my original destination, by the time I was at the "turn off the trail here" point, the day was still young and winter was no where to be found, so I continued climbing. At 8200', some open granite sprinkled with Sierra Junipers provided some nice views--and the obvious route to the Quarter Domes the next day.
Near 9000', where there's a wonderful open area with excellent views, more junipers, and eroded rock formations (I was reminded of the summit of Hoffman and the Double Rock area...), I hit the first "significant" snow.
While this open area would have made a fine campsite, I decided to push onward. The snow got thicker, and while it was mostly compacted, there was just enough infrequent postholing to make things interesting.
Somewhere around 5:10 I summited... and first realized the extent of the clouds/fog invading the valley below.
There was no "suitable" (highly subjective criteria) place to camp on the summit, so I found a nice rocky perch just south of the summit that provided some protection from the breezes, one where I could almost dangle my feet over the edge of Clouds Rest.
While preparing dinner and setting up camp, I watched the clouds roll in--more like fog--and cover everything except the top of Half Dome, Sentinel Dome, Mt. Starr King, and a few higher points around the Valley. The makeshift Twinkie bird trap didn't work... too many clouds?
Sunset was, well, wonderful:
(Amateur radio geek-out intermission: from my campsite I was able to talk with my wife using a 2-watt HT via the Mt. Diablo 2-meter repeater. Of course, we arranged this little QRP QSO using two satellite-based communication networks, but still...)
The night was mild for being almost at 10,000', but there was a cool breeze in the morning. The clouds were gone, and after a quick breakfast and packing up, I returned to the summit for more views.
The descent was uneventful, and the snow was much more supportive. I left the trail at the end of the first major switchback below 9000' to begin the easy x/c stroll among Sierra Junipers to the Quarter Domes.
The top of the Eastern Quarter Dome was as nice as "advertised", with excellent views into Tenaya Canyon and of the other three-quarters domes to the south.
Just south of the western QD was a small sliver of a dome that jutted out into Tenaya Canyon--maybe a sixteenth of a dome or so?
After exploring this small dome, I cut into the forest to intersect the Half Dome trail--very odd to see such a worn trail almost completely without people. I suspect the cables will be up soon and it will revert to being a hiker freeway...
Many More Pictures
