Rafferty Creek trail
We left the trail after Vogelsang Lake to hike up the east side of the peak (class 3). We reached the ridge a bit north of the summit, and then continued south to the summit over some boulders. The terrain on the west side of the ridge is more level, in contrast with the quick drop-off on the east. The views from here are spectacular: meadows, lakes, peaks, and mountain ranges as far as you can see.
Vogelsang Lake
Half Dome, Cloud's Rest, Emeric Lake
Tuolumne Meadows in the far distance
Lewis Creek Basin
We descended on the south side of the peak where it's mostly flat with some interspersed shrubs. Then headed north towards the trail down a gently sloping field of scree. This approach is the easier one, class 2. Once back on the trail, we headed towards Vogelsang Pass. After about half a mile, we left the trail again and headed east towards Gallison Lake. We headed across the meadow towards a lonely stand of trees where we spent the night. The landscape here is spectacular.
Gallison Lake
The sun set about 7:30pm, and around 8pm, the Milky Way was visible already. It would have been great for night sky photos, but I was too cold. During the night, the sky remained clear, temperatures dropped to the low 30s, but the wind never stopped. I'm guessing some gusts were in the 30mph range. I'd hear the wind blowing up the canyon walls, and a few seconds later would feel the walls of the tent flopping around. Nonetheless, I managed to get a good sleep.
Around 5am, it began to hail lightly. At 7am, we headed to the far lake near the base of Parsons Peak to do some exploring. When we reached the lake, the snow was falling consistently and sticking. Pretty soon, the whole landscape was covered in white.
Sunday morning
Vogelsang Lake
The snow continued falling until we reached the HSC. Below 10,000', the sky remained overcast, but the ground was mostly clear, and temps quickly reached into the 40s. Around 3pm, we reached the cars at the Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center. Hwy 120 was blocked in the east direction at the center. A few miles east of the Tuolumne Grove, there was a park ranger limiting traffic going into Tuolumne Meadows.
Bridge over Lyell Fork
I found the Lewis Creek area to be very spectacular and enjoyed this trip very much. In particular, I liked the contrast between the clear day on Saturday and then during the storm on Sunday. Enjoy the photos.
