Separately, we all thought Are we really doing this? No one was looking forward to a slog through cold, drizzly rain on both Saturday and Monday.
Based on the observation that it hadn't been raining at the Foresta trailhead--or anywhere other than near the Valley Lodge area--we decided to go ahead with our hike and headed to the trailhead. While it was windy, it was dry, but we still put on our rain gear and pack covers before hitting the trail.
We could see no signs that anyone else had broken the trail recently, but it was easy enough to follow the familiar trail--the snow wasn't so deep that it obscured it completely.
The threat of rain mostly dissipated, but we soon were walking in deep enough snow that it was time for the snowshoes to come off our packs.
We were concerned about two unbridged creek crossings: Tamarack Creek and Ribbon Creek. Neither had appeared to have much water in them based on our views from below, but deep snow can make water crossings tricky. Fortunately, Tamarack Creek was crossable with only a few steps into inch-deep water. (Note to self: waterproof boots are no longer waterproof...)
Shortly after crossing Tamarack Creek we stopped for lunch. It was already well past noon, and we were well off our summer hiking pace. The snow was deep and snowshoeing through it was slow. A bit after lunch a few sprinkles briefly fell on us; this "shower" was done by the time we were at the Cascade Creek bridge, where any footprints from the Great Pink One's Thanksgiving trip were buried under many feet of snow.
While we were dry, a fog was closing in, giving the forest around us a distinctly coastal feel.
After a slow and steep climb through deep snow, we emerged at what in summer would be open granite, but now was a vast expanse of open snow.
We trudged up the hillside for a few hundred feet, but we were running out of daylight. We stopped to camp at a flat enough spot near a small--but running--stream.
Besides the luxury of running water, the campsite was protected from the wind and had excellent views of the sunset.
We (or at least I) were beat and were ready for a good night's rest--and I was quite relieved that we wouldn't have to go through the ritual of melting enough snow to make 6-9 liters of water. Our progress had been slow, and we had a lot of distance to cover in the next two days. But, the forecast rain never impacted us, so we were grateful for the weather.
We of course had our usual breakfast of pancakes and bacon the next morning. As we finished the sun started to hit the tent. It was filtered a bit by thin clouds, but it was still welcome. Even better--the previous night had been cold enough that the snow we had been sinking many inches into the previous evening was in most places firm enough to walk on.
We had several hundred feet of climbing to the high point on the trail between Cascade and Ribbon Creek, but we made good process and the firm snow mostly held out on us.
This section of the trail is intermittently marked by red metal flags that do not appear to have been intended for winter travel--many were only a foot above the snow. A dead snag with such a flag marked the top of our climb.
Unfortunately the snow in the forest around Ribbon Meadow was not at all firm, except where the damp snow falling from trees had frozen into ice. Near the meadow we left the forested trail to enjoy some views and sunshine--and deep snow.
We made slow progress through the meadow and stopped for lunch on the far side of it during a moment when it was sunny. Just as we finished lunch grey clouds closed in around us. We continued along, eventually reaching Ribbon Creek, which was fortunately easily crossed on a substantial 8' thick snow bridge.
Unfortunately there was no easy way to fill up on water here, so we continued on. We eventually reached a portion of the trail where we could see the side of El Capitan, much of which was covered by blue and white ice.
The last bit of trail to the top of El Captain in summer is a pleasant, almost level traverse. That trail was completely buried in deep--and firm--snow. We opted to head more up than across, since a slip would send us back down to--and past--the icicles we had seen a bit ago.
There was a fairly strong breeze on the summit of El Capitan, and it took awhile for us to select a campsite and decide on a tent orientation. Eventually we had a location, a flattened platform, and an erect tent.
Since we were nowhere near running water, we had a lot of snow-melting chores to do as we unpacked and prepared hot tea and dinner. As with the previous day we hadn't made many miles, but what distance we had made had been hard work, and once more I looked forward to a good night's sleep--especially since we knew we had to get an early start the next morning to make it out by dark.
Early in the morning our tent was hit by hard gusts of wind, and a bit later we could hear snow and ice being blown against it. We were up before 6:00am and made coffee, breakfast burritos, and packed while snow fell on us. A few times, it was silent, making us think the snow had stopped. Instead, enough had fallen on the tent that the new snow no longer made a sound. That morning several inches of new snow fell on us; despite brushing snow off the tent several times, it stayed dry for only a few minutes.
The wind was still blowing hard as we packed and finally hit the unseen trail. Fortunately the wind was mostly at our back as we trudged through deep snow in near-whiteout conditions.
The snow and wind slowly grew less and less intense, and near a particular landmark we call "Little Half Dome" the storm seemed to be over.
The clouds had lifted enough that we could see the far side of the valley--where we had been camping a few weekends ago.
A bit farther along, we were treated to bits of blue sky and views of even more distant familiar landmarks.
Not long after that, the sky was almost completely clear, more deep blue than white cloud, and the sun made us uncomfortably warm. The "rain" gear soon came off.
We paused for numerous photos as we headed towards Eagle Peak, where JKW would complete the El Capitan - Eagle Peak Trail Quest segment.
After a steep climb through deep snow we were at the saddle north of Eagle Peak, and after dropping a bit we were at the junction, its signs now completely buried by the snow. Trail Quest segment finished.*
The snow through and around Eagle Meadows was deep and soft, and the only hints of trail were an occasional ancient blaze or large, cut logs completely covered by snow.
At one point we passed a large set of icicles that looked more like flowstone you might see in a cavern.
After Eagle Meadows we had a steep drop to Yosemite Creek; since this trail segment was officially checked off by the Trail Quest judges, our fearless leader opted for some off-trail deep-powder fun.
Most of our day had been above the fog that was invading Yosemite Valley, but just as we approached the trail junction at the top of the Yosemite Falls switchbacks, we entered the fog.
At this point we saw the only people--and footprints--we had seen (outside of our group) for the entire weekend. We still had over 3 miles back to our car, and the trail down was unfortunately slippery due to numerous day hikers having already slid down the trail.
We were in the fog for the top several hundred feet...
...and from the cliffs above us we could see and hear ice occasionally fall towards the trail we would soon be on.
When we could eventually see Yosemite Fall, it was still in the sun.
The ice cone below it was taller than it had been a few months ago.
The forecast had been for near-certain precipitation for this day--it looked like the early morning storm had met this obligation, and the day would end with blue sky and sunshine.
We had managed to thread the weather needle; we had only a few hours of precipitation during the entire weekend, which we would learn was much less than many other places that also lacked views of Yosemite Valley.
Oh, and JKW executed a most excellent faceplant on the driest, smoothest, and most level section of trail, but I'll leave that story for her to tell :-)
* While some may argue we didn't completely follow the trail, I am not aware of any photographic evidence of us not on the trail.
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