Yosemite High Country over the 4th

Spent incredibly awesome / incredible / friggin amazing 5 days playing around in
the backcountry. It was everything we wanted. Snow, solitude, no bugs, beauty.

These are from my iPhone. I took a zillion more on my camera...

Nice to be back to having some snow over the 4th like in 2010 and 2011.

Budd Lake:


We were actually very "why wasn't the road open earlier!?!"
on account the snow didn't start in earnest until over 9K... and in 2010 and 2011
there certainly was more snow along the road. Quite honestly the
"wow" of snow wasn't there from the road.

Lower Cathedral:


I'll let you do the math on Upper and Cathedral Pass.

Matthes Crest Av Zone:


Found fascinating. Got an "a ha!" on how the trees are snapped. (sorry but
sometimes you just don't think these things... sigh)

Echo Lake:


Gonna be boatable soon! Wooooo!

Matthes Lake:


hint: snow bridges are your friend!

Nelson Lake:


There were 8 ft. snow banks on the side of the lake. And the entire basin
was yummy. But that is what we were looking for. We find it amazingly beautiful.

Reymann Lake:


Slow going on sun cups... but that's what hiking sticks are for.

Boothe Lake:


The "meadow" below... is not a lake... it just looks like that... that's why it's a meadow.
If you are familiar with the trails... the trail east of Emeric in the meadow... think
the same...

Vogelsang area:


I climbed back up to Choo choo ridge... I need to go back...

Townsley:


Check out the HUGE rock which fell and slid. Pretty much my favorite thing about
the trip. Well that and the Matthes Crest Av zone. Well that and how gorgeous
the place is. Well that and how was able to do a few new routes. Well that and
no bugs. Well that and this and those and these.

(showed Vog Lake already)

Vog Pass view:


All you Red Peak Pass fans... yeah... 100% snow for a LONG way down...

Ireland:


Maybe you get an idea of the trail condition... maybe not. Sorry

Evelyn:


One last one from camera:



It was clear on the 30th and the 1st... seems a fire in Owens Valley ??? and also
maybe south of park really flared up. Could smell smoke... sigh...

Anywho. Have fun out there.

---

Nice.

It looks like you had plenty of snow on both south- and north-facing exposures. In the lower-elevation Desolation Wilderness the north-facing stuff was loaded with snow, with south-facing slopes mostly clear, so I hiked up a little snow but mostly rock/dirt to the top of Phipps Peak and took pictures of the completely buried Dicks Pass/Lake area.

Wow.

Where'd you hike in from?

Quote
Not quite The Geezer, but getting there
Wow.

Where'd you hike in from?

Started up Cathedral Lakes trail

---

Snow bridges are your friend...for now...

Fire at Kernville. Ick. Smoke already.

Tanks for views of EVERYWHERE!

Quote
hikerchick395
Snow bridges are your friend...for now...

Fire at Kernville. Ick. Smoke already.

Tanks for views of EVERYWHERE!

It musta went boom on the 2nd...

It was clear throughout the park on the 30th and 1st...
I smelled smoke and saw it from then on...

And yes, use any snow bridge with a caw-shun...

---

Incredible views. Thanks for posting.
As I've said before, my favorite area.

Quote
The Other Tom
Incredible views. Thanks for posting.
As I've said before, my favorite area.

Yeah, I know.

I don't know you really... but I think of you when I am at Vogelsang area.
(I'm not kidding)

I'm look at Fletcher Lake and thinking. TOT would love this...

---

thanks

Gorgeous!

Awesome. Great to see conditions. Thanks!

Looks like a lot more melted out dry areas are going to be open at timberline elevations by mid July. Thanks for the useful pics.

David
http://www.davidsenesac.com/2017_Trip_Chronicles/2017_Trip-Chronicles-0.html

---

http://www.davidsenesac.com

Red Peak Pass: to be honest, I always got a little giddy coming down the West-ish side in bone dry conditions when the switchbacks approach the drop off looking towards Mono Lake. Everything falls away on two sides. Of course it's perfectly safe, but part of me feels nervous. I end up laughing to relieve the tension. So it must have been something to go up it in snow. I'm not sure I would have done that without an ax, but maybe it's not so bad!

By comparison, Yosemite Falls in snow seems like nothing; I wonder if it's less steep, or just feels less exposed. Or maybe it's just me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2017 07:58PM by jeffrey.

For the record... we didn't go up RPP this trip... I just commented on it due to being able to see
the North/East side...

i.e.:


It would indeed be fun...

The traverse right at the base of the upper falls and the area near the cliff on the
last-ish switchers imo are the only dangerous spots on Yose Falls trail.
It's south facing so it just doesn't hold snow for long...

Anywho...

One more and that prolly it for me this week...

The Townsley rock:


Have fun out der

---

Quote
chick-on

One more and that prolly it for me this week...

The Townsley rock:


Have fun out der

I'm sure this falling rock will warrant a return trip to Townsley Lake once all the snow melts.

---

Leave No Trace

Very cool. I need to go see that rock IRL. Thanks for the great pictures. Will post some from our adventure along BV Crest area.

WOW! Great photos! You guys went all over the place! Thanks for sharing. I might try to get myself out to the Vogelsang area/townsley in the near future.

Want to add my two cents in for your trip report and great pictures! Really bummed about footy still being bad and keeping me from being up there, so even more wonderful to see! We did have fun car camping in Kings, but wow, yah, I was thinking about you and our other friends who were also roaming in the Yose high country.

Word of warning folks, my other friends are quite experienced, but one of them slipped on steep snow and gashed his shins up pretty bad, necessitating an early exit and needing stitches.

Please respect the snow and the water. Be safe!

The foot injury is still persisting? Hope it recovers quickly so you can head out to the mountains soon!

Thank you, KevinD!

Uh, yah... finally made time to see doc again and get referral for PT. First session today. Good news. Not horrible. But scar tissue has built up and I need to break up and loosen up a lot of stuff. But we have an agreement, my PT will do the painful deep breaking up work.. I'll do the stretching, firm but not painful massage and rest! Hehehe...

And... I am still going to the mountains. I'm just not hiking much. Fourth of July car camping with friends with families is a bit of a tradition! mrcondron joined us again this year! Yay! I'm bummed about not *really* hiking, but I'm not really bumming... if that makes sense...

Yeah, don't feel too bad for her for more than a few seconds...
Let's see... bum footy and she duz:
* Cedar Grove TQ stuff
* Finishes Grant Grove TQ
* Backpacks to Ostrander Lake
* Backpacks Middle fork to Redwood Grove & Little Bearpaw Mdw
* Goofs in Mineral King
* Finishes Big and Little Baldy and Buena Vista TQ

Um, yeah, um... um...
Boo hoo .... not

---

The Middle fork trip really hurt me. Sigh. Kinda been not getting much better since.. but yah.. I did kinda keep putting. Should seen PT right off but thought I could do on own.. not like I haven't had practice! But...

Red Peak trail: just to state the obvious...crap, that's a lot of snow!

Great photos!

Is the snow hard enough to leave the snow shoes at home? I'm getting conflicting reports from people who've been up in those Cathedral and Vogelsang areas. Thanks!

Quote
RSilva
Great photos!

Is the snow hard enough to leave the snow shoes at home? I'm getting conflicting reports from people who've been up in those Cathedral and Vogelsang areas. Thanks!

I can only tell you my experience.... and we certainly had no use for snow shoes going over Cathedral or Vogelsang Pass.
The sun cups were coming on strong. We saw peeps going up Vog Pass with snow shoes. We had no issue.

I don't recall every taking snow shoes from June on...

June 2010:




But don't blame me

---

That's been my experience as well, even in that 2010 year when I went over Piute Pass into Humphreys Basin in mid June.

Thanks much for the response and again for the great images!