Love and geology

Just finished reading a great book, "Up and Down California" by William F. Brewer. You may recognize Mr. Brewer, because there is a mountain in Kings Canyon named for him. There's another one named for the professor who supervised his project, a Josiah Dwight Whitney. Yes, that Whitney.

And along as part of the team were such notables as William Gabb, James Gardiner, Clarence King, and Charles Hoffman, all of whom also have notable peaks named for them in the Sierra Nevada.

As you might guess from the title, the book is a collection of his letters as he undertakes the geologic and topographic survey of California in 1860-1864--and covers just about every part of the Golden State. It's a great glimpse into what this place looked like right after the Gold Rush.

And did we mention that Charles Hoffman was in his party? That's Mt. Hoffman in the photo below, with May Lake nestled in its lap.



You might wonder where May Lake got its name...

And we know that answer. It was named by that same survey team for Lucy Mayotte Brown of Oakland. She married Charles Hoffman in 1870, and they lived happily ever after.

How sweet is that?

That's May in the foreground of the photo--looking lovely as ever.

We climbed to the top of Mt. Hoffman in 2009, only a few days after the new trail had been built to the top of the peak. The trail was pretty sketchy in places, but the views from the top of Mt. Hoffman are simply among the best in all of Yosemite.

And May Lake is beautiful, too.

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Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

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balzaccom
We climbed to the top of Mt. Hoffman in 2009, only a few days after the new trail had been built to the top of the peak. The trail was pretty sketchy in places, but the views from the top of Mt. Hoffman are simply among the best in all of Yosemite.

My wife and I are planning to climb Hoffman on our next trip to the park. Just going off the top of my head here but I seem to remember that the most recent trail book I have (which predates 2009), basically says something like "go here...look for something like this...turn there...then just head up." Is there an actual trail up there now? Besides the sketchy places, is it fairly easy to follow?

There is a trail, and it is easy to follow. It just gets a little ambiguous near the end at the top...but it's easy to see how to get where you want to go.

But if you are expecting the kind of trail that leads up to Nevada Falls, you are going to be disappointed.

---

Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

Quote
balzaccom
There is a trail, and it is easy to follow. It just gets a little ambiguous near the end at the top...but it's easy to see how to get where you want to go.

But if you are expecting the kind of trail that leads up to Nevada Falls, you are going to be disappointed.

Actually, I'd be disappointed if it was THAT easy to follow! When we're not travelling to Yosemite, our hiking trips are often to the slick rock around southern Utah so we're pretty adept at following sketchy trails...basically, as long as the trail gives me an idea of where to start and (if necessary) some indications along the lines of "don't go that way unless you're ready to rope up!" that's trail enough for me!

I also recognize Brewer because he was responsible for the following quote (in, "Up and Down California" ) :

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William Brewer
Just opposite camp a large stream of snow water came over the rocks—a series of cascades for 1,000 or 1,500 feet in height—a line of spray and foam. By our side a little rill supplied us with the purest of cold water. Such was our camp—picturesque, romantic; but prosy truth bids me to say that mosquitoes swarmed in myriads, with not one-tenth the fear but with twice the ferocity of a southern Secessionist.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2013 07:07PM by ttilley.