Re: El Cap LoopTrip Recap

This won't be as lengthy or detailed as many others have posted. Just a few key points. I'll gradually add links to pics over the next few days (at least that's the plan, lol). The hike: UYF trail w/OMG, Eagle Peak, El Cap, Ribbon Meadow, OBOFR w/OM, Rockslides. 29 May 2012

-Yosemite Falls: flowing better than expected. Each time it looks different, never gets old. OMG is always a treat, but the morning sun ruins the view towards Half Dome. The "up" direction is much, much more pleasant than the down. That water source 80% of the way up (the one that flows onto the trail) was flowing in all its glory, much to my delight.

-Eagle Peak: still one of the longest "0.3 mile" spur trails in the park. I thought about carving out a reflection "3," over the y-axis. Making it say the more accurate 0.8 instead. For how long will that sign stay there? Views always breathtaking, a 9 out of 10 in my book. Nevada Fall still strong. Observed a YOSAR helicopter, hoped it was merely a training session. No bench marker anywhere, grrrrrrr.

-El Cap: that big cairn at the summit no longer exists. Couldn't locate the bench marker. This is always hit and miss with me, now batting .500 here. Tried to go out as much as possible, still couldn't get a glimpse of Bridalveil. Leaning Tower wants to hide it. Only fall visible: top of Cascade (I think). A good half dozen backpackers camped there that night, perhaps more. Passed a few more on the way down to the OBOFR junction.

-El Cap Gully: didn't get a good look. wasn't motivated enough to bushwhack through all that overgrown stuff to the exit point.

-Ribbon Creek: pretty strong flow considering the fact that the fall looked nearly dry.

-Ribbon Meadow: marshy

-OBOFR: The trees are just merciless, almost as if they are following orders of some higher power to make this as difficult as possible to travel on, j/k. Much of it is still decent. Still a bit baffling that it was wide enough to fit two carriages. Mosquitoes decided to show up and get a couple of bites in at the rainbow rail. Useless lifeforms imo & get my vote for extinction. Fun to see the shadow of El Cap on the southern wall. Stupid low battery light started flashing on the camera, a harbinger of sorts in hindsight because...

-Rockslides: got a bit lost, had some trouble locating the road at the bottom. Obviously took a wrong turn (not sure if too early or too late). Quite a bit of unplanned, off-route scrambling practice. Wasn't particularly fun towards the end of a long day, but there was no choice really, lol. Diagonally traversed in SE direction before finally seeing the road. It was mostly straightforward from then. Broke out the emergency lamps/lights for the final 4 or 5 sections. Cannot stress the importance of being prepared for situations like this. It was interesting seeing some of the upper portions (switchbacks) of the road sneaking through the boulders.

-Finished in darkness. Saw many blinking lights on the El Cap wall, as well as from the summit.

That's pretty much it. 5-10 minutes of your life that you'll never get back, lol. Thx for reading.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2012 09:07PM by Ohnivy-Drak.

Thanks for all the info! I'm looking forward to pictures when you put em up.

I will gladly donate 5 minutes for your recap....

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"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams

I thought you were going up Doda. I'm glad I didn't leave a msg for you up there...

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Doda/Fairview/+more is definitely in the works this summer. Might even be the next trip. I suppose you found a way up Doda. If you could provide a route, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Ok, photos time. I'll try to pick 5-10 good ones.

Quote
Ohnivy-Drak
Doda/Fairview/+more is definitely in the works this summer. Might even be the next trip. I suppose you found a way up Doda. If you could provide a route, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Most of the domes are a cakewalk up from the east.
I went up these on way to a sweet campsite above McGee and Glen Aulin with
a sweet view of all of Glen Aulin:
-Pothole, "West Pothole", East Cottage, West Cottage, Doda, bunch of others on way to McGee
approach all from the east and you should be able to get up all quite easily

- Next day went up Cathedral Creek to South Whizz ... ran out of time to go up North Whizz since had
to meet Bearproof at largest Polly at noon.

I got lucky with the storm on Saturday... since there was still 6 inches of snow everywhere and
not a climber in sight. Actually didn't see anyone until Bearproof showed up at Polly Lake.
From there we only saw people at lower Cathedral and at Matthes Lake.

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Ok, how do we do this:

1. Oh My Gosh



2. Microscopic chopper



3. From Eagle Peak - who stole the marker???



4. Middle Brother



5. El Cap Summit



6. Rockslides + Tunnel View



7. El Cap + Cathedrals + Top of Bridal + The Leaner



8. Big Tree before Oh MY



9. "I've been following El Cap's Shadow, El Capitan's Shadow..."



10. Oh MY



11. Last picture - just past the railing before you start heading down.





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2012 08:50PM by Ohnivy-Drak.

Thanks for the photos. Looked like a very nice overnight sojourn.
.

Last time was at Eagle Peak a few years ago I looked for an hour or
more... and could not locate any marker. Next time I will look for
a nub.
Have you seen one at the summit of El Cap? Or only at the edge?

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How long was the hike? would it be more difficult in the going the other way?

@ ChickOn: never seen a marker on the summit, though I was tempted to look under every piece of rock. If one ever was (near) there, it's long stolen. I'm mad about not seeing the marker though. 1 for 2; north dome like 3 for 7; clouds rest 1 of 3 (for the marker on the edge facing Watkins); yosemite point: 1st time last autumn. Sad... Although OM! 2 for 2 (the easiest one of the bunch). Basket 1 for 1. Saw one on Hoffmann.

@RyanMJ: the hike is over 20 miles, we started before 6AM, finished after 9:30P. The most annoying part of the hike was the stretch between Ribbon Meadow and OBOFR junction, from 7500'+ to around 5400-ish. The descent isn't as gradual as one might like: it stays rather flat for awhile, makes you think "will it ever start going down?" When it does, it's quite relentless. No shade for a good portion for it (thinking of the hikers/backpackers we passed that were going up).

The other way (clockwise) would be easier towards the end because there's an obvious trail back down to the valley. So even if it gets dark, it's much less likely to get lost. One potential negative: you might be tired enough (or perhaps pressed for time) that you skip Eagle Peak. Not the end of the world if you do (in either direction), but it's one of the great viewpoints IMO. Especially if YF and Nevada are going.

Maybe I shouldn't tell you that there is actually a grand total of 4 discs on Hoffmann.
And there's a couple along OBOFR including Rainbow View.
I've only seen one on El Cap's Edge. On Yose Falls Trail there are 2 that I know of.

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Great pictures. Thank you for sharing!

I found OBOFR sometimes difficult enough to follow in the daylight...trying to find it at dark...yikes! Thanks for the report.