I met up with the inimitable chick-on last week for a couple of days of cross country travel and to warm him up, apparently, for his and QITNL's frisbee golf game on Whitney. I can't say how many domes and other granitic high points we got to along the way...but it was more than a few; we had a blast cruising from one dome and ridge to another...Tuolumne to Falls Ridge then south past Polly Dome Lakes to Cathedral Lake, Peak 10,450, south past Tressider and Columbia Finger, over to Echo and Matthes Lakes, then more ridges and domes to the south, then back up Echo Creek to Nelson and Reymann Lakes, and finally Johnson Peak before dropping back into Tuolumne. Just wandering around, avoiding trails, and enjoying the spectacular high country.

Me and Da Bird contemplating life at Matthes Lake:


Snow was no problem, the few places we saw it, it was easily avoidable and/or walkable (without minispikes, etc.) to 11,000 feet and melting quickly. Mosquitos non-existent until we got back to Tuolumne Meadows

sounds like fun. post some more pictures

Wow, Matthes in late May this year looks like it did in mid-July last year. Were you able to swim in the lake, or was that part at least different from Last July?

Swim in the Lake?

He's BearProof, not PolarBearProof

Here's Matthes from 2 years about in Mid-June:
http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,26329,26368#msg-26368

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I swam in the lake when I saw it, and the tiny bits of snow above, looking the same as in the picture...I wouldn't have asked if it looked like your mid-June 2010 picture (thanks for posting the link though, nice picture).

Nice! Sounds like a good cross country trip!

I think the 3D stuff is so cool... well... this was night #1 campspot:


I think it looks OK. Def. needs more work. At least not complete junk for a first attempt.

Not sure how many Peeler took... but I took over 1000 photos over the 4 days...
gonna take awhile to go thru them and pick some out...

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2012 06:50PM by chick-on.

No swimming in Matthes, but it did look pretty inviting! I am sure that I have been in colder water than that. Amazing the difference in snow level from late July last year. Gonna be pretty dry later this season.
Here are a couple more pics, and the rest of them here:
Dome de Dome Dome Dome pictures

On top of Peak 10,450 lookinig down at Lower Cathedral Lake (courtesy of chick-on)


And Da Bird enjoying the peak view...Echo Peaks and Matthes Crest from the south




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/2012 08:07PM by Bearproof.

Nice pictures, thanks for putting them up!

I think you'll have to go back and swim in Matthes, though.

Yes, excellent photos! Thanks for posting them.
.

Here's a few more. (it should be somewhat obvious that some of the photos in S.P.'s set were taken by mwa)


90 Percent Dome:


Atop Doda: (although of particular interest is not the nip... but the Michelangelo sculpture of East Cottage)


Falls Ridge:


Glen Aulin:


Why I backpack where I backpack:


Enjoy (and if you did enjoy... then share) (everyone has a camera nowadays)

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/2012 07:24PM by chick-on.

Thanks for the additional photos. And thanks for that 3D photo also. I need to try my hand on making those 3D anaglyphs too.
.

If not obvious, I added a note that the pic above was couresy of Da Bird....and still have to do that for some on my flickr page...gotta watch those copyright guys out there.
And I though that I took a lot of pictures, that Bird is a non-stop shutterbug. Can't wait to see the rest of his trip pics!
and btw I just ordered my 3-D glasses...if I wear them while backpacking will I see in 3+3-D or 3x3-D?

If you wear 3D glasses while backpacking all lakes will appear to
drain from both ends. A phenomenon not present anywhere near
Peeler Lake... present only at McGee.

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Quote
chick-on
lakes will appear to drain from both ends. A phenomenon not present anywhere near
Peeler Lake... present only at McGee.

I won a bet with Da Bird on this one, Peeler Lake, like McGee, is an oddity in that it drains in two different directions... see:bifurcation lakes

Can anybody come up with any more Yosemite, or even Sierra, lakes that flow in two directions? I think that Da Bird should pay a hundred bucks to anybody who can find one, and if there is a rattlesnake there and its above 10,000 ft you can make some serious cash!

Haven't been to the Yosemite "Mono Pass" (only the Rock Creek one), but from Schaffer's book:

Quote
Schaffer, 5th edition, p. 248
The lake (Mono Pass Summit Lake) appears to lie immediately east of the pass - the park's boundary - but careful scouting among the lake's west-end willows will reveal that the lake does indeed have a west-flowing outlet, as well as a more obvious east-flowing one.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/08/2012 04:37PM by ttilley.

Quote
Bearproof
Can anybody come up with any more Yosemite, or even Sierra, lakes that flow in two directions?

I vaguelty remember a pool in the saddle between Steelhead and Wasco (20 Lakes Basin) that drains into both. It's pretty small, though - dunno if it counts as a "lake" as such.

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God save the Queen!

Even Summit Lake at Mono Pass in Yose is a pretty darn small lake.
The Summit Lake further up by Virginia Canyon... now that is a lake...
but that definitely drains only to the east.
Summit Lake at Mono Pass... ok. I buy that one. Been there a couple of times.
Definitely not as impressive flow on both ends as McGee and Peeler can be.

Only been in 20 Lakes basin twice... don't recall that lake/pondlette... and don't see
what you are referring to on Z map.

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Does Boundary Lake flow out the north in the spring?

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Old Dude

Quote
mrcondron
Does Boundary Lake flow out the north in the spring?

Pretty sure it doesn't.

One thing I didn't mention.. many comment about the view of Conness from McGee.
Turns out that there is a stellar view of Tuolumne Peak from the other side of the lake too.

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2012 09:03AM by chick-on.

Haha, I love the topic/thread title! Does that bird go "bwak bwak bwak bwak," and move its "butt butt butt?"

"Why I Backpack Here" photo: that's simply gorgeous. And the Doda nipple! Love the Echo Peaks too. It's definitely time to "abuse" the areas/domes off Tioga.

I had to look at it twice, but I see the East Cottage Michelangelo, very cool. The birdie as the red light on the Doda sign does cause an initial distraction.

Great pics...love to see the new snow in the high country. No trace of it left yesterday.. (Was down in the valley for the week and only saw a little snow on Clouds Rest)




edit...I see that this was snow from the storm from Memorial weekend, while I was at the Days of the Mules in Bishop...not this last storm on Monday...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/2012 10:00AM by hikerchick395.

Quote
hikerchick395
Great pics...love to see the new snow in the high country. No trace of it left yesterday.. (Was down in the valley for the week and only saw a little snow on Clouds Rest)

Tuolumne Meadows was covered in a good 6 inches of snow when I started this trek on that Sunday.
Thought of you when was traversing all the domes... but don't worry I left some for you.

Have fun

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This one is for hickerchicky395:



Have fun (you still got The Lamb on me)

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chick-on...you've done more domes in one trip than I've done in 30+ years. I'll be playing catch up for the rest of my life! But it will be fun.