2. Clouds Rest (1:45 PM): quite a few parties at the summit. Nice day, but the winds were howling. I'd say at least 30 mph, perhaps up into the 40s. Most people didn't stay very long - it was a bit miserable up there. It was a good reminder to bring a pair of gloves at the higher elevations, just in case. Looking across towards Half, there were probably 50 people on the cables. Went down the other side of CR a bit off-trail, close to the Pinnacles. Ideas of climbing one of those were dispelled upon close examinations.
3. The x-country towards the Quarters wasn't as straightforward as we thought. We also turned into the forest a bit lower than we should have. As a result, we ended up doing only lower Quarter - didn't feel like heading back up. We went as far left as we could, then headed up the steep slabs. It was similar to going up Basket - smaller & not as tall but perhaps a bit steeper. The views were tremendous, particularly down into Tenaya Canyon. There wasn't much left of Pywiack, unfortunately. With the slightest touch of sour grapes, I can't see how the view from the higher Quarter is much better (lol). From Lower, you are closer to Watkins Pinnacles, Half, and the Valley. Hung around for about 40 minutes, left around 4:40ish.
4. From lower, x-countried through the forest all the way down to the John Muir trail, close to where it meets the Half Dome trail. This took longer than planned too. Saw a few deer and one young coyote on the way. We heard a helicopter in the distance, sounded like it was coming from the Half Dome area. Hopefully no one got hurt. Didn't get to LYV area until it was near 6:40ish. Fatigue started to set in a little bit at this point - some pain in the right knee, enough to be bothersome. No time for Liberty
5. Reached Nevada Fall a little after 7PM. It was stunning how strong the water was above the brink (will post a vid on u-tube). As previously mentioned, it was quite misty. Hung around here until 7:40, raced down the JMT (skipped Vernal), got to drinking fountain & footbridge around 8:50. Reached Happy Isles around 9:10.
As you can see, not everything went as planned. But it was a full day of fun. Time management is always a problem for these longer hikes, but it's tough to pull yourself away from some of these view points. They are just too nice to spend only 5-10 minutes each. I'll pick out some photos to share over the next day or two. Thanks for reading.
