Re: Name of oddly-shaped granite feature in Yosemite?

I've noticed this thing for years and saw it again this past week. While I'm thinking about it I figure I'll ask here as someone surely knows the answer:

On a peak nearby Mt. Hoffman in Yosemite (but not on Hoffman) there is an odd, protruding rectangular block that is very prominent, more so from the east than west but clearly visible from both directions.

Does this thing have a name?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2016 04:13PM by ags.

Are you referring to the Thumb?

Wait. U said not on Hoffman.

Pic? I'm getting better at the names, but Chickon and basilbop and others are vastly superior!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2016 05:40PM by JustKeepWalking.

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ags
I've noticed this thing for years and saw it again this past week. While I'm thinking about it I figure I'll ask here as someone surely knows the answer:

On a peak nearby Mt. Hoffman in Yosemite (but not on Hoffman) there is an odd, protruding rectangular block that is very prominent, more so from the east than west but clearly visible from both directions.

Does this thing have a name?

Is Mount Hoffmann and the peak you're wondering about in this photo?

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Leave No Trace

Or might you be referring to this peak?

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Leave No Trace

Great shot! Where did you take it from?

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Old Dude

I didn't take the photo. It's a stock shot of Tuolumne Peak looking northwest towards the peak.

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Leave No Trace



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/16/2016 02:53PM by plawrence.

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plawrence
I didn't take the photo. It's a stock shot of Tuolumne Peak looking northeast towards the peak.

Ah. It's a good idea to attribute photos to the author or name the source.

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Old Dude

It's a photo on SummitPost.org. Got the link to the image via a Google search.

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Leave No Trace

I don't see it in the first photo (the strange shape) and it's not the peak in the second (is that Unicorn from up close and about same elevation?).

I should have taken a picture, darn it. It's very prominent from certain angles. It looks perfectly rectangular (long side vertical) from the angle/distance I see it when traveling east on Tioga Road.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2016 09:24AM by ags.

So Plawrence has provided a photo of the Eastern Summit of Mt. Hoffman, which is a false summit, in that the West Summit is higher.

And the thumb that JKW referenced is this thing here:

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

As they have said... you must be referring to

Hoffmann's Thumb (2 f's 2 n's)

It's on the ridge of Hoffmann propa...

From Hoffmann you can also see The Illilouette ...

A few of mine..



From Z udder side..



Up close pix... don't do it much justice w/o a person in it...

The Illilouette...

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As you (JKW, balzaccom, chick-on) have said, I think it must be "the thumb". It's so prominent that I figured it had to have a name - but you have to be at the right angle to see it (it stands out in contrast to the blue sky). It's not at the summit of Hoffmann (thanks for the spelling lesson c-o) but on the ridge of Hoffmann sounds about right. From this photos, it looks like "Hoffmann's Thumb" is a sort of fin, from one angle wider at the base than at the top, but from another (90 degrees rotated) it looks like it is the same width at the top as the base. If that's correct, then this is likely what I've seen (from the angle making it look like an almost perfectly rectangular monolith on end).

Oddly, I've been to the summit of Hoffmann (recently - finally - after saying "I really need to get up there sometime" for years) but didn't notice it then. Is it a pretty straightforward "see it and walk to it" hike to get up to it or is there a certain climbing route(s) required (to avoid class 3-5 stuff)?

Thanks for the responses, I think this is it :-) .



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2016 09:36AM by ags.

It's quite apparent if you take the trail up from May Lake. As you near the summit, look to your left. It's standing there, give you the thumbs up!

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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