Sierra Hking trip continued

As you can see there is still a lot of snow.  This shot is going down the west side of Donohue Pass (elev. 11,056`).  This snow field is about 200` wide (as we crossed it) and at least 1500` long.  Our packers and their stock were the first to cross it this year and I would guess that it will not melt before more snow falls this winter.

Our trail took us down through many beautiful valley.  This is one that we descended to and hiked out the far end, about 1,000` lower.  This is still on day four and we still had a ways to go.

With the snow melt, the creeks & rivers were higher than normal.  This meant that crossing was a little bit of a challenge and we had to use make shift bridges.  Fortunately no one fell into the water but it did slow us down.

Above are several early morning shot at Cathedral Lake (elev.9,569`).   Later in the day several of us decided to "knock the trail dust" off by jumping in the lake.  It was cold but very refreshing. 

We saw several deer and this one (a two point) still had the "velvet" on his antlers.  Since we were now in Yosemite (no hunting allowed), the deer were not worried about us. 

This is our layover day hike to a ridge called "Clouds Rest" which overlooks the Yosemite Valley.  It is a narrow ridge as you can see by the hikers in this shot.  The drop on each side is about 1,500` and there are not "hand rails".  It is a little bit of a "white knuckle" hike to the top.  That is "Half Dome" in the distance at the right and this is a higher vantage point.

Standing on top of the world - well not quite but the elevation here is 9,926` and with the top of Half Dome at 8,836` that is right up there.  That is Half Dome to the right and the Yosemite Valley is in the distance.

Here we are coming back down the ridge and you can see a long way (looking north) over some of the country we had hiked.  Very inspiring.

Down at the bottom and happy to have made the hike (about 12 miles round trip from our camp at Sunrise Lake). 

Back at camp and evening shadows signal dinner time.  A chance for all to relax and reflect on the day.  Having chairs and a great cook really made the trip enjoyable.

I know, another reflection picture but I like rocks & water.  This one is at  Cathedral Lake which we camped at twice and hiked all the way around.

Our hard working cook Renee and here "kitchen" .  It  was after breakfast on our last morning and cold.  But she managed a smile for the camera while doing the dishes.  Just the night before we had been treated to a Thanksgiving style dinner -a whole baked turkey with: stuffing; cranberry & yams.  It was excellent and served at 9,427` elevation, it  was amazing.

One last reflection shot - this one at lower Cathedral Lake (elev. 9,288`) and our shadows are in the foreground.  This lake is like an infinity pool, the way it drops off at the far end on it`s way down to Tenaya Lake (not visible in the distance).

At the end of our trip we talked with the owner of Rock Creek Pack Station, Craig London.  We have now, over the course of several years, completed the entire John Muir Trail (212 miles total).  Already the planning has begun for next years hike and that is half the fun.  It is also what gets us through the winter - I know, Santa Barbara`s winter are not the same as other places but it does rain and get colder!

I hope you enjoy traveling with me.

Cheers 

Another trip with pictures

I know it has been a while since I posted to this blog but nothing significant was happening.  I ended my travels in my camper and have been home just catching up on things.
I just got back from a hiking trip on the John Muir Trail (August 12 - 22) and now have some great pictures to share.
Our trip started in Reds Meadow which is near Devils Postpile National Monument just west of Mammoth, Ca.  This right on the John Muir Trail and we ended up at Tuolume Meadow in the high country of Yosemite National park.  We covered about 90 miles in nine days of hiking and crossed three passes (Island Pass - elevation 10,206` /  Donohue Pass - elevation 11,056` / Cathedral Pass - 9,700`) . 
I know, show me the pictures.......

Above are three pictures of Rosalie Lake on our second day as we headed towards Garnet  Lake .

      Garnet Lake (elevation 9,678`) with Banner Peak (elev. 12,936 at right) and Mt. Ritter (elev. 13,143` on the left) at the west end of the lake.  Yes, that is snow and a lot of it at the base of the mountains.

                                                                        

This is Ruby Lake (elev. 9,980`) that we passed while still on day two.

Renee, our cook, hard at work in her "kitchen" that had to be disasembled / transported and reassembled every day we moved to a new camp.  She was amazing at preparing us breakfast and dinner every day. 

I had to get into the picture - here at Thousand Island Lake (elev. 9,833`).  This is just below our camp for the second and third nights.  We had a layover day on which we hiked over to an overlook of Gem Lake -just for something to do.

Due to the abundance of water and the fact that our trip this year was earlier, there were a lot of wild flowers.  Above are just a few.

An early morning look at the outflow area of Thousand Island Lake before the wind came up.  Below is Banner Peak dominating the skyline as reflected in a small unnamed pond on our hike over Island Pass.  This is on day four of our hiked north on the way to Lyell Canyon.

A view from near the top of Donohue Pass looking back to the valley we had crossed.  There is a body of water in the middle of this picture that is easily 200` long.  It is hard to imagine how big this valley is but  something the size of a large school buss would barely be visible by the water (center of shot).

Here we stopped for lunch at the top of Donohue Pass (elev. 11,056`) and to enjoy the view.  We tucked in behind the granite boulders to avoid the cold wind.  Note the large patch of snow in the background.

I will continue with more tommorow!