Calling all Yosemite experts

[Hobbes]

Once again I would like to thank everyone for their helpful suggestions and insider tips. Three more questions if I may:

- The last water source before climbing up to CR appears to be the unnamed stream running into Tenaya creek where the SR trail crosses @ 8880? Does anyone know if this is seasonal & would be dry by August? If there's a risk it might be dry, is it advisable to hoof water from the TH? I say that since the drainage from Sunrise lakes appears to only save less than a mile, so why bother with water that needs to be filtered if it's that close to the TH.

- Any thoughts about possible camping spots near CR? Should we pull up before the summit, or commit to finding something on the way back down? Everyone here knows the score: you pass the last good spot while hoping/holding out for something better, which then turns into a longer hike & unsatisfying bivy.

- First water source on the way back down looks like Sunrise creek. Is it a cliff, or are there places you can easily gain access?

BZ, with such short miles and only one-night, I think we could flip for who gets to carry the can. Loser carries, winner(s) buy the beer.

[markskor]

[quote="Hobbes"]
- The last water source before climbing up to CR appears to be the unnamed stream running into Tenaya creek where the SR trail crosses @ 8880? Does anyone know if this is seasonal & would be dry by August?
Should be good water there this year.
- Any thoughts about possible camping spots near CR?
Just 200 yds below the summit of CR north side...good camping but, (even though illegal as not 100 ft off trail, plenty of safe holes to hunker down at the very top...room for 10+ easy. Best campsite in the park!)

- First water source on the way back down looks like Sunrise creek. Is it a cliff, or are there places you can easily gain access?
Sunrise Creek access easy - should be OK. However, on a good year (like this one), there is also a small artesian spring bubbling up - about 1 1/4 miles and ~1000 feet down/ below south of CR...right on the trail. Years past, we usually would not carry water up, drop our packs at the top, and then go down to collect our night water from the spring there.

[markskor]

An old story from a trip back in 2005 -

Iron Chef – Clouds Rest 6/30/2006
The Sierra Nevada is an addiction, a way of life, and a destination with purpose: it presents a vehicle for both insatiable madness and personal conquest. Our Sierra provides both an outlet…and a physical challenge…coupled with fleeting moments of unabashed awe and divine inspiration. In addition, I firmly believe that there is yet another phenomenon unexplained: for me, just being in close proximity to the Sierra causes in my body the release of some sort of a magic granite riparian enzyme. Maybe it is a drug hidden in the water, a powder forged in the stone, or perhaps a mutant pollen form wafting innocently along with that distinctive, musty, clean-dirt aroma…osmosis perchance. Whatever “it” is, initiated by just being up there, anywhere high, ordinary adventures invariably turn into something that continuously will, as Emeril says, “Kicks it up a notch.” For example, simple insignificant chores thought mundane down in the flats, repeatedly take on new meanings… happily ensconced at 10,000 ft. The simple act of preparing a meal, getting water, and/or all the other general camping BS tasks we all do repeatedly, these often lead to grand pageantry, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and fond memories. Something always happens…but better.

This solo backpacking adventure started days prior at Matthes Lake. Tucked under a fantastic cockscomb ridge, Matthes Lake, seldom visited - a marshy, off-trail, 9,600 in elevation, YNP lake that has on past occasions produced more than its share of significant healthy lunkers – Brookies…only if one has the will and a mind to get off the trail and trudge up the friggin hill. It is also the gateway to Nelson Lake, directly east, just through a narrow rock pass…another lake never before fished…another alpine tarn off the beaten path. After a few days camped where hoards of ravenous mosquitoes ate me alive, (I hate marshy lakes, but with the bugs, comes the trout)… after two days of good to spotty Sierra fishing, hastily retreated, heading now southwest towards Clouds Rest intending, at least temporarily, to get some high altitude respite from the omnipresent blood-sucking swarms. Following a stream back down, (not telling you where exactly either), soon stumbled upon a healthy stand of wild Sierra Onion, (Allium campanulatum); growing proudly among the Aspens and Alders…indeed, stopped to gather up a few for later.

The narrow knife-edge ridge heading up to Clouds Rest, rocky and steep with a long drop-off on the right, leads up to what is arguably the best panorama found in the entire park. Unobstructed views all around and the opportunity to gaze down upon the Half Dome massive in the foreground, there is more than adequate room on the peak to sleep ten or more quite comfortably. That day, a little after the noon hour, I arrived atop and there found another fellow backpacker about my same size and age…worn…maybe a little ragged at the edges…we hit it off immediately...cannot remember his name, but for the sake of this tale will call him Fred. (Yes, my friends, there was the traditional breaking out of the stash: bowls filled and Bics clicked…some things never seem to change.)

Before continuing along with the rest of the story, a brief pause on this occasion to pose a quick query about Yosemite regulations; Clouds Rest is at 9,900 feet high, and this is a question pertaining to campfires. Yosemite prohibits fires above 9,600 feet, primarily due to lack of availability of downed wood. However, just below the top of Clouds Rest, down the ridge about 1/8 of a mile away…max, there are ample stands of available wood…all down, legal, and plentiful. Thus, the question posed is whether it is then permissible to go down there, gather enough for a fire, and drag it up in order then to have a pyre on the peak. Whatever the correct answer, (We actually pondered this dilemma in depth over a second bowl), The two of us nonetheless went down the hill and played Sherpa, gathering fuel, and thus preparing for a festive night high atop this alpine granite mass. The question - does anybody actually know if this was legal? Probably not.

Getting back to the saga, there is no water anywhere near the top; the closest drinking water is south, down a switch-backed meandering path to a small, cold, artesian spring emanating right on the trail itself, about one or two miles away and a good thousand feet down. Still early afternoon, we hung our food bags over the cliffs, gathered all our nalgene and any other available reservoirs, and headed down to replenish our overnight water cache. Can still remember the grandeur of the amethyst-colored Manzanita-lined trail, a hundred various shades of green highlighted…always dominated though by a daunting Half Dome jutting out prominently. One or two gigantic Ponderosa Pines among the waves of golden scrub framed this vista. Obviously, there were many Kodak moments along the way as we made our way down to the spring. Soon, about two hours later, back on top again, and that is where this story finally unfolds.

Late afternoon arrived and soon enough, three more backpackers straggled in, joining us at the top…there were now five for dinner…all solo…all equipped…all capable. Initially there was some talk about a community meal but instead everybody opted to cook something for himself. Amid the sarcasm, laughter, and general dirt-bag camaraderie, a cooking contest emerged…the best gastronomical feast produced atop Clouds Rest. The winner would get the bragging rights for the remainder of the stay. (I had mentioned previously that up high, mundane tasks somehow become special…here was a prime example.) This was truly to be Haute cuisine.

Before going any farther, should make mention here that nobody attempted to bring out anything freeze-dried from a foil pouch (thank God). Certainly others besides myself carried at least one such pre-prepared meal, but nobody brought one out for this ad-hoc, food-preparation competition…interesting that everything offered was actually something cooked. My own personal thoughts on those freeze-dried foil meals: after one too many dinners…well, let us just say the desserts rock as breakfasts.

From deep within five packs, five stoves emerged….five sets of similar pots…sauté pans….titanium this and Teflon-coated that…it was a solo backpacker’s culinary extravaganza. We counted two MSR stoves (one using white gas), one Peak 1, one alcohol homemade lightweight, and an old Hank Robert’s canister model… figured that we had the gamut of stoves pretty well covered; our impromptu kitchen stadium was indeed something to behold.

The first “chef” brought out a nalgene bottle filled with chunks of lamb. He said that he always froze up a lamb stew at home beforehand – on dry ice – and this was his traditional “first night” backwoods meal. Cleverly, he had some sort of insulated carrier thing wrapped around his bottle; plainly, there were still frozen chunks of meat inside as he prepared his lamb ragout with bowtie pasta. While original, savory, and the dish did smell rather enticing while cooking, the flavor of the lamb was…how should I say it…a bit mangy, (and usually relish the taste of lamb); alas, he burned it too. We all voted …and while deemed an extraordinary and worthwhile effort…he came in last…you cannot burn dinner and figure on winning…not among this group. (Could you pass me over a taste of that the single malt scotch, please?)

A second entrée consisted of the traditional Mac & Cheese, with a twist. The chef here started with thin slices of Pepperoni and sautéed them with fresh garlic in extra virgin olive oil. Then he opened a small can of prepared ham and added it to the fry pan, combining all this eventually with the boiled noodles and cheese packet. This dish – so prepared – has now (thanks to this chef), become one of my main “go to” staples over the last few years; the kids always like it and it fills you up…maybe a little hard to clean up though. The vote: The spicy Mac took high honors, was easy to prepare, and totally eaten by all in its entirety. (Any more of that 100 proof, peppermint schnapps left? - thanks.)

Vegetarian cuisine certainly seems obligatory in such a serious outdoors competition such as this one…yes indeed there was one presented: a couscous/pine nut/tofu medley made with some secret fresh saffron/tabooli/eucanuba concoction dressing…maybe. Maybe it was the dire need for fresh spices or perhaps the lack of other available herbs, but while this dish turned out to be quite the filling meal, it unfortunately had little in the way of satisfying color, taste, or texture; it just sat there sullenly resembling lumpy wallpaper paste...at best bland, insipid, pasty, and ultimately disappointing.(The verdict: at the very end of the competition, this dish was the only one not entirely eaten). Even the chef who created it scoffed at the eventual outcome…admittedly, not his best effort… recall his immortal words afterwards, “I usually prepare it a little differently; should taste much better." (Pass over that pipe please…damn!)

Countering with a healthy portion of wild onions and fresh minced garlic, sautéed in olive oil, to which was added a small can of chicken, a few cream of chicken bullion cubes (for a savory sauce), a few well-chosen “secret” spices…all served over a bed of Uncle Ben’s wild rice. Admittedly it was, if I say so myself, damn fine eating. Everybody raved and commented most favorably…the addition of the fresh wild onions certainly made the meal…a sure fire winner, I thought…until the last chef pulled out all the stops.

From deep within the bowels of his well-experienced Gregory, Fred somehow produced a package containing five fresh Bratwursts, a loaf of pita bread, packets of Dijon mustard, and then, as a kicker, he even proceeded to hit me up for some of my recently purloined wild onions to caramelize. What could a dirt-bag do…he even offered me my own Brat to sweeten the deal. There is nothing comparable to the sweet summer aroma of fresh meat grilling at 10,000 feet…now perched high above Clouds Rest…at sundown. We had our unanimous champion.

That night the sun set red; we lit the fire and subsequently took our sweet-ass time the rest of the evening consuming most of the available options at hand, all the while watching the fading alpenglow radiate off the mass that is Half Dome…seemingly just an arm’s distance away. There was no moon that night; the sheer volume of stars…the solid stripe of the Milky Way Once again, I cannot reiterate too strongly, how glorious a place Clouds Rest can be to spend an evening. Maybe this night it was the company, certainly the food contest helped…whatever, but without any of these extras, this place would always remain a celebrated memory…somewhere special…with or without the experience of Iron Chef, Clouds Rest.

Another solo hiking adventure … by markskor

[Hobbes]

Bravo - great story. Can't thank you enough for the insider secrets. I'll shoot you a PM when we're up there this summer. If you're around in the vicinity, maybe you'd like to stop by for a beer ...

[markskor]

me at register.jpg

Hobbes,
If it ever opens...stop by the TM Store. I'll be the old fart behind the register...probably be the one selling you my soon-to-be-enjoyed Sierra Nevada.
mark

[maverick]

Would add another alternative (knee friendly ) one to the mix.
Instead of hiking down to Valley, hike up to Glacier Point via the beautiful Panorama Trail, it is a 1114 ft climb in 6.4 miles, as opposed to the 4.3 mile 2105 ft knee jarring descent. Take the Guided Bus Tour ($25 per person one-way) to the YV, then YARTS in YV to Tuolumne Meadows ($10), which leaves the Visitor Center at 5 pm, arriving in TMVC at 6:50 pm.

[oliverlu]

Here's another idea for a camp spot below Cloud's Rest that involves a little cross country.... Quarter Domes. It's a dry camp, but you can probably get water at the seasonal creek before you veer off trail. Overlooks Tanya Canyon, with a view of Half Dome, the Valley, and a sunset off the side of Cloud's Rest. The cross country route is through the trees (wide spacing) so landmarks can be hard to see, but the contours make following a compass heading relatively straightforward.

Also, unless they change the schedule for this season, I don't think there is a midday bus to TM. The hikers bus from the Valley to TM leaves in the morning, and the YARTS bus leaves the valley at 5pm.

[Hobbes]

Stop by the TM Store. I'll be the old fart behind the register.

OMG! I've bought many an item from you. LOL - jeez, what a small world. Doesn't the store close @ 5? I think you let me slip in once as the doors were being closed. I had day-hiked up to Donohue & back, and was out of beer.

We usually do our annual family car camping trip in June, but this year of course is being pushed back. I'd like to go as soon as I hear the campground is open, but scheduling might push back till August. I'll swing by to see if you're there, and check on what you're doing after work.

[Hobbes]

Mav & Oliver, thanx for the additional input. Besides our RV, at least one of my brothers will have a car. Slo-bro lives in Campbell, corp-bro in San Diego (when he's not commuting to Asia every-other-week). If corp-bro doesn't fly up to SJ and drive with middle, then we'll have two cars. So, lots of options in which to shuttle vehicles and perhaps by-pass mass transit. (Do love YARTS, however.)

We might even get lazy and just hike up to Evelyn from Lyell. This could work because my wife loves Lyell canyon and would be happy to come along before turning back to TM. We could spend the night @ Evelyn, then hoof it back via Vogelsang & Rafferty. A lot of this comes down to a sense of crowds. TM usually isn't very busy, but if it's one of those periods where you can feel the pressure, then the Valley will be going nuts with traffic & crowds.

[Jimr]

Slo-bro, Corp-bro and Surf-bro?