TR: Relief Peak & Beyond (Sept. 25-27, 2020)
Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2020 6:01 pm
Hi All,
Over the weekend, the smoke cleared (sort of), and Emigrant Wilderness re-opened (sort of), so I seized the opportunity to climb Relief Peak in Emigrant Wilderness. I've been curious about this peak for a long time, and I feel proud that I finally climbed it. However, the route involved much annoying loose scree. This peak is not making my list of Summits to Climb Twice.
Route: I followed Bob Burd’s GPX track from Kennedy Meadows trailhead, cross-country up Grouse Creek, and then to the summit along the NW ridge. I then traversed along the ridge towards Molo Mountain. After about 2 miles, I departed from Bob's route and descended south to Lunch Meadow. I rejoined the Summit Creek trail, and returned to KM.
Story: On Friday afternoon, I printed my Emigrant Wilderness permit, drove to the KM trailhead, and started hiking at 6:30 pm. With help from my headlamp, I hiked until I reached Relief Reservoir at 8:00. I made a dry camp on a granite shelf away from the trail. The night was warm, so I slept out on my tarp instead of pitching a tent.
At first light on Saturday, I woke to the clip-clopping of a horse train marching up the trail. I energized myself with a couple hardboiled eggs and dried mangos, and packed my gear. I followed Bob Burd’s GPX track, which steeply bushwhacks up the north side of Grouse Creek to reach the hanging valley above. This route was… adventurous, to say the least. The hillside is a steep maze of cliffs and car-sized boulders, overgrown with manzanita and huckleberry oak. I occasionally found boot prints along this route—giving me reassurance—-but I must admit this route was tough for me. At several points the only viable forward path was big boulder scrambling while simultaneously bushwhacking though sharp manzanita. By the time I reached the top, my legs were shredded. Above 8,400’, the terrain leveled out and I enjoyed easy walking along Grouse Creek through open forest. In the morning sunshine, walking through this valley was very delightful. I soon reached the head of Grouse Creek Canyon.
I continued up Bob’s route: I climbed the forested ridge to a (dry) tarn, and then climbed further on open scree slopes to a second tarn. The scree here was surprisingly loose, which made me feel challenged and sometimes frustrated. I would take one step up, and the scree would slide one step down. I persistently slid downhill, even when I paused to catch my breath. I put myself in Turbo Mode and pushed hard to beat the scree. When I finally reached the upper tarn, I felt exhausted. I rested by the tarn and refilled my water; I poured a pile of sand out from my shoes. This was a nice break spot and I appreciated the starkness of this ecosystem -- it's just rock, water, and sky. The wind was oddly quiet during my visit. I sprawled on the ground and dozed asleep for a few minutes.
I circled clockwise from the upper tarn to join the NW ridge. I followed the ridge to the solar-powered weather station, where I paused to admire its Faraday Cage engineering. I am genuinely curious about how this station was installed. It's seriously heavy hardware, and it must have been delivered by helicopter?
I walked along the ridge and ascended the final 200’ to the summit of Relief Peak. I was rewarded with blue sky vistas over Emigrant Wilderness and beyond. I felt lucky to have far-reaching summit views in this very smokey wildfire season. To the east, I saw the upper peaks of Yosemite, and to the west I saw Mokelumne Peak. Far to south, I saw smoke plumes. The wind was forecast to change direction tomorrow, and that smoke would soon blow this way. These blue skies were a limited-time opportunity for today only.
From the summit, I traversed east along the ridge towards Molo Mountain. After about 2 miles, I descending south and landed in Lunch Meadow. I picked up the Summit Creek trail, and descended back towards the trailhead. Above Saucer Meadow, I made camp to enjoy a burning red sunset. The next morning, on Sunday, I hiked back to KM trailhead.
Photos Below...
Over the weekend, the smoke cleared (sort of), and Emigrant Wilderness re-opened (sort of), so I seized the opportunity to climb Relief Peak in Emigrant Wilderness. I've been curious about this peak for a long time, and I feel proud that I finally climbed it. However, the route involved much annoying loose scree. This peak is not making my list of Summits to Climb Twice.
Route: I followed Bob Burd’s GPX track from Kennedy Meadows trailhead, cross-country up Grouse Creek, and then to the summit along the NW ridge. I then traversed along the ridge towards Molo Mountain. After about 2 miles, I departed from Bob's route and descended south to Lunch Meadow. I rejoined the Summit Creek trail, and returned to KM.
Story: On Friday afternoon, I printed my Emigrant Wilderness permit, drove to the KM trailhead, and started hiking at 6:30 pm. With help from my headlamp, I hiked until I reached Relief Reservoir at 8:00. I made a dry camp on a granite shelf away from the trail. The night was warm, so I slept out on my tarp instead of pitching a tent.
At first light on Saturday, I woke to the clip-clopping of a horse train marching up the trail. I energized myself with a couple hardboiled eggs and dried mangos, and packed my gear. I followed Bob Burd’s GPX track, which steeply bushwhacks up the north side of Grouse Creek to reach the hanging valley above. This route was… adventurous, to say the least. The hillside is a steep maze of cliffs and car-sized boulders, overgrown with manzanita and huckleberry oak. I occasionally found boot prints along this route—giving me reassurance—-but I must admit this route was tough for me. At several points the only viable forward path was big boulder scrambling while simultaneously bushwhacking though sharp manzanita. By the time I reached the top, my legs were shredded. Above 8,400’, the terrain leveled out and I enjoyed easy walking along Grouse Creek through open forest. In the morning sunshine, walking through this valley was very delightful. I soon reached the head of Grouse Creek Canyon.
I continued up Bob’s route: I climbed the forested ridge to a (dry) tarn, and then climbed further on open scree slopes to a second tarn. The scree here was surprisingly loose, which made me feel challenged and sometimes frustrated. I would take one step up, and the scree would slide one step down. I persistently slid downhill, even when I paused to catch my breath. I put myself in Turbo Mode and pushed hard to beat the scree. When I finally reached the upper tarn, I felt exhausted. I rested by the tarn and refilled my water; I poured a pile of sand out from my shoes. This was a nice break spot and I appreciated the starkness of this ecosystem -- it's just rock, water, and sky. The wind was oddly quiet during my visit. I sprawled on the ground and dozed asleep for a few minutes.
I circled clockwise from the upper tarn to join the NW ridge. I followed the ridge to the solar-powered weather station, where I paused to admire its Faraday Cage engineering. I am genuinely curious about how this station was installed. It's seriously heavy hardware, and it must have been delivered by helicopter?
I walked along the ridge and ascended the final 200’ to the summit of Relief Peak. I was rewarded with blue sky vistas over Emigrant Wilderness and beyond. I felt lucky to have far-reaching summit views in this very smokey wildfire season. To the east, I saw the upper peaks of Yosemite, and to the west I saw Mokelumne Peak. Far to south, I saw smoke plumes. The wind was forecast to change direction tomorrow, and that smoke would soon blow this way. These blue skies were a limited-time opportunity for today only.
From the summit, I traversed east along the ridge towards Molo Mountain. After about 2 miles, I descending south and landed in Lunch Meadow. I picked up the Summit Creek trail, and descended back towards the trailhead. Above Saucer Meadow, I made camp to enjoy a burning red sunset. The next morning, on Sunday, I hiked back to KM trailhead.
Photos Below...