TR: West Cathedral Loop, Sept 3-5 2021

[jeremiahkim]

Hi everyone. Just getting around to posting a few trips from last year—hopefully they can provide some value to this year’s trip planners or just those that are dreaming of summer.

With most of the state forests closed in the fall, we were fortunate to pick up Yosemite Wilderness permits and relatively good air quality for this short trip. In a few words, it was extremely dry but a wonderful trip nonetheless.

Day 1: Tuolumne Meadows > Reymann Lake via Johnson Peak Lake
After driving up to Bishop from San Diego the night before, we hit the trail in the late morning. The hike to Elizabeth Lake was straight forward and made it to Johnson Peak Lake(s) in time for a late lunch where we enjoyed part two of our morning haul from Schat’s Bakery. By the time we hit 10k on the ledges up to JPL, it was evident how extraordinarily dry it was.

After lunch we headed east up the ridge toward Rafferty Creek where we could see the afternoon haze hanging around Fletcher and Vogelsang Peaks. We made it to Reymann by early evening and made camp.

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Day 2: Reymann Lake > Rafferty Peak > Echo Lake
This day earned the distinction of being one of the most pleasant in the Sierra I’ve had the fortune of experiencing.

Before heading west, we worked our way up to Rafferty Peak where we enjoyed a great 360 view. The only minor disappointment was that the summit register, rumored to be housed in an old ammo can, was nowhere to be found.

We had lunch back at Reymann, packed up, and made our way down to Nelson Lake where I was struck by the backdrop of the dominating ridge that extends from Rafferty Peak. The meandering stream from Reymann to Nelson and the meadow lakelet was completely dry.

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We crossed an almost equally dry Echo Creek to take on the granite ramp to Matthes Lake. I reserved some skepticism about the feasibility of this portion of the route, but found the ramp very doable and scenic. My introduction to Matthes Crest and Matthes Lake at the crest of the ridge will forever be one of my favorite memories.

We skirted along the south end of Matthes Crest and made camp at Echo Lake by sunset.

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Day 3: Echo Lake > Tuolumne Meadows
Compared to the first two days, the last day was relatively uneventful. After breakfast we connected with the JMT at Cathedral Pass. From there the foot traffic picked up significantly until we returned to Tuolumne Meadows at around noon.

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Overall, it was a spectacular trip—two full days of world class scenery, solitude over a holiday (and fire impacted weekend), and some handy fishing as well.

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[Wandering Daisy]

Thanks for the report. I was at Nelson Lake in early Oct. 2012 (I think that also was a dry year) and the lake was really dried up. (PS-The peak across the lake has a hard technical route on it that is rarely done due to access.) Also went up to the backside of Matthess Crest. My route was quite similar to yours. You did a lot of miles in a short time.

2021 my permit to the upper Kern was cancelled by the FS due to fires, so like you, I was really glad to get a last-minute permit out of Tuolumne. My trip was 9 days starting Sept 7- to the upper cirques in the Cathedral Range, shortly after your trip. Even with the fires up by Tahoe, I also had pretty much smoke-free air. Yes, it was unusually dry for early September. Water levels in creeks were really low.

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[bobby49]

There is an extraordinary opportunity for a pre-dawn photographer at Matthes Lake. You need to know exactly when the sun will rise. Then, as the very first morning light bounces off the peaks, you have your tripod set up at the southwestern end of the lake and can get an angle shot that includes that plus the lake reflections.

[webdweeb]

Just a quick note of thanks for all the great info on this thread-I've had Nelson Lakes on my radar for awhile, and the tips here will help quite a bit with my route planning. Another example of why this is such a valuable resource for Sierra backpacking!