Agnew Meadows to Yosemite Valley, Part 2
Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:22 am
Day 4 of this trip was so cold I waited until 11 to get up
After coffee and breakfast it was time to fish! Bundled in t shirt, longsleeved shirt, wool sweater, U of O synthetic fleece Hoody, hooded windbreaker, down vest, and my fingerless glove/mitten combo with light pants and medium weight long underwear I was actually comfortable on the blustery and snowy day fishing. The rainbows and brookies cooperated, keeping a fat brookie for dinner and releasing the rest-the largest a 14” rb. Twice during the day I was rocked by large claps of thunder but never saw the lightning. The clouds were like a veil that usually shielded but would momentarily reveal portions of Banner Peak, making those momentary glimpses even more appealing. Sunsets on Koip crest were intriguing as well. The next day dawned clear but cold with the tent and its surroundings frosted with snow. Breaking camp took a little time as I attempted to get the tent as dry as possible, inside and out. Packing my rod I had one of those increasing senior moments--not really paying attention to what I was doing--and heard and felt a snap. Taking the rod out of the cloth cover I discovered that somebody had snapped the end guide off the rod. Except for the cost of repair this was not a big deal for this trip as no more fishing was planned. But I would not return to civilization before starting my next trip. Well just maybe the cell phone might bail me out. After loading up I worked my way around the w. end of the lake and found the old user trail. Cutting cross country toward the n. and Island Pass I found part of an old trail that I followed for a few minutes before angling a little more east. When Mammoth Mt came into view to the s. I stopped and yes! There were bars! Eventually between calls to Kathy and rlown, I was able to establish what I needed to repair the rod suffiently for the next trip and where to get it. Turns out this location was just yards from the Muir/PCT Trail. The remainder of the day was a pleasant hike with necktwisting views and meetings with nice people heading s. on the trail. Actually got passed by two guys just a little younger than myself doing a day hike from Agnew to TM and in a hurry to get the YARTS bus to return to Mammoth that night. Well at least I wouldn’t have to compete with them for a campsite.
There is something about Yosemite whenever I can get a view of Conness. Gaining the summit of Donohue Pass there it was and I was home (not to mention that the rest of the hike was downhill). Deciding to stop at the second crossing of the upper Lyle Fork so I could rinse off before it got too cold had two consequences of significance. First there were at least a dozen other campers in the area so not much solitude. Walking upsteam to filter some water I noticed this guy just reefing on a green tree limb obviously with the plan of starting a fire. My initial response was to walk up and ask, “What the f--- are you doing?” But since I’m no longer a ranger and that approach is not likely to engender a positive response I ignored the transgression. Almost simultaneously a young woman rapidly approached the man and said, “Excuse me if you are planning on having a fire, the regulations that I was given with my permit indicate that fires are not permitted here. One of the man’s companions who was quite near me responded, but we are below the legal level. Now that I had a commander with a handle on the situation I butted in with “Fat Chance.” And went on my way to filter my water. On return there was no more evidence of fire building and I stopped by the woman’s and thanked her for intervening. She said she couldn’t help herself that she used to be a backcountry ranger. I asked where and she said “Sequoia Kings Canyon.” “When?” “A couple of years ago.” “Oh, I was one there in the eighties!” Anyhow the debonair old coot that I am I asked her if she would like to share a cocktail. She said she would and I concocted my best 151 daiquiri and returned to share a cocktail and 45 minutes of comparing notes. Turns out she had been a permanent NPS employee at Yosemite in the past in Bear Management but didn’t like the nighttime hours. She and her husband now were wildlife biologists with the Forest Service. She was doing the Muir Trail as a birthday gift to herself for turning 40. I also asked her about storing my bearicade in my car in the Curry Orchard parking lot while on my next hike (didn’t need the bearicade because we would be staying at the high sierra camps) as I didn’t feel comfortable storing it in the public bear lockers. She said it would be ok if I rinsed it out good. (that is what I did and there was no problem).
Next morning the walk down Lyle Canyon was enthralling. The trail didn’t get busy (except for trail crew) until past the trail to Ireland and Vogelsang. The weather had warmed and every one on the trail had a smile on their face. About an hour out of TM I turned on the cell phone and not 15 minutes later Kathy called, “Where are you?” “About an hour out. Love you!” At the Rafferty Trail jct. a woman asked me "how do I get to Tuolume Meadows." Glancing at the sign that was right in front of her I responded, “Turn around and walk.”
Kathy was waiting for me at the parking lot with a cold beer. Life is good!
After coffee and breakfast it was time to fish! Bundled in t shirt, longsleeved shirt, wool sweater, U of O synthetic fleece Hoody, hooded windbreaker, down vest, and my fingerless glove/mitten combo with light pants and medium weight long underwear I was actually comfortable on the blustery and snowy day fishing. The rainbows and brookies cooperated, keeping a fat brookie for dinner and releasing the rest-the largest a 14” rb. Twice during the day I was rocked by large claps of thunder but never saw the lightning. The clouds were like a veil that usually shielded but would momentarily reveal portions of Banner Peak, making those momentary glimpses even more appealing. Sunsets on Koip crest were intriguing as well. The next day dawned clear but cold with the tent and its surroundings frosted with snow. Breaking camp took a little time as I attempted to get the tent as dry as possible, inside and out. Packing my rod I had one of those increasing senior moments--not really paying attention to what I was doing--and heard and felt a snap. Taking the rod out of the cloth cover I discovered that somebody had snapped the end guide off the rod. Except for the cost of repair this was not a big deal for this trip as no more fishing was planned. But I would not return to civilization before starting my next trip. Well just maybe the cell phone might bail me out. After loading up I worked my way around the w. end of the lake and found the old user trail. Cutting cross country toward the n. and Island Pass I found part of an old trail that I followed for a few minutes before angling a little more east. When Mammoth Mt came into view to the s. I stopped and yes! There were bars! Eventually between calls to Kathy and rlown, I was able to establish what I needed to repair the rod suffiently for the next trip and where to get it. Turns out this location was just yards from the Muir/PCT Trail. The remainder of the day was a pleasant hike with necktwisting views and meetings with nice people heading s. on the trail. Actually got passed by two guys just a little younger than myself doing a day hike from Agnew to TM and in a hurry to get the YARTS bus to return to Mammoth that night. Well at least I wouldn’t have to compete with them for a campsite.
There is something about Yosemite whenever I can get a view of Conness. Gaining the summit of Donohue Pass there it was and I was home (not to mention that the rest of the hike was downhill). Deciding to stop at the second crossing of the upper Lyle Fork so I could rinse off before it got too cold had two consequences of significance. First there were at least a dozen other campers in the area so not much solitude. Walking upsteam to filter some water I noticed this guy just reefing on a green tree limb obviously with the plan of starting a fire. My initial response was to walk up and ask, “What the f--- are you doing?” But since I’m no longer a ranger and that approach is not likely to engender a positive response I ignored the transgression. Almost simultaneously a young woman rapidly approached the man and said, “Excuse me if you are planning on having a fire, the regulations that I was given with my permit indicate that fires are not permitted here. One of the man’s companions who was quite near me responded, but we are below the legal level. Now that I had a commander with a handle on the situation I butted in with “Fat Chance.” And went on my way to filter my water. On return there was no more evidence of fire building and I stopped by the woman’s and thanked her for intervening. She said she couldn’t help herself that she used to be a backcountry ranger. I asked where and she said “Sequoia Kings Canyon.” “When?” “A couple of years ago.” “Oh, I was one there in the eighties!” Anyhow the debonair old coot that I am I asked her if she would like to share a cocktail. She said she would and I concocted my best 151 daiquiri and returned to share a cocktail and 45 minutes of comparing notes. Turns out she had been a permanent NPS employee at Yosemite in the past in Bear Management but didn’t like the nighttime hours. She and her husband now were wildlife biologists with the Forest Service. She was doing the Muir Trail as a birthday gift to herself for turning 40. I also asked her about storing my bearicade in my car in the Curry Orchard parking lot while on my next hike (didn’t need the bearicade because we would be staying at the high sierra camps) as I didn’t feel comfortable storing it in the public bear lockers. She said it would be ok if I rinsed it out good. (that is what I did and there was no problem).
Next morning the walk down Lyle Canyon was enthralling. The trail didn’t get busy (except for trail crew) until past the trail to Ireland and Vogelsang. The weather had warmed and every one on the trail had a smile on their face. About an hour out of TM I turned on the cell phone and not 15 minutes later Kathy called, “Where are you?” “About an hour out. Love you!” At the Rafferty Trail jct. a woman asked me "how do I get to Tuolume Meadows." Glancing at the sign that was right in front of her I responded, “Turn around and walk.”
Kathy was waiting for me at the parking lot with a cold beer. Life is good!
Mark was obviously worried.