One of my best trips backpacking, as I had the company of my friend Tyler. Tyler had just finished his season working on a trail crew and still had plenty of juice left in the tank to go on a trip with me! The first obstacle we had to overcome was that I live in San Diego and Tyler lives in Sacramento. After much discussion, the best idea we could come up with was that I would fly on a budget airline to Sac, and we would drive together to Yosemite National Park, splitting the driving duty. It worked out marvelously this way, saving me many hours of solo driving.
Day 1: Mono Pass Trailhead to Kuna Saddle
We began our journey at Mono/Parker Pass Trailhead at 11 a.m., starting at 9,600'. After doing a Taboose Pass and Copper Creek trip earlier this summer, I was glad to start high up. The trail ambled along Parker Creek with shade coverage, eventually projecting into an open meadow.
At the far end of the meadow lies Spillway Lake.
This is where Tyler and I departed from the trail for the next few days. We aimed to cross the saddle above Helen Lake for our first camp this day.
With food-heavy packs, we began our ascent of the saddle. Eventually popping out at the top slightly to the right of the lowest point, as it looked very loose going straight up.
What a view of the Cathedral Range at the top of this saddle. We could see our next two days' worth of travel from here.
After enjoying the view, we ambled southwest along granite ledges and rocks to our campsite for the first night. Here there was a beautiful body of water. This small tarn formed a natural infinity pool, with the Cathedral Range in the distance.
Day 2: Kuna Saddle to Lyell Fork
We rose late the following morning and began our hike around 10 a.m. Today's general idea was to get as close as possible to Russell Pass. The cross-country navigation was great because of the long sightlines and gentle decline! We crossed Kuna Creek at about 10,400’ and made our way to the JMT below Donahue pass, at around 10,800’.
I suppose we could have dropped into Lyell canyon from Kuna Creek and then climbed out of the canyon using the trail, but it did not seem very efficient to lose so much elevation. After half a mile on the JMT, we once again departed from the trail toward the headwater lakes of the Lyell Fork.
These lakes sit in the shadow of Mount Lyell and Maclure and have a stoic-like aura in my mind.
This was where we decided to make our camp for the night. We spent the remaining daylight hours lounging about these lakes. We watched a hawk hunt around the lake—truly a fascinating and elegant bird.
Day 3: Lyell Fork to Lake 10,565
The next morning, we climbed a talus ridge just above our campsite. Thanks to the incredible sightlines from our first night's camp, we knew there would be a humongous granite ramp just over this ridge that we would traverse on the way to Maclure Lake. This path was very fun for me, a chaotic sidewalk built into the side of the mountain.
At Maclure Lake, we refueled and meditated on the rocky shoreline. Looking toward its outlet, a sort of keyhole frames a glimpse of the Kuna Crest—a great place to think or not think at all.
Now mentally prepared for Russell Pass, we departed Maclure Lake and found good ambling on short steep ramps interspersed with talus fields. In one of these talus fields, we found two pieces of old wood, approximately 4 feet long x 3 inches wide x 1/2 inch thick. They looked like maybe the post for an old sign or fence. Their location was curious to me, as my research indicated there hadn’t been a trail here. I believe it was at these coordinates: (37.74955, -119.28559).
The final climb up Russell Pass looked challenging. But, once we had crossed the Maclure Glacier and started to scramble up, it was fast going with stable talus. Going down the west side of Russell, I found it much more challenging than the entire stretch from Maclure Lake to the top of Russell. There was a lot of loose rock. I felt like we had just crossed another threshold going over Russell Pass, for this territory we now walked in had previously only existed in my map. The beginning of this day (before Russell) and the entirety of the day previous had been laid out before us at the top of Kuna Crest. I imagined myself as a ye olde pioneer.
We pressed onward, sliding down Russell and around rocky lakes and beautifully manicured grasses, until Lake 10,565 revealed itself with its many peninsulas and hidden crevices. This was our home for the night and the entire next day.
Some remarks about Lake 10,565: The scenery is dramatic, with fast-rising rocky slopes on all sides and a towering peak directly above. There is a lot of life here in this basin, more so than the previous day's campsite. While relaxing at a small beach, a garter snake appeared directly at my side! It startled me a bit, as I had not seen a snake so high up before. The tiny noodle seemed curious about us as well, inching closer and closer no matter where we moved on the beach.
Day 4: Lake 10,565
The next day was spent circling the main lake of 10,565 and just lounging about. Tyler and I both needed to rest.
Day 5: Lake 10,565 to Lewis Creek
Saying goodbye to Lake 10,565, Tyler and I decided that instead of following the lake's outlet, we would climb up to a smaller lake and then descend from there. Satellite images and topo maps showed granite slabs on a moderate slope. The slab was mostly smooth with 'rolls' reminiscent of an ocean swell suddenly alchemized into granite.
//image of ramp here
Eventually, we met up with the catwalk-esque trail above the Merced River. From here on out, we would mostly be on the trail. Lovely views of the Clark Range on this catwalk. After rounding a corner, we came into the view of Half Dome. I had never seen this angle of Half Dome before - in pictures or real life. After descending from this catwalk, we started to amble up the trail next to Lewis Creek. Within 10 minutes we encountered 6 people.
We opted for a campsite in the trees along the Lewis Creek Trail (near where Florence Creek feeds into Lewis). This campsite was great because there was a small waterfall from Florence Creek about 200 feet away. The small waterfall descended into a roughly 10' x 10' pool with steep walls on both sides. Tyler and I meditated here and soaked in the icy cold waters. It was a private sanctuary.
We then set up our camp and decided that we would have a campfire, as there was a fire ring next to our campsite and plenty of deadwood.
Day 6: Vogelsang Lake
The next day, we continued to Vogelsang Pass and Vogelsang Lake. Tyler and I had plenty of energy this day, so we dropped our packs and summited Vogelsang Peak! This was my first time here, and I sure did love the view of the canyons to the north. I will definitely explore at some point.
After coming down from the peak, Tyler and I set up camp at Vogelsang Lake. On the rise to the north of the lake, we had a view of Half Dome once again in the sunset. I fished a bit at this lake and had terrible luck. I lost two flies and a bad break-off, ultimately catching no fish. I vowed that I would catch at least one fish at this lake the following morning.
And I certainly did honor that vow. I fished the entire shoreline and was able to land some nice ones. There was also a bear that came by our campsite, quite small and untagged from what we could tell. The bear paid us no attention and meandered toward Vogelsang Pass, walking in the lake part of the way. What a magnificent sighting.
Day 7: The Final Descent
The rest of the day was spent exploring the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp area, relaxing by Fletcher Lake for an hour or so, and beginning our descent toward Tuolumne Meadows. We got some intel from passing hikers that a certain pond would be our last stop for water until Tuolumne Meadows, and we had planned to end our day just outside the bounds for backcountry camping along Rafferty Creek.
Almost exactly at the line for where you can backcountry camp, we found a neat granite mound with flat surfaces up top. It was complete with natural benches, a big old fire ring, and vintage soup cans!
Bittersweet, this was our last night in Yosemite. We watched the night sky turn dark, and the stars shone greatly with no clouds. We saw great shooting stars each night before, and this last night we made sure to catch a few before turning in for our last rest. I spied many wispy, short shooting stars that make you second-guess if that was really a shooting star or not. I was determined to wait for "the big one." Within the half-hour, there it was, streaking across the sky. With that, we both went to sleep.
Day 8: Saying Goodbye
Our final morning, we started hiking the earliest, since we had to hitch back to our car parked at Mono Pass. We may have started a bit too early because few cars were passing by us, only around four in an hour. But a nice person picked up Tyler while I waited with the gear for his return.
For a last and final hurrah, Tyler and I grabbed some snacks at Crane Flat Gas Station and took a drive around Yosemite Valley.
