Yosemite National Park
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Mount Dana Approach Yosemite National Park |
August 3, 2017
This is the day; I sure hope that I haven't put it off this climb for too many years. Having rested up a bit while gaining some acclimation, I am as ready as possible.
Dana Meadows
It's nice and calm at 8 a.m.
Across the pond-filled meadow, the climbing begins. Right away, I am passed by a runner who disappears from sight almost immediately. Presently I overtake a couple, predicting that I probably won't stay ahead for long.
They know the time-honored routine: slow and steady
Attempting to photograph the route ahead is problematical, for the sun is directly in the way. Perhaps I can 'catch up' on these places later in the day.
I can't do much without a sunshade
Westward view over Dana Meadows
Blue Flax
Heartleaf Arnica
After playing leapfrog with the couple for a time, they finally forge ahead for good, as anticipated.
Perhaps I'll see them later
So far, this trail is very well-maintained.
I guess that the Park Service really has no option but to
support popular routes, even unofficial ones, lest the
landscape be damaged. I saw more evidence of this
yesterday over at Puppy Dome.
The trail is very nicely constructed
Ten days ago I became concerned that the big forest fire near Mariposa would still be cluttering the sky today, and it appears that I was right. The views to the west are seriously compromised.
Cathedral Peak
Cockscomb and Unicorn Peak
This has been quite a climb already
Cars are lining up at the entrance station
Monte Marmot is king of all he surveys
The man ahead yells back at me and points toward a few elk that are grazing on the hillside.
A 30× zoom does come in handy
I am keeping up with them — almost
This must be the trail
First view of the objective
Do I see someone on the summit?
Yes, I do
Just beyond this snowdrift is the vaunted plateau, where I am hoping to get a respite from the steep gradient.
Okay, I'm on the plateau; but it still is an effort
Is that another hiker behind me?
Yes, it is
Stark though the landscape seems, there invariably is an amazing amount of plant life at these exalted elevations:
Alpine Oval-leaved Buckwheat
They are tackling the big snowdrift
Keeping up with those folk is semi-inspiring, but they remain elusively out of range.
The view northwest
Many folk have elected to slide down the snowdrift
That newly spotted hiker also has caught up with me. While considering our options, we are treated to a show.
Here comes a sliding daredevil now
Made it, safe and sound
That was the runner who had passed me early-on. At the end of his run, he says that that maneuver has made his trip worthwhile.
When the route through the jumbles seems to run out, the hiker ahead climbs straight up the snow bank; so I follow in his bootsteps. I really don't like having to stop to rest in the middle of such a traverse, because I like to sit down. That doesn't work well in wet snow, however; so I am compelled to stand several times while catching my breath.
Midway in the climb, I run into a well-used path that traverses the drift
at a more friendly angle; I wish that I had known about it previously.
Having conquered the obstacle, all that remains is — another
thousand vertical feet of difficult talus-hopping.
There is much work ahead
Saddlebag Lake in the distance
A desert of sharp boulders
The giant cairns are fun to reach, yet there are so many of them
Hating to admit it, I realize that this climb isn't fun anymore. I briefly consider calling it quits, then continue up another hundred feet, where everything looks the same.
Where is the trail?
My routine now is to climb about ten feet, then rest for a minute or two. My GPS says that I still am some 600 vertical feet from the summit. At this rate, it could take another couple of hours to reach it, and I already am low on energy.
Opting to listen to my body rather than my heart, I decide not to continue. While contemplating my fate, I observe a trio of teenagers on their way off the mountain, radios blaring in their pockets. I wait until they they are well down the hill before starting back myself.
Taking the easy path across the snow
Another lone hiker approaches — a woman this time
Despite the smoke in the air, some pretty nice views still are available.
Upper Granite Lake hides behind Gaylor Peak
Two years ago I had a great time circling the top of that cirque.
There is no trail to the lovely but lonesome Kuna Lake
I have unfinished business over there, having last visited Kuna Lake six years ago.
Lower Gaylor Lake on the far left
I really had planned to try skating down the snowbank myself, but my knees are just wobbly enough now to dissuade me.
Wimping out, I take the easy route
At the end of this traverse I can find no semblance of a trail, so I incur an enervating scramble down to where I originally crossed the snow. A young man is right there, wondering how best to continue himself.
Colin from L.A.
Colin is an artist and a ceramics teacher, waiting for his companions to catch up. As we chat, another guy makes a successful slide down the slippery slope. What are the odds of being right here for two such exhibitions?
He also makes it down without falling
Colin's companions approach
I continue downhill, speaking briefly to each of those folk as I pass by.
Colin waves goodbye
It has cleared up a bit to the west
Buckwheat gardens are exquisite
Alpine Ivesia
As I revel in this high-desert splendor, the lone female approaches. Amber, also from the southern state, has just visited Green Lake near a mountain called Cloudripper. I know where that is, because the trailhead is right next to the cabin of my Eastern Sierra connections, Gary and Sharon.
Good luck to Amber
Colin's group presses on
This is intended as a wind shelter of sorts
Saddlebag Lake is the gateway to a favorite hiking area
Last view of the erstwhile objective
The radio guys finally are disappearing from view
I stop for another chat with a tall, congenial youngster named Clay as he also awaits his companions.
Clay's mom looks like Doris Day, and is just as cute
Mom is having second thoughts about this venture, which as
far as I am concerned is the toughest day-hike in the
park. In lieu of the fact that countless more friendly
options are available, why someone would recommend this trail
to a family of short-term visitors is a mystery to me.
These folk are trying for Half Dome permits via the daily lottery, and good luck with that. After suggesting realistic alternatives such as Gaylor Lakes, Twenty Lakes Basin, the Mist Trail, and Sentinel Dome, I send the happy group on its way.
A promised email should tell me whether they make it to the summit
There is plenty of work left to do
The clouds are moving in on Mammoth Peak
The pond is 1,300 feet below
My new car is over there
A storm is building over Mount Dana
Once off the plateau, it's a different world. This slope is a garden of eden.
Fireweed
Red Mountain Heather
Coville's Columbine
Uniquely colored rocks
North Peak is spectacular
Lupine and Paintbrush
Corn Lily
I overtake a couple here, but only because the man also is taking a lot of flower photographs. We compare cameras, because they look almost identical. While remarkably similar, his model is better, and it cost quite a bit more as well; the one advantage of my unit is a long zoom.
When the man sends his friend down the trail for a
photo, two half-naked burly guys pass her, then us.
I do hope that they packed rain gear if nothing else.
They must be impervious to mosquitoes
She gets her portrait
A Hummingbird Moth visits the Royal Larkspur
The pinkest Paintbrush ever
Beautiful
This is the best floral display I have seen in Yosemite.
Dana Meadows look the same, only darker
My bigger-than-ever Outback (middle) is the smallest car in the lot!
§: Well! Despite my 'failure' to achieve the
summit of Mount Dana, this was easily one of my most enjoyable and
rewarding outings ever. The incredible wealth and variety
of scenery, combined with the great interaction with so many
other hikers, has left me wanting to return soon.
The camaraderie was made possible by the unique layout of this route, on which one can see so much of what is going on for so great a distance.
In retrospect, it appears that I might have been closer to the summit than my instrument had indicated; so perhaps a rematch is in order. At the least, I could scramble over to the eastern edge of the plateau for some photos of Dana Lake and perhaps Mono Lake as well.
The only negative factor was the forest-fire smoke in the western sky, for which I am compelled to reduce the hike's rating. My photographs and visual memories did suffer, and that is unacceptable.
| Scenery |  |
| Difficulty |  |
| Personality |  |
| Flowers | |
| Solitude |  |
| Air Quality |  |
