Yosemite National Park
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Budd Lake Yosemite National Park |
June 29, 2021
Gee whiz, it has been twelve years already since I first ventured up the climbers' trails to Budd Lake. I long have had a grand plan to include a further climb up above the cirque near Unicorn Peak where some tarns are hiding out, but getting up there doubtless would have been less problematical back when I was just a youngster at 67 years.
Onto the John Muir trail for a few minutes
It is but a quarter-mile or so to the turnoff.
The nifty new carabiner icon denotes a climbers' access route
Budd Creek
Last time, I crossed the creek, then was compelled to scramble up the canyon for quite a ways. Today I'll remain on the primary use trail, which doesn't cross the stream at all.
It takes a while for some scenery to appear.
Unicorn Peak, 10823'
The trail is quite well-maintained
Cockscomb
Over to the left are the angled slabs that represent the return portion of the hypothetical loop. They look pretty steep from here.
Are those black clouds telling me something?
A helpful step
First view of my favorite mountain
Cathedral Peak, 10923', is the climbers' local favorite as well
It seems that I have arrived just in time to view some action at the summit. A couple of voices are fairly clear way down here.
The guy on the summit is waiting for his partner just below
I'm coming, I'm coming!
Success!
They are being mighty friendly up there; I bet that the 'partner' is a woman
Brewer's Lupine & Ladybug
Red Mountain Heather
Clodius Parnassian
View to the north
Nobody is challenging the Unicorn today
The Cathedral climbers have disappeared without a trace
Hearing more human voices, I spot some activity on the far side of the lake.
The pair at lakeside seem to be toting some scientific equipment
Starting up into the cirque
Top of the wall
Heavenly Heather everywhere
Echo Peaks above
Cinquefoil with Beetle
This is why I go hiking
The lake is named after James H. Budd, governor of California from 1895 to 1899.
There might be a relatively safe route to the top, but not today
Nature's artistry in the granite
Ah, to be here with more water flowing in the hanging garden...
Well, the loop option being off the table, it is time to start back —
past time, perhaps. Some of the clouds have turned pretty dark.
The researchers are on this side of the lake now
The young couple are measuring DNA in the water, so as to count certain fish and frog populations.
Starting down
There already have been some thunderclaps and a couple of distant lightning
strikes. Feeling a couple of raindrops, I opt to stash my water-intolerant
Olympus as best I can; having already killed three or four cameras with water,
I would like to avoid another such catastrophe. My Sony backup unit is rather
more expendable, so I'll use it from here.
I should find a trail soon
Here it is!
This would be more fun if it weren't a race against the weather
I keep to the right here as directed, but the trail soon crosses the creek and merges with the other one
Somebody doesn't want me to lose the way here
Well, I was hopeful of beating the storm; but that doesn't seem to be working out.
The rain is beautiful, but...
Suddenly the deluge hits, but it was not what I expected. I am being pummeled by round white things.
There is no good-sized rock to hide under
Exposure to the weather seems of no concern at the moment; I hug a tree
attempting to mitigate the force of the half-inch hailstones, but to
little avail. Hoping to wait out the worst of it, I grow impatient after
about ten minutes and strike off down the trail, completely soaked.
Feeling pretty stupid at the moment
Knowing that is only a mile or so to the finish-line now, there is nothing for it but to plunge down the slippery route that has become a rivulet in places, carrying my pack in one hand so as to try to keep water out of it.
This is not why I go hiking
Eventually the trailhead mercifully reappears, and my ordeal is over. Although it is raining now, I am not feeling cold at all. Climbing into the car without even bothering to change to a dry shirt, I head down the mountain to the motel.
At least I managed to avoid hypothermia, thanks to the heat wave
§: Well, that was one exercise in stupidity that I resolve never to
repeat. How hard can it be to take the precaution of packing a rain jacket,
especially when there are ominous clouds in the sky at the outset of a trek?
On the bright, pre-storm side, today's destination more than lived up to
expectations. That cirque is a really good-feeling place, and
I wasn't bothered a bit by the Budd Lake Horde of mosquitoes that gave me such a
bad time on my prior visit. Also, I managed not to damage any camera equipment
after all.
The originally planned loop still appeals to me, despite the obvious potential difficulties; but that's what adventures are all about.
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