Jens, Olaf, Dick, Jim & Jason
Oct 22-24, 2022
The following is a summary of our personal experience on the trail. If you are interested in reading about the technical details of the trail, please refer to our site’s Clouds Rest Trail page.
After departing the Bay Area at 7:15am, we arrived at Yosemite Valley at 11:30am. We got our permit and had lunch at the park’s Degnan’s Deli. It’s a grab-and-go sort of place, sufficient for the situation. From there we headed off to Camp Curry in search of parking, caught the East Valley Shuttle and arrived at the Mirror Lake trailhead (stop #17) at 1:30pm.
The walk to Mirror Lake and then onto the switch backs went fairly quickly. Although most of our group was familiar with each other, these easy miles offered us opportunity to reacquaint.
Jim was a new member to our team. He has two well accomplished sons in the arts and in engineering. Jim had bootstrapped his career through the army and I suspect, provided him with the background to continue his fitness orientated lifestyle. As we left the valley floor, all in all our team felt pretty confident despite the forecast of rain/snow.
As we started up the switchbacks the cloud cover provided a little drama to the landscape and cool temperatures to us hikers. Half way up the 3800 ft climb, rain made due on it’s threat, which lasted no more than 30 minutes. In the Sierras, no matter what season, I carry a rain jacket and pack cover. I’d say on 1/3 of my hikes, a non-forecasted rain occurs. With the fall temperatures in store, I decided to bring along rain pants as well.
We got to the Snow Creek foot bridge at about 5pm. We knew sunset was at 6:08pm so we didn’t poke around. We filled up our water containers for dinner and the morning and kept on trekking. We reached our camp at 5:45pm. Our camp and even our evening together, was a bit utilitarian in nature. The white fir forest restricted any views of the surrounding area. Shortly after we arrived we had a solid 30 minute hail shower. Afterwards the temperatures began to dip. Based on the fact that my water bottle that I left inside my tent froze, I suspect the temperatures dropped into the low 20s that night. Given all this, we had a pleasant but brief dinner together and quickly retreated to our tents for the evening
In the morning we could see solid blue skies poking through the forest. After some attempt to dry and defrost our equipment, we packed up and set off for our morning hike. There is something special about a fall morning hike – the cool clear air, peaceful silence and a mellowing of the landscape. The ground was accented by the previous nights hail as well. As we made our way through the forest more and more of the sky began to appear. A mile before Olmsted Point, the entire valley opened providing dramatic views of Clouds Rest backlit from the morning sun.
By noon, we had reached Tenaya Lake. We enjoyed just a blissful hour absorbing all of what this treasured lake had to offer. Off in the distance we could see that the Tioga Pass Road was closed, providing us with solitude in this often busy lake. I suppose I should let the pictures do the talking.
After lunch we had a 1000ft climb up to the Sunrise Lake junction. The trail itself was a moderate grade. I’d say there was a quarter mile of that 2.5 mile stretch that the trail builders were over matched by the hard and jagged granite. The trail offered some views of Tenaya Lake and the valley below. Be sure to enjoy those opportunities as the present themselves.
We refilled our canisters at the year-round pond a mile down from the junction and from there it was another quick 1.5 miles to our camp. We decided to camp at 4pm to allow ourselves a bit more time with daylight to setup and enjoy the dinner preparation. Given our camp was below 9600 ft, we gathered wood for a fire. Before long we had our camp chairs circled around the fire and we were enjoying our hot meals. I was digging into my homemade chili. Later we exchanged chocolates, a flask of fine whiskey, and some deep insights 🙂
In the morning there was 750 ft climb to the top of Clouds Rest. I guess I’m slightly more skittish to heights than your average hiker. For instance, I’ve taken a pause before I’ve climbed up Half Dome whereas others seem to hike past without any concern. I had hiked up Clouds Rest 15 years ago, and as I remember there were sections that gave me some reasons to hesitate. So from my skittish perspective, I can assure you that there is a totally safe way to proceed all the way up. Having said that, the final 10 minutes will get the adrenaline going. Once plateaued, I felt more comfortable keeping to the south side of the slope rather than the ridge line itself. I’ll include a picture below showing two of us on the south slope and two on the ridge. As it turned out, that was only required for a couple hundred feet before you are at the final submit of Cloud’s Rest.
And the summit itself is, well, arguably at the center of Yosemite. To the south lies the granite domes of the Little Yosemite Valley and to the north are the cliffs of Tenaya Canyon. To the east is the Cathedral Range and to the west are inspiring views of Half Dome and Yosemite Valley that are seldom see in the postcards.
So there we were, on top of Clouds Rest. The last time I was there, it was in mid-August along with 25+ other hikers. Today was different. The autumn skies were incredibly clear. The landscape was highlighted from either the hail or slight snow. We had the summit to ourselves. It was truly magical.
Over the next 5-6 hrs we descended 6000 ft to the valley floor. The western slope of Clouds Rest is a little tricky. But when it came down to it, there is only a single sketchy corner. To tell you the truth, that corner only looked a bit scary as you approached it. Once you actually walk through it, it wasn’t scary at all.
We had lunch in a meadow in Little Yosemite Valley as our thoughts wondered to either future hikes or past travels. Before I wrap up this summary, I’d like to share we had an enjoyable dinner at the Black Bear Diner in Manteca. Having a final meal together has become a satisfying ritual. Yes, we had a desire for a hearty meal. But more importantly, it gave us an opportunity to collectedly share and reflect on our trip before going our separate ways. At least for us, Black Bear Diner offers just the right atmosphere to transition us back to the unnatural life we lead and … ingest a good thousand calories.
This was indeed a wonderful hike. The concerns I had that this hike was going to be a bit too familiar and crowded was quickly put to rest by the uniqueness of this trail and the graces of autumn. My hiking partners were thoughtful, experienced and were equally enthusiastic in experiencing what this wonderful terrain had to offer. I’ll be thinking about this hike for years to come.
Hi Jason.
Nice summary. It was a great hike despite the low temps at night.🥶
Cheers.
Olaf
Hi Jason,
Great reflection on another memorable fall hike. They’re always a little sketchy and uncertain as far as the weather and appropriate equipment are concerned, but that makes it all the more exciting…!
Cheers,
Jens