Following The Poop

The mule poop, that is.

On doing the Yosemite High Sierras camp loop hike.

Summary: Last year, a group of us older adventurers put in for, and one won, the Park Service lottery to rights to get Yosemite park High Sierras camps loop hike reservations for the next season. Eight of us went. It was wonderful.

Getting to Yosemite from San Francisco airport uses a winding and slow road, which we drove at night. We spent that night at the Cedar Lodge just outside the park, and went to see crowded Yosemite Valley ("downtown") the next day to do the tourist thing. The second day we drove to Base Camp, spent the night and began to hike the loop. We completed the high-altitude, mountainous, five-camp, seven-day, fifty-five-mile loop... uneventfully and utterly amazed.


The High Sierra camps provide dinner, tents with cots, and breakfast. Lunch while hiking was granola bars or whatever we brought but a sandwich can be bought each morning. This means a light pack and luxury camping/backpacking, even though the loop is rugged, spartan and primitive. We hiked unguided but there is a ranger-guided option.

Views were amazing: balds, canyons and water. There was lots of water due to snow melt from twice the usual snow this past winter. It did not rain during our trip. Beautiful wildflowers lined our trail. Trail condition and signage was great. On-trail mule poop was everywhere (mules carry supplies to camps) and served as reassuring trail blazes or connect-the-dots.

Stats below are from my pants-pocket-carried Garmin 60CSx GPS. Besides miles and time, this GPS also computes up-only climb-feet, a great measurement of effort. Note that the group sometimes got strung out and different people came in at different times. Gary was fastest, then Diane, then me and the rest. Also note that GPS altitude does not often match a map's.

- On 13-15 Aug 2011, Gary, Diane, Suzanne and I did Yosemite Valley from Cedar Lodge, just outside the Park. I unfortunately had developed persistent heel spur plantar fasciitis tendinitis due to trying to break-in new boots, so I saved myself for the loop. I had originally trained to climb Half-Dome up to the cables.

- Day 0, the 16th: drove to and met Geanine, Ray, Carolyn and Skip at Base Camp for the High Sierras camp loop start at Tuolumne Meadows camp "lodge" (ja!), altitude 8720 feet. We ate burgers at The Grill, next door to the gas station. These three were the entire civilization at the Tuolumne area.

- Day 1, the 17th: hiked an easy 8.2 miles in 5 1/2 hrs with 1520 climb-feet to Glen Aulin camp, elev 7980', which had a water limit, due to sewer limits, due to being in the watershed to Hetch Hetchy reservoir, where Frisco gets 80% of their water. They served good food. We had a great campfire sing-along led by an 80-year-old lady guest. Glen Aulin camp had a beauuutiful waterfall.


- Day 2, the 18th: hiked moderate and beautiful-vista 8.8 miles in 7 hrs with 2820 climb-feet to gorgeous May Lake camp, elev 9360', with a beautiful reflection of mountain on lake. A family of husband, wife and daughter run the place very well (he's been there 10 years). Great food, very organized, showers and washtub with wringer, and the best camp by far. It would be definitely worthwhile to go there again, and it is an easy 1-mile hike from a side road.

- Day 3, the 19th: hiked 10.2 tough and painful climb miles in 7 hrs with 2650 climb-feet to Sunrise camp, at a huge alpine meadow, elev 9360', and stayed two nights. Sunrise camp season is only 3 weeks this year, was closed until our start due to snow melt flood and thus ineffective leach fields (we were formulating a Plan B). Had a million-dollar shower and toilets building but there were lots of mosquitoes and temperatures were freezing overnight.

- Day 4, the 20th: stayed at Sunrise for a rest day.

- Day 5, the 21st: hiked 10.4 moderate miles in 7 hours with 1350 climb-feet to Merced Lake camp, elev 7300'. On the way met a 15-person, four-generation group hiking to Sunrise with 75-year-old grandma and 80-year-old grandpa. Grandpa had fallen, was not doing well, and was getting helicoptered out when he got to Sunrise's meadow. Merced Lake camp is the furthest and least supplied, and of least altitude of all the camps, but still very cold at night, with lots of flies rather than mosquitoes. It had a drip for a shower and a sink for laundry but no washrag nor soap nor paper towels... and skimpy food. Too spartan, it was the worse camp but still appreciated.

- Day 6, the 22nd: hiked 9.2 miles in 8 1/2 hours with 4969 thin-air, high-altitude climb-feet through a river canyon, over a beautiful pass and through a gorgeous saddle meadow to Wogelsang camp, elev 10200'. Yes, here's where Suzanne said "And we've got to climb THAT?" There was no mule poop in this trail. It was a very tough hike (steep, cold and windy, with snow on top) but the views, especially from the south side of the pass, made it worth it. It was a moderately cold camp, laid out on rock, with lots of mosquitoes. Good food. No shower or opportunity to wash. Still, this one also would be definitely worthwhile to again hike (a 7-miler) there just for the view from the pass, and for the saddle meadow, or to backpack and camp at the meadow instead of at the camp.

Wogelsang (and other) camp food can be reserved without reserving the tent, still using the lottery.

- Day 7, the 23rd: hiked out a glacial canyon, a very painful (due to my heel plantar fasciitis) 7.6 downhill miles in 4 1/2 hours with 580 climb-feet back to Tuolumne Meadows camp "lodge" Base Camp to pick up cars, drink beer, and drive partly out the park to White Wolf camp, to shower, dine and spend the night (still in tents!). On this hike from Wogelsang to Tuolumne, we passed a bunch of oncoming hikers and two mule resupply teams, so it was the busiest trail, probably due to Wolensang pass beauty. The White Wolf camp restaurant was very disorganized, the dinner was disappointing and the mosquitoes were the worse, but we were back in civilization, and we were tired.


- On the 24th, we drove down or south to classy Wawona Hotel lodge to gawk at the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoia trees. On the way there my three traveling companions hiked several waterfalls. I had had enough heel pain already and so stayed in the car to finish an Arthur C. Clark book I picked up at Sunrise. Wawona is a grand, old, historic hotel lodge that reminded me of my grandmother's beach house due to its big wooden porch. We met the other four there. It was a beautiful hotel, and dinner was great.

- On the 25th (today), we all drove back to Frisco and are spending the night in a motel, ready to get home on our early morning return flight tomorrow to clean up and and wind down.

- Conclusion: The loop was six camps in seven days for about 55 miles and 14,000 climb-feet, in luxury. And we had pre- and post-loop activities.

That was our adventure. We followed the mule poop.



This report was tapped into an iPhone on-trail.


- © 2011 by Willy

Breaking In New Anythings

I made the mistake of trying to break in new hiking boots... a revolutionary new model ("Airs") that promised to be gentler on my heels. Instead, the boots broke me... gave me an awful case of heel spur plantar fasciitis tendinitis just in time for a planned hike.

I knew better, but... mesmerized by the promise... I forgot.

I have had recurring trouble with my left heel for over twenty years. That heel is very sensitive to new shoes and boots to the point that...

- I have been using the same make and model boot for the last 19 years, and

- When my running shoes model was discontinued, I bought four pair.

Lessons learned:

(1) Return the revolutionary boots with promise.

(2) Order a couple of old model boots before they are discontinued.

(3) Reject temptation. Quit getting mesmerized by New. Quit trying new boots, shoes, things, people, processes... new anythings. Instead, continue to evolve and improve on what I have and do, a decades-long evolution. Evolutionary is good and revolutionary is bad. Evolutionary is good and revolutionary is bad. I'd better remember this!

- © 2011 by Willy

Just The Basics

Having had many busy weeks at work and beyond, I waited until the very end to pack for the latest adventure, resulting in a controlled panic. Yes, I always do this. To make it doable, what works for me is to keep everything hike-related in a huge duffel bag in my sports closet, including a check list.

I then separate items by place and function, depends on where and how I'm hiking. I am on the way to a two-week backpacking trip to Yosemite.

What goes into the wilderness itself goes in the backpack. Within that I have a bag for what I will carry in my pockets or person, like granola bars, whistle, tiny LED light, GPS, camera, sunglasses, DEET, sunblock, toilet paper, and etc.

I make a separate bag for the trip to base camp motel like extra clothing, snacks, cell phone, cell rechargers, reading material, car GPS, boarding passes, neck pillow for long night flights and etc.

So organized, eh? So, where was that blasted poncho!

OK, so I found it and finally got it together. Then I went through it all again, paring it down to the basic needs only: Out goes the rum (how did that one get in there?), the What-Ifs and redundancies. After all, I am an ultralighter... the most basic and smug of backpackers.

I have been an ultralighter since I was a kid, because I had nothing then. It was reinforced by a free spirit I dated in the '80s, and driven home recently by my daughter.

For instance, a light and small plastic hooded poncho with a tiny umbrella and hat saves at least a pound as compared to a heavy, bulky and sweaty multi-layered "breathable fabric" raincoat, and I needed that hat for mountain-top balds anyway.

Ditto re a coolmax liner or sheet instead of a light sleeping bag; chlorine-dioxide pills rather than a fancy troublesome reverse-osmosis pump filter; two tiny LED rather than a flashlight (redundancy needed here); a smaller tent; multipurpose bandanna rather than towel; two band-aids rather than moleskin; just floss, toothbrush and toothpaste (no comb, no razor, no deodorant, etc.); no radio/mp3; no cell phone if another group hiker is carrying his; no stove; and less food to eat, even.

I am realistic or careful enough to take a down vest, dry socks, backup disposable poncho, hiking pole and other safety-necessary items.

John Muir hiked Yosemite just carrying a loaf of bread.

I am trying to do Life that way too, getting rid of junk and junky people... and losing weight. Determining what is mental heath safety-necessary is big. Keeping just the basics.

- © 2011 by Willy