Paul: Got up early and hiked up a few miles of the Upper Falls Trail
Paul: Really buggy and the haze came back a bit unfortunately- but
still a great hike
Kent: That trail is wild
Kent: I traversed onto the face once in 2010 to start the 5.7
aquamist
Kent: Ledge was crazy terrifyingly exposed
Kent: Got to a place where I needed to traverse without gear and
gigantic exposure
Kent: Waterfall was raging too
Kent: I bailed
Kent: Spooky
Kent: Unforgettable!
Kent: The 3:30am skateboard ride from the campground in pitch dark quiet was very memorable too
Kent: All the glowing eyes from my headlamp were not bears but they were in my mind!
Paul: It's felt practically empty here in Yosemite the last two days
but on my way back down the falls trail I probably passed 50 people on
the way up
Paul: Can't imagine how packed that trail must get when the falls are going, there's no smoke haze.
Paul: I'm really liking the Yosemite Valley Lodge
Paul: Rooms are nothing special, but are fairly large with nice balconies
Paul: The restaurant is actually quite good and the common areas are
great - they consist of meandering forested paths and well designed
sitting areas beneath forest canopies between the structures
Kent: I had a raccoon slide the screen door and come in from my 2nd floor balcony there
Kent: Andrew was 3 months old
Kent: Raccoon backed away from the baby and left when I began screaming
Kent: Duper nice there
Kent: Was surprised how easy it was for him to slide the screen open
Kent: Best place to eat in the valley too IMO
Saturday morning the sky was crystal clear.
I'd already decided I should go on a big hike today, and the clear
skies reinforced that decision.
2020/08/29 07:28
Lake Mary
2020/08/29 10:02
Lake George is almost as pretty as Lake Mary - from the east, looking
north and west
2020/08/29 10:14
Lake Barrett from the north.
2020/08/29 10:37
in back of T J Lake
2020/08/29 10:37
T J Lake
2020/08/29 11:06
South end of T J Lake, looking north to Crystal Crag and Mammoth
Mountain.
I've already caught the best light of the day for pictures here.
I stayed about half an hour at T J Lake, then decided to continue
hiking up Mammoth Crest.
I could stay here all day, but the sun starts to go behind the Crest
soon.
2020/08/29 11:23
T J Lake from the north
2020/08/29 11:53
There was a steady line of hikers on the trail up to Crystal Lake.
2020/08/29 12:14
2020/08/29 12:16
Lake George and Lake Mary
2020/08/29 12:46
Once I got above the turnoff to Crystal Lake there were almost no other
hikers, I was pleasantly almost alone again.
This was my first view of the Minarets on this trip.
2020/08/29 13:02
2020/08/29 13:14
Twin Lakes, Lake Mamie, Lake Mary, Lake George, and Crystal Lake
2020/08/29 13:15
PANO - scroll right
2020/08/29 13:25
Finally I got to the crest!
The view was awesome, but I still couldn't see the Minarets clearly.
I decided to hike further north for a better view.
This is looking south along the Crest.
2020/08/29 13:50
The Minarets, Mammoth Mountain, and McLead Lake
This is as far north as I went.
2020/08/29 13:52
PANO - scroll right
The Minarets, Mammoth Mountain, and McLead Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Twin
Lakes, Lake Mamie, and Lake Mary.
2020/08/29 13:54
White Mountains in the distance across Owen Valley.
2020/08/29 15:16
After an all too brief 90 minutes on top of Mammoth Crest, I decided it
was time to head back down.
Heading south back to the trail down to Lake George.
2020/08/29 15:19
2020/08/29 15:19
2020/08/29 15:24
2020/08/29 15:27
Back at the trail.
2020/08/29 15:29
Looking west into the San Joaquin river valley.
Six days later this exploded into a the hellscape known as the Creek
Fire.
