Guide to Yosemite / A handbook of the trails and roads of Yosemite valley and the adjacent region

by Ansel F. Hall

From Yosemite Village we follow the road south of the river, past Camp Curry to Happy Isles Bridge. There we turn left on the Glacier Point Trail and follow Trail Trip 1 to the junction at the top of Nevada Falls. Again turning left we skirt the south base of Liberty Cap and climb 200 feet to the Little Yosemite Valley. After following along the margin of the placid Merced we veer abruptly to the left at the first trail junction. Straight ahead is Little Yosemite (Trail Trip 13). Our route mounts the timbered slope to the northward and we now and then catch glimpses of the round dome of Mt. Starr King across Little Yosemite. A climb of 800 feet takes us to the junction where the Half Dome Trail (Trail Trip 14) turns northwest. We take the right-hand trail, which trends eastward along a gently sloping bench. The Clouds Rest Trail (Trail Trip 5) now branches northward directly up the slope.

Our trail bears eastward and shortly crosses a small branch of Sunrise Creek. The trail now follows up the north bank of Sunrise Creek, crossing about a mile above to the south side. One-half mile further is Hopkins Meadow and a junction where the Merced Lake Trail (Trail Trip 7) turns right. Horse-feed is here moderately abundant and camp sites fair. The Sunrise Trail continues up the canyon and is shortly joined by the Forsyth Pass Trail from the north (Trail Trip 5). Reaching the head of Sunrise Creek and ascending the east flank of Sunrise Mountain by long sandy zigzags, the trail emerges at several vantage points from which Mt. Clark is most advantageously seen to the south. The trail now leads almost level through lodgepole pine and fir forests, emerging suddenly at the foot of Long Meadow. To the north is the sharp spire of Columbia Finger (Alt. 10,700) and Tenaya Peak (Alt. 10,300) at the left. Horse-feed is abundant here late in the season but the meadow is generally cold. There is no fishing in the creek. Just beyond the 400-foot ridge to the west is Mildred Lake, in which are some very large trout.

After following up Long Meadow, the trail rounds the eastern base of Columbia Finger, passing over glaciated granite and thru stunted forests. The serrate crest of Echo Peak (Alt. 11,100) towers imposingly at the right across the canyon. A rise of a few feet takes us over Cathedral Pass (Alt. 9850). Just beyond is a beautiful unnamed lake above which the spires of Cathedral Peak rise impressively at the north. Skirting the east shore of this little lake at about timber line, the trail bears northward across a sandy plateau where white bark pine grows abundantly. To the west, down the canyon, can be seen the upper end of Cathedral Lake (Alt. 9250) about one mile distant. Here camping and fishing are good. The lake was stocked long ago and re-stocked in 1915 by fish from Tuolumne Meadows. Continuing around the west flank of Cathedral Peak the trail gradually bears northeast, descending into denser forests of lodgepole pine, fir and hemlock. To the left can be seen the summit of Fairview Dome (Alt. 9250) about one mile distant. A gradual descent through the dense forest, which is especially noted for its many beautiful mountain hemlocks, takes us finally to the south edge of Tuolumne Meadows, where the trail joins the Tioga Road. The ranger camp and Sierra Club Lodge are about one mile east.

TRAIL TRIP 9

YOSEMITE TO EAGLE PEAK, EL CAPITAN AND GENTRY

(14 miles. Eagle Peak and return, 13 miles—8 hours)

The round trip to the summit of Eagle Peak via Yosemite Falls Trail is one of the most attractive of one-day Yosemite excursions. From the valley to the crest of El Capitan via the Yosemite Falls Trail, returning via Gentry and the Big Oak Flat Road, is too long and hard a trip to be attempted in one day except by the most hardened walkers. The trail to Eagle Peak is excellent, but from that point to the summit of El Capitan it is in poor condition. From this point along the north rim to Gentry the route is so overgrown by brush as to be almost impassable.

From Yosemite we follow Trail Trip 3 as far as the trail junction above the zigzags west of the Upper Yosemite Fall. Here we continue straight ahead, paralleling Yosemite Creek, to another junction a quarter of a mile above. The trail to the north leads to Ten Lakes and Hetch Hetchy (Trail Trips 10 and 11). We turn to the left, climbing westward near the north bank of Eagle Creek over an old terminal moraine. One mile from the junction is Eagle Peak Meadow (Alt. 7200), where are good camp sites and forage. Ascending the creek to its source, the trail continues south along the ridge, climbing abruptly the last half mile to Eagle Peak (Alt. 7333), one of Yosemite's finest lookout points. To the east the 3800-foot precipice gives a vast impression of depth.

About one-third mile from the summit the little-used El Capitan Trail branches to the west. Descending by sharp switchbacks to the head of a small draw, the trail follows the rim westward thru a brushy forest, undulating over the flat divides between several brooklets. Swinging southward our trail emerges on an open transverse ridge, which it follows a short distance to the summit of El Capitan (Alt. 7564), from which is a commanding outlook both up and down the valley. It is possible to carefully descend towards the southeast to the rim, where a slightly extending ledge allows one to peer over the sheer wall of the 3000-foot cliff.