We got up early on the 8th of August to head Tuolumne Meadows via the only reasonable route...a most amazing route. We had to go into Yosemite Valley past what has to be some of the most amazing rock formations on the Planet. We got out in El Cap Meadows and stared at these walls like it was our first time ever seeing them. We couldn’t see a single party on El Cap (too hot likely). And in general the park was very quiet.
It was odd going to Yosemite and not climbing while there. Dave started twitching and broke out into some gibberish about the Captain calling him, wanting to do another big wall, his not being to old, etc. He’ll get his fix soon because we’ll be back in a few weeks and will climb.
After a short time admiring this place, we headed to Tuolumne Meadows. This was to be my first time to Tuolumne. I’d long heard of how beautiful it was, as well as the fun climbing on ‘peanuts.’
It is clear while this place’s nickname is the ‘granite planet’. There is granite everywhere.
And hikers – holy moly, I’d never seen so many hikers in my life. The park was absolutely jam packed with cars from hikers. Crazy.
We checked to verify that there were no camp sites available (there was none), then proceeded to go to Lembert Dome to climb “Cry In Time Again.”
This 10a multi-pitch climb is best described as sustained face climbing that is a bit sporty at times. In other words, the bolts are a long way apart meaning a fall could result in a 60’ or 70’ screaming whipper in some spots. Gack.
The first pitch Dave declared the entry price pitch because of its gnarly slab moves.
I hate those types of moves! The top two pitches featured the infamous Tuolumne Peanuts which are feldspar crystals sticking out of the granite. Aside from the unpleasant slab moves, the climb was great fun and a good introduction to Tuolumne climbing. See what Dave has to say about slab climbing in the video at the bottom of this blog entry.
We hiked down the backside gathered our gear and headed back to the truck. We then went back to Lembert Dome with Pente. You see, her predecessor, Puma the cat, has two cat first ascents: lembert (not to the top) and another dome I'm blanking the name on. We wanted to take Pente over to Lembert to see if she'd do a second cat first ascent.
She, unlike Puma, did not charge up. She got a bit distracted by the tourists trying to kill themselves on the slabs high above. And very distracted by the dirt all around ... dirt she wanted to roll in.
We decided that Puma was more a natural climber, and Pente a more natural dirtbag. After taking her back to the truck, we headed to the creek next to the TM campsites to enjoy a beer with our aching feet in the water. It is quite a beautiful setting.
Following our adult beverage, we drove out of the park to bivy at Tioga Lake. While many were furiously fishing for their dinner, we merely opened the refrigerator and pulled out two salmon steaks. Yum.
Our second day in the Meadows was August 10 - Dave's 48th Birthday! Because it was Dave’s birthday, everything today was as he wanted. First, we enjoyed a Malt O’Meal breakfast overlooking Tioga Lake.
At the picnic table, Pente found some supreme dirt to roll in. After a roll, she looked nothing like her normal self. I imagine cats do this to better blend into their surroundings. For her, it works like a charm. Of course, this meant Dave was on a mission to get that cat clean! She had worked the dirt so deeply into her coat that water had to be used to get her even a little bit clean.
After cleaning, we hopped in the truck and headed back into the park. Our goal was to secure a camp site in the Tuolumne Meadows campground. This actually went much faster than either of us anticipated. Plus, we got the site that Dave had set his sights on.
Next on the agenda was heading over to Fairview Dome to climb Lucky Streak. By the book, Lucky Streak is a 5.10d 7-pitch climb. There was one party on the climb when we arrived. Because they were moving slowly, we goofed off at the base and tried to stay warm in the sun. It was a bit chilly in the shade.
Finally, the party had moved up the wall far enough, so Dave started up the route. He linked the first two pitches together.
I started climbing when the first big THWAPP!!! sounded. Seems the party above us dropped a pair of Chacos or Tevas. Happily they didn’t hit either of us. The only damage was our being startled and knowing that one of the party above us was going to have a most unpleasant descent scramble in their climbing shoes. Ow!
We goofed off a wee bit at the belay ledge waiting for the party above us to move higher. After a while, Dave headed up the crux pitch. This pitch starts off with an awkward strenuous left-leaning finger crack which leads to a technical continuous left-leaning corner with pesky gear placements. Dave fired it and off I went. In the midst of the pitch I hear an explosion just to my left and below Dave. Turns out the party above dropped their second pair of Chacos/Tevas. The good news was – as Dave put it – at least they can’t drop any more shoes on us.
Linking the final pitches we topped the climb with a total of five pitches. By the time we were at the top, our feet were KILLING us! I was so happy that I’d carried my descent shoes. It was glorious ripping the climbing shoes off my screaming dogs. All-in-all, this was a really fabulous climb.
We hiked down and had a sandwich then headed to the car. Next up on the agenda for Dave’s birthday was to get a beer and head to the campground creek. He wanted to get in! The water in the creek was freezing! I could barely put my feet in. Dave got all the way in though. He’s a madman!
After drying in the sun, we headed over to the Tuolumne Meadows store to see if there was any cake to celebrate his b’day with. All we could manage was a couple of Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale – the best beer! We sat at the picnic tables and enjoyed the birthday grub and people-watched.
As the sun set, we headed to the camper for dinner. On the menu tonight was Tempeh Spaghetti. Yummy! Finally, after dinner, Dave wanted his gifts. Earlier in the day he’d picked up his gift and declared it a bottle of Don Julio Tequila. Rascal. I had him believing he’d guessed it correctly and told him he was not to be fondling his gifts any more if he was so good at guessing them. Heh heh.
Before the gift, I gave him some special cards. The first was from Pente. I even had a paw print of hers in it. Getting the paw print in the card (and wiping all the other paw prints that she left in the house afterward) was epic. Next he was given a card from the birds. Each bird had signed the card with a signature bite. Finally, he opened his gift and was surprised it was not a bottle of tequila, but instead a camera he’d ogled in the store a few months before. I think he liked it.
Happy birthday Dave!
On Monday, the 11th,we rose early today because we have only ½ a day to play. We decided to climb Cathedral Peak.
This involves about a 3.5 mile hike to the steepest portion of the peak, then some technical climbing to reach the summit. The hike went well and there weren’t too many other parties on the wall. Still, to stay away from them, Dave chose a line to the right of the route which made the climb a bit more difficult. It was much nicer not worrying about someone above knocking a rock on top of us.
With simul-climbing, we completed the 700’ of 5.8 max climbing with two really long simul pitches and one short pitch to the top.
The view from the 10,950’ summit is amazing. One can see Half Dome, Sentinel, and the Higher Cathedral in the distance – these are formations in Yosemite Valley.
In addition, one can see Mathes Crest, Echo Peak, Unicorn Peak, Lembert Dome, Pywiack Dome, Fairview Dome, Eichorn Pinnacle, as well as countless others. The weather was very clear and warm. I had worried I’d be a bit cold on top, but that was not the case at all.
After enjoying the tiny summit (about 50 sf), we down climbed and scrambled off the back side.
Then we gathered our stuff and hiked back out to the truck. We cleaned up and headed to a place that I’d long heard of and was finally going to get to see first hand: The Lee Vining Mobil Station.
Yes, a Mobil gas station. This place in Lee Vining California (just east of the Tioga Pass) is well-known as much more than a Mobil Station though. This place serves fish tacos, margaritas, has live music and at times even trapeze artists at work. One can buy gas (a mere 4.99 per gallon for Regular gas), fishing poles, knives, posters and other assorted necessities. It is situated in a great place overlooking Mono Lake. We enjoyed a really great meal of fish tacos then hopped in the truck for the long drive home. We made it to just east of Ely Nevada before finding a nice quiet side road in a pinyon forest to spend the night.
On the 12th, we got up and continued the long drive home. I was anxious to see my birds. And though the camper is deluxe, it will be nice to sleep in our normal bed tonight. The next few days, I’m going to rest – plus we have some work to do. We need to get it done before out next mini-adventure: a trip to Vedavoo in Southern Wyoming.
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