My Road It May Be Lonely, Just Because It’s Not Paved, It’s Good For Drifting, Drifting Away…. – Eddie Vedder
In August, 2022, I did a solo backpack trip from Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite Valley. I’ve hiked hundreds of miles in Yosemite throughout my life, but I’ve never hiked one of the more popular routes, Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite Valley via the John Muir Trail. I chose this because I am continuing my pursuit of section hiking the JMT and this would knock out the Yosemite to Mammoth section. The plan was to do this over two nights, and get back to Curry Village in time to jump on the YARTS transit to take the bus back to my car. I left home the day before, and got to the Tuolumne Meadows Ranger Station before they closed so I could get the speech and pull my permit. After that, it was directly to the Whoa Nelly Deli in Lee Vining for a burger. I pulled into The Whoa Nellie Deli in Lee Vining for the best gas station food in the world. Where else can you get lobster taquitos at a Chevron? After that, it was a quick trip over to the Tioga Lodge, where I finished packing my gear, climbed into bed and got a good night sleep. My alarm was set for 6am. That would afford me time to take a shower, head back to Whoa Nellie Deli for breakfast to go and a coffee, pick up a sandwich for the first day on trail and be at the trailhead before 8am. And by 7am, I was eating a Bagel with Lox, sipping coffee, and heading up Tioga Pass.
This stretch of the John Muir Trail (JMT), from the parking lot to the Cathedral Lakes Parking lot, along the Tuolumne is amazing. The water quetly flows over granite slabs, and surprisingly, there’s not a lot of people (probably because the Tuolumne Meadows campground was closed for repairs). The hiking is flat, and I made good time even while stopping to take in the solitude and beauty. Eventually, you hit the spur trail to Cathedral Lakes parking lot and I started to see a few more people. The initial 3/4 mile from the spur is rather steep. After starting off so gently, it’s a little dose of reality. Soon enough, I was starting to glimpse the spires of Cathedral Peak above me, and by noon, my pack was off, and I was eating a sandwich on the banks of Cathedral Creek. As I continued hiking, I was stopped by a friendly backcountry ranger. He checked my permit, made sure I had a bear can, and then had a pleasant conversation. I thanked him for being out there and let him know I appreciate him. The only time I see backcountry rangers these days is in Yosemite, and they are always welcoming and friendly. I continued on up over a ridge, past the signed turn off for Lower Cathedral Lake and spotted a deer in a meadow. At this point in my life, I’ve probably seen a million deer, but they are always cool to watch in the wild. Soon enough, I hit the spur to Upper Cathedral Lake. I could see a few tents and people scattered on the eastern shore, so I crossed the inlet, climbed over some rocks and soon enough found a great campsite on the northern shore in the trees, with rocks for shelter, a view of the lake, granite slabs for reclining on, and Cathedral peak behind me. This would do just fine for the night. I found my home.
After a rather chilly night, I woke up to another bluebird Yosemite morning. Clear skies, and that chill that comes from waking up over 10,000′ in elevation. I went down to the lake and could see a couple people fishing on the other side, but there was complete silence. It’s the best feeling. Today would be a long day. Destination Unknown. I know I just didn’t want to camp in Little Yosemite Valley. I had my eye on a few campsite possibilities, but it would depend on how my legs were feeling, as it was going to be another warm day. Soon enough I was on trail, marveling at the scenery. Within a few minutes I was climbing up to Cathedral Pass, and a few switchbacks later, I was over it. As I walked thru the meadow and turned around, the view of Cathedral Peak was inspiring to say the least.
The problem with Cathedral Pass, is even though you’ve crossed over, there’s still more climbing to do. And when you are focused on the long day of downhill that is coming, it makes the climbing just a bit harder, because it’s unexpected. Regardless, when the climbing was done, I was rewarded with an amazing view of the Clark Range.
Walking was peaceful and I had a great pace. I saw only a couple people and everyone marveled at how lucky we were to be in such a great and majestic place. I took my pack off, stretched a bit, and refilled my water at Long Meadow Creek. The sound of the bubbling water weaving its way thru the rocks, on its way to join Cathedral Creek, then Echo Creek, and ultimately the Merced River, and then flow thru Yosemite Valley was the only sounds I could hear. Perfection.
I continued on, reaching the large meadow at Sunrise. Sunrise is a popular destination and one of the Yosemite High Sierra Camps is set there, but thankfully, it was shut down due to Covid and infrastructure issues, and besides a couple voices I could hear behind some rocks from someone camping, I had the meadow to myself. The view, looking east at the Matthes Crest was awe inspiring. I will be spending time on the other side of the Crest in 2025. I can’t wait.
After a long downhill to Sunrise Meadow, there’s a quick bump that is very steep. Maybe a half mile? Regardless, my legs did not appreciate it. I stopped and talked to a couple that had to call off the JMT when they reached Tuolumne Meadows due to a family emergency, They were back this year to finish it. They were also going to summit Clouds Rest and Half Dome in the process. They were all smiles. Once you get over that bump, you walk thru the forest and know that eventually you have to start seriously dropping in elevation to get to the Valley. The weather was hot, mid 80’s and I was starting to run low on water. I turned a corner, and finally found the drop. It was a long arduous series of steep switchbacks. The downhill was tough on my knees, but if going the opposite direction, the climb and the heat would have been a bitch! Pick your poison. Instead of fighting the downhill, I took off my pack stretched and ate a snack of beef jerky and a Gu. Soon enough I was back on trail, powering thru the turn by turn downhill and making good time. I met a solo female hiker, living a summer out of her van. She was somehow able to get a permit to hike from the valley to Tuolumne Meadows. She had no idea how long she would be out and no idea how she would get back. I mentioned YARTS to her and the hikers shuttle. She hadn’t given it a second of thought. I wished her luck and as I kept walking, I remember thinking how great it must be to be that carefree.
Soon enough I tanked up on water, drank a liter, refilled both my bottles and kept moving. I had a second burst of energy and was making good time. I was now at the fire scar that is about 2 miles to the northeast of Half Dome. I could look to the east and see Echo Valley below me and the high peaks beyond. I also could hear a strange sound coming from my phone. Two days of texts started coming thru. Which meant I had reception for the first time. I kept going and soon enough found myself among heavy overgrown brush along Sunrise Creek. This was going to make a nice spot for a place to call home. So after a bit of searching, I found a great site, with a flat spot for my tent, on the edge, looking down at Echo Valley. I could hear the Merced River in the distance. It would be perfect.
I woke up, sat outside my tent, warmed up some water for my coffee and marveled at my view. Less than 5 miles away from me were countless tourists, crammed into Yosemite Valley, fighting for parking spots, waiting in long lines for concessions and food. Me? I had complete silence, and a view that rivaled anything in the valley. As sad as I was to leave this spot, I know I had a long day ahead of me, as I needed to be back in Yosemite Valley by 2:30 to grab the YARTS bus back up to Tuolumne Meadows to get to my car. So I packed up, made sure the site was spotless, and I was on trail. The hike was beautiful. I passed a deer grazing in the wildflowers and soon I was getting close up views of Half Dome.
I reached the junction of the Half Dome trail and it went from a lonely isolated country road to feeling like I was on the 405 in Los Angeles during rush hour. In a little over a mile, as I descended and they climbed, I counted over 125 people. But more alarming was the type of people I saw. I saw people clearly in no shape to make it to the top, sucking air, asking me how much longer (they had a loooong way to go), etc. I had men (and women) dragging their significant other along with them and from the look of them, clearly had zero desire to be there. It was then I really began to appreciate the rangers. They must have to deal with these people on a regular basis.
I continued down, past Little Yosemite Valley, and was soon standing on the bridge at Nevada Fall.
I continued down the John Muir Trail. Soon the trail went from dirt to concrete. A stark reminder my journey was almost over. After a long series of steep downhill, I made one final turn saw the Vernal Falls footbridge and the last reminder of reality set in.
I made quick work of the final few miles and was soon at the Happy Isles trailhead. I walked down thru Curry Village, went into the general store, picked up a Drumstick and a Diet Pepsi, found a rocking chair next to the visitor center in Curry, took off my pack and relaxed. I even ended up taking a quick nap. When I woke, I had a new friend.
I have nothing but wonderful things to say about YARTS. I’ve taken their busses numerous times. They are always on time, professional, and go out of the way to accomodate you. Today was no exception. I jumped on the bus. My stop was the Tuolumne Meadows Ranger Station. From there it would be a mile walk to the parking lot. When I told the driver where my vehicle was, he said it’s too bad the bus can’t go all the way to the parking lot. I agreed. An hour later, as we were nearing the ranger station, he put on his right turn signal, and started driving down the road I was supposed to be walking. He drove right into the parking lot! He asked where my car was. I pointed it out and he pulled the bus right up to my car. YARTS forever!!! I thanked him profusely. As always, I took off all my gnarly funky clothes, pulled out my stash of clean clothes, put on some deodorant, and I was off. Back thru Tuolumne Meadows, down past the crowded valley, and on my way to Mariposa for a burger and Diet Pepsi at 1850 Brewery. What an amazing few days in Yosemite. I am so lucky to enjoy the mountains. So lucky to live close to the mountains. So lucky to be able to find secret spots to enjoy those mountains. So lucky to be fit enough to visit those mountains. I’m just so damn lucky…. Until next time.
