Third Stream Crossing Falls

Hiked: 7/17/2020
Distance: 8 miles round trip on trail, use trail, and cross country
Summit Elevation: 5429' at Falls
Elevation Gain: 2050'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.6
Round trip time: 4 hours 45 minutes
Recommended water: 80 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass at Middle Fork Lytle Creek trailhead
Difficulty: Moderate

I headed out to explore a couple of different sections of the Middle Fork of Lytle Creek, but the main goal was Third Stream Crossing Falls. It is a multi-tiered falls more than 100' high. The drive to the trailhead included a couple miles of dirt road with many potholes but otherwise good condition. A couple of sedans made it to the trailhead, but I recommend high clearance. I was the fourth car at the trailhead and all the parties I met on the trail were also headed to the falls.

The trail is in great shape and climbs steadily at reasonable angles. About a mile and change in, the trail splits into a lower trail and upper trail. They merge just before the third stream crossing. Since this was my first time in the area, I took the upper trail. When I reached the third crossing, I decided to head upstream to check out the Middle Fork proper (note: this added at least a mile to the hike compared to just going to the falls). It was mostly wide and clear with easily bypassed obstacles. I went up a little more than half a mile and it still looked clear ahead. Then, I dropped back down and continued downstream past the trail about 200'. On the right was a tributary with high walls as described in Sean Green's report. After a quarter mile of easy scrambling, I reached the bottom of the falls. Water was flowing strongly over the falls into a large pool a few feet deep. A cool mist rose in a radius around the bottom.

Three other hikers were at the falls and we chatted briefly. As they departed, I noticed they started up a steep use trail right of the falls. At first, I thought maybe it was a trail that bypassed the rocks, but when I checked it out, I saw it circled above the falls. The trail was loose dirt and scree at 45 degrees. I followed the hikers up to a ridge where they were resting and enjoying the view. I continued up the use trail on class 2+ rock and scree, while the other hikers turned back. Near the top of the bump, the trail dropped about 100' back to the top of the falls. I crept up to the edge on the both sides of the falls looking for the best vantage point. After some photos, I reversed course and headed back, butt sliding one section of the descent to the bottom of the falls. I plan to head back later in the year for more exploration of Lytle Creek.

Mt. Dana

Hiked: 7/9/2020
Distance: 5.8 miles round trip on trail and use trail
Summit Elevation: 13057'
Prominence: 2417'
Elevation Gain: 3289'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.6
Round trip time: 5 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 132 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on highway 120 at Tioga Pass
Difficulty: Strenuous

Mt. Dana (SPS #99) is the second highest mountain in Yosemite (after Lyell) and the fourth highest mountain I've climbed so far. It is considered one of the easier 13ers, and was certainly easier than Cloudripper, the only other 13er under my belt. However, any hike at elevation can potentially go wrong. AMS is always a wildcard. At less than 6 miles round trip, it is short, but steep, gaining more than 3200'. I drove to the Tioga Pass entrance to Yosemite on highway 120, but parked in a turnout outside the park. I dropped off the road into a meadow and angled for the Mt. Dana trail. Just past the second small lake, I found the trail. The first mile of the trail is relatively mild, gaining only 600' as it breaks above the tree line.

From Tioga Pass

Leaving the tree line

The second mile gains about 1300' and views start to open up behind you. Above the tree line, I spotted several marmots. Marmots are always fun (unless they chew up your car wiring). Around 11400', I ran into the first large cairn. The grasslands transitioned into a talus field. Views started to open up behind, including Saddlebag Lake. You also hit a plateau that provides a short break from the relentless climb. I stopped to take a break at 12000' just past the plateau area at the base of the final wedge. I had been moving steadily to this point and could feel the altitude. That feeling tends to reduce my appetite, but I forced myself to eat something to keep my energy up.

First large cairn

Steep talus

The final 1000' is gained in a half mile. After the break, I continued up at a slower pace. I ran into a snow field with footprints through it. Footing was fine and the snow was consolidated and about 3' deep. I was glad I had a trekking pole. I was expecting some class 2 on the steep talus, but I only remember using my hands once or twice. It was just steep class 1. I worked my way up keeping my heart rate down. Soon enough, I arrived at the summit and spectacular 360 views. At this point, I had the entire mountain to myself. I was blown away by the views. Mono Lake looked huge and blue and I could see a lot of well known Sierra Peaks like Cathedral and Ritter. Bang for the buck, this hike is right up there with the Mist Trail to Half Dome and Mount St. Helens. Despite moving slowly at the end, I made the summit in around 3 hours. I took dozens of photos and some video, then relaxed. When I started down, I began running into other hikers coming up. I met 8 other hikers met on the way down. The last guy was moving quickly around 11500' with no backpack, just a one liter bottle of water. He said he underestimated the hike and was already rationing his water. I gave him my last half liter bottle and wished him luck. It was still a paltry amount of water to complete the hike. I ended up drinking 148 oz for the round trip. I got down faster than up and finished the round trip in just 5.5 hours including all breaks. I thought it might take me up to 7 hours so I was pleasantly surprised. Mt. Dana was awesome.

Mono Lake, my family was checking out the lake while I was on Dana

Looking back toward Tioga Pass, Mount Conness distant center

Descending

Another hiker coming up below the snowfield

The background music in the video is the outro for "Goodbye to Love", the best song ever written by The Carpenters IMHO. It has an interesting backstory as the best song written by a struggling songwriter in a 1940 Bing Crosby movie. The song was mentioned but never heard in the film, inspiring Richard Carpenter to write it.

Devils Postpile and Rainbow Falls

Hiked: 7/8/2020
Distance: 5.1 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 7355' (at the falls)
Elevation Gain: 631'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.5
Round trip time: 2 hours
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: $10 car day use fee at Reds Meadow Road
Difficulty: Easy

We went out for another popular hike to Devils Postpile and Rainbow Falls. The road only re-opened recently but the shuttle was still down. The Postpile is usually open from June-October. With limited parking, we started at 8:00 AM. The parking lot was about 75% full. It's only 0.4 miles to the Postpile and we jockeyed for photos with a few other groups. The basalt columns made more of an impression on me looking at the photos than they did at the time. We continued another two miles on trail to Rainbow Falls. We were passed on the way by at least two dozen trail runners. On the way out, there were more runners than hikers. There are two upper viewing spots for the falls, both about the same. At this time of day, we didn't get the rainbow effect, but there was a good amount of mist rising from the bottom. The way back was fraught with a steady stream of people on the way out. This was Ripley's second hike and again, she refused bottled water, drinking her fill from the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River.

Rainbow Falls

Mammoth Mountain

Hiked: 7/7/2020
Distance: N/A
Summit Elevation: 11030'
Prominence: 1647'
Elevation Gain: 0'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0
Round trip time: 1 hour
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Main Lodge parking lot
Difficulty: Easy

We tried to ride the gondolas first thing in the morning, but they were shut down due to high wind. We drove to the earthquake fault nearby to check it out. We returned an hour later, but they still weren't running. Finally, we made a third attempt after hiking to Crystal Lake, and rode to the summit. The crowd was mainly mountain bikers. We came back in the afternoon and got to ride up. There is an intermediate stop at McCoy Station where a lot of bikers were getting off. To reach the true summit from the top, we exited the building turned left and hiked up about 50' where a benchmark and another sign was located. We spent a little time in the museum at the top, then rode down. Great views.

Earthquake fault

Mammoth

Leaving McCoy station with Leisa

Minarets and Lyell (I think)

Mammoth Crest

Crystal Lake

Hiked: 7/7/2020
Distance: 3.7 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 9630'
Elevation Gain: 892'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.7
Round trip time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Lake George
Difficulty: Easy

Our family went on vacation to Mammoth Lakes, first time for everyone. Most of the resort area had recently re-opened for business. With many beaches closed again, it was swarming with people. I can't imagine what it is like during peak winter season, but I understand the draw with so much beauty around.

The first hike on the agenda was Crystal Lake. It's short but has steady gain at elevations over 9000'. Due to crowds, we had to find parking along the side of the road, well before the trailhead. The stats are slightly inflated because we started a distance from the trailhead and I initially led us the wrong direction. It's a popular hike and there were many people on the trail from the start. Many were masked. This was also the first hike for our dog, Ripley. She handled the trail easily, but was sometimes distracted by squirrels and other dogs. The views were incredible as we climbed above Lake George. At Crystal Lake, Ripley filled up on water. I got a closer look at Crystal Crag as a possible future hike. The normal route is a multi-pitch 5.7 up the north face, but there is supposed to be a class 3-4 route on the east side.

Crystal Crag north side

Lake George (near) and Lake Mary

Ripley loves cold mountain lake water

East side of Crystal Crag