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.