Distance: 11 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 7542' (North Dome), 8522' (Indian Rock)
Elevation Gain: 2576'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.0
Round trip time: 5 hours 35 minutes
Recommended water: 96 oz.
Parking/Fees: $35 National Parks Fee (one car for 7 days)
Difficulty: Moderate
Leisa and I were camping in Yosemite Valley for the weekend at Lower Pines Campground. We decided to hike to North Dome, one of the giant granite domes on the north side of the valley opposite Half Dome. We drove up Tioga Pass Road to the Porcupine Creek trailhead. The wide trail heads south through open forests of tall cedars and pines. The first quarter mile or so was paved. The trailhead was higher than North Dome, so much of the gain was on the way back. We didn't see North Dome until the last mile when we crested the valley rim. The trail has two sharp switchbacks to follow a ledge down a 100' wall, leading to the base of the dome. From there, it was an easy walk up. There was a benchmark on the high point stamped "Datum B". Most of the popular valley destinations lack registers, including this one. We continued to the end of the dome for closer views of the valley. Notable views include Half Dome, Mount Starr King, Clouds Rest, and Basket Dome. North Dome was a great place to hang out and several other parties arrived not long after. Smoke cast a haze across the valley, but we've been in worse this year.
We started back the way we came, taking a short cut to the trail. When we reached the junction with the Indian Rock trail, we took it and quickly arrived at the Natural Arch. We circled around behind the arch and found easier access to it. From there, we continued on a use trail on the east side of the ridge toward Indian Rock summit. Looking at GPS tracks posted on various web sites, it seems only half of the people who claim Indian Rock actually got near it. We passed a second rock cluster where the use trail ended, then open country got us to the base of Indian Rock. Some class 2 slabs reached the spine of Indian Rock, where two points on the north end looked about equal. I thought the point along the main spine was slightly higher and scambled to the high point using chunky holds. I found no marks or register. Leisa discovered a trail on Alltrails that appeared to be on the west side. She didn't want to return the way we came, so we started back on the west side looking for a trail. We continued along cross country until I thought I saw a trail 50' below. We dropped down to discover it wasn't a trail, then resigned ourselves to a cross country return. I enjoyed this off trail romp, Leisa not so much. We got back to the trail a little below the junction and hiked the rest of the way without indicident.
You guys weren't too far from us. We were just up the road from you at Polly Dome.
ReplyDeleteNorth Dome looks pretty cool. Nice Bobcat sighting.
Madison,
DeleteWe were wondering what you were up to when we hiking. That bobcat is the largest I've seen. Wildlife in the Valley seems very healthy.