Adventure: 008, Hike 017 –
Tuolumne Meadows to Glen Aulin/McGee Lake
Team: Thing One, Thing Two
Date: June 19, 2012
Location: Tuolumne Meadows,
Yosemite
Hike Info:
Trail: Pacific Crest Trail
Distance: 6.3
Duration: 4:15
Elevation Rise:
We finally make it to Tuolumne Meadows at 1pm. That is a long drive. The Cat has a friend doing the PCT--Maya. We thought that she was approaching Tuolumne Meadows Wednesday. Turned out she was there a week before. Oh well. I did ask some PCTers who were lounging around the Tuolumne store if they had heard of Maya. They had not, but now that I read her log, I can understand.
We get started at 2 from the Lembert Dome stables parking lot.
Thing Two has some new boots on. So Thing One carry her old boots in
case these do not work out. The trail is wide and splits off of the
John Muir Trail, which goes past Soda Springs and Parson Lodge. Our
trail follows the Pacific Crest Trail northwest ward. We break away
from Tuolumne Meadows and climb a little ridge. Delaney Creek is just
over the ridge. This creek has provided us much entertainment. The
coupe of times we have gone a ways on this trail, this creek has been
our ending destination. Glen Aulin draws many people who normally do
not step into the alpine air of Yosemite. Consequently, they
sometimes have issues with some of the simple tasks of of hiking—such
as crossing a creek. Most accept help, many are scared of falling in,
some try to cross on their own. It is an interesting study of human
nature.We make it across the creek by walking on stones—the creek is not very high and this is a drought year. Our travel continues. We shortly come back to the Tuolumne River. This time, if anything, it is more meandering and wider than around Tuolumne Meadows. The mountains in the background and the meadows by river, fair weather under warm blue skies—we could stay here forever.
We stop for a lunch break by one of the scenic spots—that is not
saying much since they are all scenic. Enjoying 20 minutes or more of
paradise. After lunch we cross some large glaciated granite. And then
we cross the Tuolumne River, that is on a foot bridge. It would have
been fun crossing this river by wading it.We shortly start down a good slope, which we will continue till we reach Glen Aulin. As we look to the right, we see Tuolumne Falls cascading down. Thing One's comment—this is at least as good as Spokane Falls. Thing Two's response—better, God made it.
As we continue down, we see the White Cascades—soooo good. This
is a wondrous trail.
We get to Glen Aulin junction, about a quarter of a mile from Glen Aulin itself. The NPS would like us to camp a mile from Glen Aulin. So we have a decision to make: continue on the PCT and go up Cold Creek on the other side of Glen Aulin; go down the Tuolumne River for about a mile; or go to left to McGee Lake. At the end of the decision, we go to McGee Lake mostly because it is on our trail Thursday. On the map, it is rather uninviting, but it does have the virtue of cutting off a little distance Thursday. Also Wednesday we will take a day hike down the Tuolumne River and see the Falls.
So to McGee we go. For the past 20 minutes, we have been attacked by a swarm of mosquito’s. So out comes the repellent. Much better. Shortly we get to McGee Lake. We drop our packs and Thing One searches for a place to camp. There is a place close to where we dropped our packs, but it looks a bit infested with pests. So I go the length of the lake looking for a spot—we are alone at this lake. Finally after walking the full third of a mile of the lake Thing One finds a place. Returning to Thing Two with the good news and the packs, Thing One hears a voice calling rom on high. Not a mystical calling, but Thing Two with a revelation. She had gone on a bathroom run and found a perfectly good camp spot just 40 yards from where we dropped the packs. It is on top of a rock outcropping, higher up than most misquotes are willing to climb. So here we stay, 30' above the lake. We drop our packs for the final time today at 6:15.
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