Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - June 19th
Day 64: Wednesday 19th June Lyell Canyon – Glen Aulin
When I crossed Donohue pass I entered the Yosemite National Park. Yosemite
Valley was set aside as a State Park in 1864 and expanded and made into a National Park
in 1890. It contains some of the most impressive rock scenery in the world, with sheer
rock walls, magnificent waterfalls and huge bare granite domes. The Yosemite Valley
contains El Capitan (El Cap), a Mecca for extreme rock climbers, with a granite buttress
which rises 3,600ft above the valley floor and Half Dome, one the most photographed
mountain in the world, which had been a massive dome, half of which had been eroded
away by the glacier flowing down Yosemite Valley in the last ice-age. The PCT avoided
the main Yosemite Valley, to avoid adding to the already overcrowded tourist attraction
and instead passed through a region of smaller domes in the northern part of the
National Park.
There was a big gathering of thru-hikers at Tuolumne Meadows. There was a well-
stocked store, Post Office and café on the scenic highway, the Tioga Pass Road. The
Tioga Pass Road was the first paved road across the Sierra Nevada north of Walker Pass
and it is only open for a few months in the summer. Everyone picks up supply packages,
sorts out gear and tries to reduce pack load now that the highest part of the route has
been completed. I sent home my ice axe, which I had hardly used, since my walking poles
worked very well in the snow. Among the hikers at Tuolumne were “Billy Goat” (&
Mary), “Purboy”, “Iron Man”, “Jaybird”, Tom and Katie, “Got to go Linda” and
“Smokey”. I also met Ed and Peter for the first time. Ed was born in Manchester and
emigrated to Toronto, Canada with his young family in the 1970’s. He was walking the
PCT with his son, Peter. They would have to finish by the end of august if they were to
complete the route, as Peter is a teacher and had to be back in school in early
September. Ed, at age 65, was the oldest thru-hiker I met on my hike. They were among
the heaviest laden thru-hikers and were carrying up to 10 days food in addition to being
well equipped for the mountains. They had had bear problems the previous night, when
camped high up Lyell Canyon. A bear had got hold of their bear canister and played with
it, trying to open it up, until it eventually gave up. It was a good job it was Ed and Peter
since very few thru-hikers were carrying the legally required bear canisters.
I expected the next section of the trail to Sonora Pass to be the toughest of the PCT.
The trail went across the grain of the land, climbing steeply over ridges, then dropping
down sharply, crossing difficult creeks in the valley bottoms before climbing straight up
the other side. Snow could still be expected on the trail on the north-facing slopes.
I left about 2pm after eating both breakfast and lunch at the café. Storm clouds were
gathering as I left and it looked as if we would get our first rain for a month. The route
followed the Tuolumne River down to the junction with Glen Aulin, where I camped early
to make use of the bear boxes provided for food storage. I was joined there by “Purboy”,
“Jaybird”, “Iron Man”, Tom and Katie, Peter and Ed. I learnt from them that
“Grasshopper” had suffered from snow blindness in the Sierras having sent his
sunglasses home after getting through the Mojave Desert assuming that he wouldn’t
need them! There were reports of a fire north of the Sonora Pass, started when a light
aircraft crashed into the woods. Some tourists had been filming the aircraft when there
was a catastrophic failure causing the wings to fall off the aircraft! It was not clear
whether this would affect the PCT.
After we had gone to bed Peter was heard shouting out. A bear was in the camp but
wandered off without causing any problems. Glen Aulin Campground was another site
about which tales were told of bears rampaging through the tents in search of food.
Day 64: 11.4 miles 4.36 hours Camp: Glen Aulin
When I crossed Donohue pass I entered the Yosemite National Park. Yosemite
Valley was set aside as a State Park in 1864 and expanded and made into a National Park
in 1890. It contains some of the most impressive rock scenery in the world, with sheer
rock walls, magnificent waterfalls and huge bare granite domes. The Yosemite Valley
contains El Capitan (El Cap), a Mecca for extreme rock climbers, with a granite buttress
which rises 3,600ft above the valley floor and Half Dome, one the most photographed
mountain in the world, which had been a massive dome, half of which had been eroded
away by the glacier flowing down Yosemite Valley in the last ice-age. The PCT avoided
the main Yosemite Valley, to avoid adding to the already overcrowded tourist attraction
and instead passed through a region of smaller domes in the northern part of the
National Park.
There was a big gathering of thru-hikers at Tuolumne Meadows. There was a well-
stocked store, Post Office and café on the scenic highway, the Tioga Pass Road. The
Tioga Pass Road was the first paved road across the Sierra Nevada north of Walker Pass
and it is only open for a few months in the summer. Everyone picks up supply packages,
sorts out gear and tries to reduce pack load now that the highest part of the route has
been completed. I sent home my ice axe, which I had hardly used, since my walking poles
worked very well in the snow. Among the hikers at Tuolumne were “Billy Goat” (&
Mary), “Purboy”, “Iron Man”, “Jaybird”, Tom and Katie, “Got to go Linda” and
“Smokey”. I also met Ed and Peter for the first time. Ed was born in Manchester and
emigrated to Toronto, Canada with his young family in the 1970’s. He was walking the
PCT with his son, Peter. They would have to finish by the end of august if they were to
complete the route, as Peter is a teacher and had to be back in school in early
September. Ed, at age 65, was the oldest thru-hiker I met on my hike. They were among
the heaviest laden thru-hikers and were carrying up to 10 days food in addition to being
well equipped for the mountains. They had had bear problems the previous night, when
camped high up Lyell Canyon. A bear had got hold of their bear canister and played with
it, trying to open it up, until it eventually gave up. It was a good job it was Ed and Peter
since very few thru-hikers were carrying the legally required bear canisters.
I expected the next section of the trail to Sonora Pass to be the toughest of the PCT.
The trail went across the grain of the land, climbing steeply over ridges, then dropping
down sharply, crossing difficult creeks in the valley bottoms before climbing straight up
the other side. Snow could still be expected on the trail on the north-facing slopes.
I left about 2pm after eating both breakfast and lunch at the café. Storm clouds were
gathering as I left and it looked as if we would get our first rain for a month. The route
followed the Tuolumne River down to the junction with Glen Aulin, where I camped early
to make use of the bear boxes provided for food storage. I was joined there by “Purboy”,
“Jaybird”, “Iron Man”, Tom and Katie, Peter and Ed. I learnt from them that
“Grasshopper” had suffered from snow blindness in the Sierras having sent his
sunglasses home after getting through the Mojave Desert assuming that he wouldn’t
need them! There were reports of a fire north of the Sonora Pass, started when a light
aircraft crashed into the woods. Some tourists had been filming the aircraft when there
was a catastrophic failure causing the wings to fall off the aircraft! It was not clear
whether this would affect the PCT.
After we had gone to bed Peter was heard shouting out. A bear was in the camp but
wandered off without causing any problems. Glen Aulin Campground was another site
about which tales were told of bears rampaging through the tents in search of food.
Day 64: 11.4 miles 4.36 hours Camp: Glen Aulin
Tuolumne River and
Lambert Dome
Lambert Dome
Lambert Dome
Peter and Ed at
Tuolumne Meadows
Tuolumne Meadows
Dome in Tuolumne
Meadows
Meadows
Tuolumne River
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