Below is a listing of images and standard GIF images of Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from Yosemite to Donnor Pass. By clicking on them you will bring up a larger JPEG view of them. Some may take time to load and look slightly pixilated if you have only 256 colors (8 bit) versus thousands or millions of colors.
Tuolumne River - here you can gaze onto
the graceful Tuolumne River as it meanders through meadowlark meadows and
quietly breathes beneath Cathedral Peak. Downstream from this point lies a
precipitous waterfall, Tuolumne Falls, past which you will eventually discover
Glen Aulin backcountry camp (6 miles from the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center
- our starting point before heading north).
Matterhorn Canyon - standing in this glaciated
trough tucked deeply below an adjacent hanging valley, I felt completely removed
from the crowds and in the heart of Yosemite. We are 3 days or 20 miles from
our start in Tuolumne Meadows. Benson
Pass - At 10,000 feet, you are likely to see snow patches like these year
round. This photograph was taken in mid-July. Incidentally, the mosquitos
were quite annoying even at this elevation. (Imagine what it was like at lower
elevations.)
Benson "Riviera" - named after the French
Riviera known for its luxuriant waterfronts and smoothly sanded beaches, this
camp lives up to its name. The beach sand was coarse, composed mostly of chunky
granite. Quaking aspen trees lined the beach naturally. We are 4 days or 31
miles from the start.
Seavey Pass - the "grunt" it is called.
So we woke up early to endure several hours of hiking up and over six (6)
"false gaps," as our guide book calls them. In slightly over a couple of hours
we made it over the final real gap, only to spy another daunting ridge several
miles in the distance. By the days end, we had surmounted 3 major passes and
15 grueling miles of up, over and down in this rugged part of Yosemite.
Dorthy Lake - By day 5, we had traveled
nearly 57 miles to the outer boundary of Yosemite National Park. We saw nobody
this day as followed a straight, steady trail up to the Dorthy Lake Divide.
North of this point lies Toiyabe National Forest and the Emigrant Wilderness
to the west. The mosquitos were the worst from Seavey Pass to this divide
-- especially at river crossings. At this camp, unfortunately, we spent most
of our time in the tent.
Kennedy Canyon - climbing toward Leavitt
Peak was the climax of our trip, both figuratively and literally, as we rose
to 11,000 feet. This was the highest point in our trip. The old PCT is still
visible behind me along the north facing slope (a clear and present danger).
Fortunately, the new trail traversed a fairly sunny and safe route with awesome
panoramic views. By days end we will have reached Sonora Pass (Hwy 108) and
traveled 76 miles by "day 7."
Leavitt Ridge - look like the "Sound of
Music" movie backdrop? Looking south across the Sierra Nevada & Yosemite Park,
one gets a glimpse of the vastness, ruggedness and beauty John Muir marveled
about during his Sierra travels. This was the highest point in our month-long
odyssey reaching nearly 11, 000 feet.
Lupine - this profusion of wildflower actually
improved as we entered the more volcanic, drier soils from Ebbett's Pass (Hwy
4) to Lake Tahoe. One can spend hours sniffing these flowers or taking their
pictures.
Raymond Peak - shooting through this rocky
gap just north of Ebbett's Pass, the PCT enters a rainshadow climate, barren
and groomed with sagebrush. We are now 115 miles from Tuolumne Meadows and
have another 110 miles to go before our journey is complete at Donnor Pass
(Hwy. 80). [ Home | Index | Photo Gallery ]