John Muir Trail 2012 Day 4 7-17-12
My plan for this morning was to bag a long coveted peak, Mount Conness. James was not feeling up for the climb, and as luck would have it the only other campers at the lake that night were heading up to the same peak. I was invited to tag along and I accepted. It was to be an early morning, up at 5am and on trail by 6.
It was to be an early morning, up at 5am and on trail by 6. The morning was VERY cold and calm, below freezing, and I had a small breakfast and waited for my new climbing partners to be ready. The day promised to be an amazing one.
We started the climb right at 6am, leaving Upper Young Lake and heading due south. We crossed a stream and climbed up to a small tiered lake at 10,500'. The morning was icy and we needed to keep moving to stay warm. We climbed up a nasty scree slope above the lake to a high platau.
After we reached the top of the scree slope, the summit came into view. The worst of the climbing was done at this point, and we followed faint use trails to the base of the peak.
Once I reached the base of the ridge leading to the summit I got my first look at the Conness Glacier. It was bigger then I expected, and the glacial lakes it formed glowed an amazing blue. There are numerous rock walls and some concrete pillars at the base of the ridge. An old weather station or fire lookout must have been here in the past.
All of the guides I had read suggested that the ridge line was pretty exposed and airy, I found it to be easier then advertised. There are only two spots with any exposure, and there is almost a stairway to the top.
I only spent about 30 minutes on top, I knew James would be waiting for me and we still had a long hike ahead of us. The walk back down was very quick, and I enjoyed the scree ski down the slope I had slogged up earlier. The wild flowers were out in abundance and the day was bright and warm. I got back to camp around 9:30 and we packed up to leave.
The walk out was uneventful, except for a bit of bad guidance on my part that sent us about 2 miles in the wrong direction. We made it back to camp the the Tuolumne Meadows Backpackers Camp and did some laundry before settling in for the night. All told, a very worthwhile trip into the high country. We took our fully loaded packs on this trip to get a feel for them, and it was amazing the difference on our bodies when we added 50 pounds..
The total for our hike was:
15 miles
15 miles
Peaks Climbed On This Day:
Mount Conness 12,590
Mount Conness 12,590