On the early morning of July the start of our adventure began! The sky was crystal clear blue without a single cloud. The day before had rained and cleansed the sky; the grass and wildflowers were still wet, and seemed to sparkle as the sun cast it light. The goal of our adventure was to reach the summit of Mt. Lyell, the highest peak in Yosemite National Park. Located at the head of the Lyell Canyon in the far southeast corner of the park surrounded by some of the most rugged peaks in the Yosemite High Country. Because of the distance from the trail head in Tuolumne Meadows Mt. Lyell is seldom climbed, a trip to the summit and back requires a minimum of three days. The difficulty of the climb is also a big factor why very few ever reach the summit. Mt. Lyell is a class 3 climb up granite slabs and boulders including the second largest glacier in the High Sierra. With very little knowledge of what lies ahead in our journey to come we start our adventure in Tuolumne Meadows. From Tuolumne Meadows we take the John Muir Trail south which heads up Lyell Canyon, paralleling the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River. Continuing along the river through meadow’s filled with wildflower’s the whole wilderness seems to be alive as the sun light sparkled off the wet landscape. The alpine air was clear and fresh from the rain the day before. After awhile I stopped to take a break along the river, as I walked up to the river’s edge wild trout scattered all about, at this time I noticed the first cloud of the day. After our break we continued on, my Dad and Rod road horse back as Ron and I guided our packhorses. The sky now had a hand full of clouds and more clouds were quickly forming. Within an hour from our break the sky was filled with clouds and started to rain. The rain started out with a light sprinkle but quickly turned into a thunderstorm. The rain continued to come down hard and the thunder was getting closer and more often. The horse’s where starting to get very nerves, then all of a sudden a huge lighting strike hit in the meadow about 50 yards from us and the horse’s freaked out. The pack horse behind me just about ran over me as I jumped out of it’s way, as I looked back my Dad and Rod where hanging onto there horse’s as they took a wild rodeo ride and Ron was in the middle of it with his pack horse freaking out. It took a while to calm the horse’s down, as soon as we got the horse’s calmed down we quickly seeked shelter in a small grove of tree’s. Lighting and thunder continued as we tried frantically to keep the horses calm. Then suddenly the rain turned into a violent hailstorm. We remained in the grove of trees until the storm seemed to come to an end as quickly as it seemed to come to life. We ventured out of the grove of trees and continued on, as sunbeams shined through the crack’s in the sky.

Then as if out of no where framed by the clouds at the head of the valley stood the massive snow capped peak “Mt. Lyell” Yosemite’s hidden treasure. After enjoying the incredible scenery, there at the end of the valley where Kuna Creek cascades into the Tuolumne River we set camp. Since we had the luxury of two-pack horse’s we fixed a meal fit for a King, with BBQ steak, beans, salad and french bread. After dinner we gathered around the camp fire as stars and spirits filled the night sky. Before long it was time to get some sleep since Ron and I where planned to get up at the crack of dawn, to climb Mt. Lyell, so we all said good night and climbed into our tents. Suddenly in the middle of the night we awoke from the crashing sound of our camp stove falling to the ground. “A Bear was in our camp.” The loud crash startled the horse’s and caused them to trash about while tied to a hitch line, the horse’s made such a ruckus that the bear quickly disappeared into the night. Although our excitement for the night came to an end, it took quite a while to get back to sleep. The next thing I heard was Ron waking up, it was time to get started. I climbed out of my tent and it was still dark in the valley with frost on the ground and the sky was filled with an alpenglow. After a quick breakfast Ron and I headed out for the goal of our adventure. The morning sun had now cast it’s light on the mountaintops. The start of the trail is a steep climb up switchbacks that climbs the head of Lyell Canyon towards Donohue Pass. Just short of the summit of Donohue Pass the steep switchbacks enter into an alpine meadow filled with wildflower’s. At this point we took a short break to catch our breath and enjoy the scenery. The early morning sun was shining into the meadow and the frost had melted into shiny crystals on the tips of the grass. The meadow is the point where Donohue Pass veers to the left and marks the end of the trail for our journey. We veer to the right of the creek and our exploring adventure begins. As soon as we reach the end of the meadow our hike turned into a class 2-3 climb up and over granite slabs and boulders. After climbing our way up and over the rocks we came upon a hidden pristine meadow filled with wildflowers and a small crystal clear lake of solitude. While taking a break in the meadow we both commented that this maybe the finest alpine meadow we had ever seen. But something inside of me knew there was more to be seen and we just needed to go higher. As we reached the end of the meadow I stopped to take one last look at one of Yosemite’s hidden treasures. Continuing on we followed along side the cascading creek thru class 2-3 granite talus until we reached the Lyell Glacier, the last remains of a massive glacier that once stretched from the summit of Mt. Lyell to the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River in the northwest and down the Tenaya Canyon and beyond to the Yosemite Valley. Sixty glaciers remain in the High Sierra and the Lyell Glacier is the second largest remaining.

We continued on traversing thru the glacier that was melted with suncups that made the journey quite strenuous, until we reached the saddle between Mt. Lyell and Mt. MaClure. We took a long break at this point. After our break we started up the ridge, which is a lot steeper and more serrated than it looks from the bottom of the glacier. The climb is a class 3 with some exposure. The standard list of equipment for this climb is an ice axe, crampons and gloves, and a rope is recommended, which we had neither. Without an ice axe, crampons, gloves or a rope and only a strong desire to reach the summit we continued on.

After a short distance from the saddle, the glacier became a lot steeper, to the point we had to use our hands for balance and kick holes into the glacier with every step to avoid slipping. Because a fall from this point could be serious. We reached the upper limit of the glacier and there was a crack between the glacier and the rocks (Bergschrund) the crack was narrow enough that we climbed over it and at this point we had reached the steep rocky serrated ridge. The ridge is a class 3 climb with some exposure, but the rock is quite solid and the climb is quite exhilarating. With our hands and feet still cold from the glacier we scramble our way up the rocky ridge and onto the summit of Mt. Lyell “WOW” what a view! our first site from the summit was the north face of Mt. Ritter and Banner Peak to the south, to the west was a panoramic view of the Yosemite back country with Half Dome directly west, to the north was the Lyell Canyon and Tower Peak in the distance.

 

 

 

 

The real treasure’s belong to the one’s who seek adventure, survive a thunderstorm, explore nature’s hidden treasure’s, and finish a strenuous climb to a mountain summit, in the “Range of Light.”

By Mark Girardi

 

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