Sentinel Dome - Yosemite, CA

 My original intent was to hike the 4 mile trail. I arranged to stay at an inn near the trailhead; however, when I got there I was told the trail was closed (along with a number of others) due to a serious and fast spreading fire in Yosemite National Park. So, instead of a 40 minute drive to the entrance, I had to drive 3 hours to the other side of the park to hike. The smoke was thick obscuring the summit views. It was difficult to breathe, so I decided on a short hike to Sentinel Dome. It was beautiful in an eerie way :)

Dawn drive to West entrance

Helicopter getting water from the river

Posing on the summit

Smokey view from the summit

Sentinel dome. View from the trail

Fire moving quickly through the park.  It was zero percent contained when I took the photo.

Chocorua - Mountains & Menopause

Exhalted Hanumanasana on the summit

I left the ERD at home and took the husband.  We hiked the Champney Falls trail to the summit.  It was muddy with running water and slippery rocks from the previous day’s rain but it didn’t impact us too much on the way up.

My husband has legs that are 7 feet long (okay, not really) so he darts up trails and makes fun of me lagging behind.  “Now I know how the dog feels running back and forth to see where you are,” he teased.   I like to hike at a moderate pace, but I’m never in a hurry to get to the top.  There are too many things to see along the way.  But now something else has been added to my hikes…hot flashes.   Today they came on in full force.  Every 10 to 15 minutes my poor husband would hear me proclaim, “I’m having another one!”

As the elevation increased, my hot flashes decreased with the cool morning breezes helping keep them at bay.  My husband’s and my hiking pace fell into sync.  With the hot flashes behind me, I got a burst of energy and felt like a mountain goat as I neared the summit. 

We had the summit to ourselves and what a beautiful summit, more beautiful than I expected.   We stayed for a long time and reluctantly left when the next set of hikers reached the top.    The blazes on the summit are faded in places and I found myself off trail a few times.  We watched as the other hikers missed the blazes bringing them to the summit from the opposite side.

On the way down we met a couple in the same age group as my husband and I.  The wife had that look on her face - the look I get when I’m having a hot flash!  So what do two 50+ year old women talk about when they meet on the trail?  Hot flashes!  As we discussed our common woes, the husbands just looked at each other shaking their heads, desperate for our conversation to end.  She was a hoot and I think we would have a lot of fun on the trail together.

I stopped at the falls on the way down and took a refreshing dip in one of the pools.  I tried to convince my husband to jump in, but he replied, “I don’t need too, I’m not the one with the hot flashes” ;).  

30 down - 22 ‘mountains with a view’ to go.

Amanita species

Summit benchmark

Champney Falls and a playful Handstand at Pitcher Falls Gorge

Near the summit

Feet in the foreground and me enjoying the summit in the background.

video of 360 views :_

quick dip in the falls

South and North Baldface

To save time, I decided to drive up and sleep in the car. I wanted to get an early start on the trails knowing it was going to be a long day of hiking.  I didn’t know what the trailhead parking situation was, but it turned out to be a large, off the road, parking area with a bathroom!   Sleeping in the car is something I never need to do again.  I remember it being a relatively comfortable thing in my 20’s, not so in my 50’s. 

At midnight, I was woken by my dog making gasping sounds and I see him knocking one of my water bottles around with his feet and nose. I turn on the flashlight to figure out what’s going on and noticed he opened the storage space between the seats and ate an entire bag of Pepperoni dog treats.  I get his bowl and give him water – my 10 lb Chihuahua drank 20 ounces of water.  I shut off the lights, crawl back into the trunk and try to get back to sleep.  I can’t, my dog is now snoring like a 500 lb. gorilla.  Ugh.

I got up at 5:00am with only 3 hours of sleep, and set off on the hike at 5:30.  The 2.5 miles up the Baldface Circle trail to the shelter is a moderate, easy grade hike.  The trail rises steeply from here.  I read many postings about these ledges preparing for this hike, words like ‘difficult rock scramble’, ‘thigh-burning scurry’, are used in many postings.  I would add that you need at least some minimal bouldering skills.  I love bouldering but I don’t think I had any business taking my dog on this section of the trail.  It added an unnecessary level of danger.  I had to balance myself as I picked up my dog, placed him on the ledge above, climb up and do the same thing over and over.  There were places I thought he could manage without help only to turn around to see him staring at me two levels down.  I had to climb back down and get him.  One section of the ledge had running water on it making it difficult to find a safe place to balance as I lifted my dog onto the ledge.   If you have a dog, I recommend Slippery Brook trail to avoid the steep ledges on this section of the trail.

The ERD after I drenched him in water at the summit.

As I sat on the South Baldface summit, I thought about what I was going to do next. Continue on, or go down to summit Eastman Mountain returning via Slippery Brook back to the car.  As I sat, I thought about what I tell my yoga students (I teach a challenging yoga class). “If your body is done, you have to come out [of the pose].  If your mind is done, keep going.”  Sometimes the resistance to continue is mental and we have to break through the psychological boundaries that hold us back.  I asked myself how I felt; physically I felt great.  Good.  I practiced some yoga, drank some water and I continued on.  Once I made the decision to continue on, the resistance melted away.  It was so wonderful to have the summits and views to myself. I could not have chosen a better day to hike 4 miles of open ledges. Clear skies, cool breezes and 360 views.  Everywhere you looked were incredible mountainous vistas. 

At the top of the ledges on the way up to South Baldface

The trails are very well marked with blazes and/or cairns.  There was only a short section descending the Bicknell Ridge trail, below treeline (where the trail narrows) is a bit overgrown and has very few blazes.  There is also one fallen tree (around 1200 ft elev) that’s an easy walk over.   A lovely waterfall follows the trail near the intersection of the Bicknell and South Baldface trails, and what should be an easy walkover at Charles brook (near the Emerald pool).  However, I decided to jump from rock to rock and ended up knee-deep in water. 

I was disappointed when I got to the Emerald pool.  There were two dozen people there, kids and their families.  I didn’t want to barge in on their fun, so my plans of jumping in with my hiking clothes didn’t seem appropriate.  Next time when I head up to hike Eastman Mountain I’ll have another chance.

This loop has everything, beautiful lazy rivers, emerald pools and 4 miles of open ledges with impressive vistas and great challenging ledges.   It should be on every avid hiker’s to-do list.

Still a 1/2 mile to the summit of South Baldface

The ridge I just climbed across!

The ever-present cairns

Bowing Hanuman - seemed appropriate.

From South Baldface - looking down at where I just hiked

Yep, hiked this.

Summit selfie

bolete species

trail nibbles

Emerald Pool

Kids jumping into Emerald pool

Fairy stool

Imp Face

My original intent was to hike Imp Face (on my 52WAV list) and Middle Carter, but plans don’t always go as planned.  I decided to drive up and sleep in my car near the trailhead but my husband insisted I find a hotel.  I found one with a late check-in (11:00PM).  

I got to the hotel just before 11:00.  There was a large sign on the door that said CLOSED.  What?!

I knock on the door, call the office several times, and ring the doorbell for a good 10 minutes.  Nothing….  It was okay when it was my choice to sleep in the car, but when you pay for a room it’s a matter of principal that you get to sleep in a room!  I look across the street and see another motel. I drive over and ring that bell.  The owner comes out of her room, clearly woken from her sleep.  I explain the situation and she tells me, “Oh yes, it happens all the time, she leaves at 9:30.”  What?!  It says right here check-in is until 11:00.  “Yes, but she goes home anyway. People come over here to complain.  One person from Germany walked with his luggage a mile from the bus stop to find out she was closed.  It’s a small town so she assumes no one is coming.”  Do you have a room available?  "Yes".

It’s now midnight, I open my trunk and realize the overnight bag with my hiking clothes isn’t in the car…What?!  OMG… I left them at home.  Okay, I’ve got my backpack, food and water, but no clothes.  The clothes I’m wearing are everything you don’t want to hike in.  Cotton, non-stretch, legging jeans (the kind that no one my age has any business wearing), a heavy cotton t-shirt, sandals and NO socks.  Okay, what do I have in my car that can make this work?   I’ve got my tried and true old broken in Keen hiking shoes, a pair of Columbia mid-height hiking boots, a light jacket in the donation bag left in the car, but no socks.  

Okay, Middle Carter is out, I can’t hike 10 miles in skinny jeans and no socks.  But, I can manage 1/2 that mileage - Imp is on!

The room was a small, dark, wood-paneled box with one window, but the sheets were crisp and clean. When you just need a place to sleep; it’s a perfect place to spend the night.

I got up at 4:30, looked outside my only window to see fog so thick I couldn’t see my car in the lot.  I knew the weather was uncertain, some reports indicated thunderstorms while others showed clear skies until late in the afternoon.  Sigh. I went back to bed until 5:30.  I looked out again. It was still foggy but I could see my car.  I check the weather on my phone.  The weather app says rain and thunder.  I don’t like that forecast so I check the Mountain-Forecast.  It says clear skies.   I throw on my old keens, grab some coffee and look for the trailhead.  Missed the parking pull-off a couple of times but soon the ERD and I were on the trail.  Map, GPS, skinny jeans and coffee; I’m ready to go.  

There was no pollen in the air so my lungs felt great and the only thing holding me back from hiking at a good clip was my skinny jeans.  I pulled out my little hiking knife and sliced the knees of my pants.  Ahh, freedom.  

You always know you’re the first hiker on the trail when you find yourself breaking all of the spider webs with your face.  When this happens, I know I’ll have the summit to myself.  

It was a peaceful and beautiful hike.  The Imp Brook follows alongside the trail for a while and you get a lovely view of its waterfall.  There are a number of small water crossings.  The crossing above the waterfall may be a problem after a heavy rain but today it was just a walkover. 

It is an easy trail for the most part.  Franklinsites rates this trail as Moderate Length, Difficult Steepness.  However, compared to other hikes with this rating, I would rate it as Moderate/Moderate.  Yes, it is steep in sections but it has nice flat areas in between the steep ones giving you a chance to catch your breath.    The yellow blazes are faded in places but the trail is well traveled and easy to follow.  It is slippery in sections where there is steep, smooth rockface and after a rain it could be a treacherous mix especially on the way down.  There are a number of downed trees, two near the water crossings and three close to the summit.  None will cause you too much trouble. 

The temperature was cool, but the air was humid and I was drenched by the time I reached the summit.  A quiet, early morning hike emerged onto ledges with a breathtaking view. 

There is something so magical about hiking a mountain alone and standing on a summit by yourself.  I remained on the summit for a long time. I thought about continuing to Middle Carter but knew that would be reckless and decided to leave it for another day.  Before leaving I had fun taking selfies on the summit of what I now consider one of my favorite solo hikes.  

Cool log ladder :)

Eka pada Urdhva dhanurasana on uneven rocks with the ERD

Hanumanasana (monkey pose) on the summit

The ERD enjoying the summit

A long way down

random hitchhiker

One of many beautiful mushrooms along the way.

rock formations just past the summit leading to another small ledge area

Eka pada Urdhva dhanurasana between rocks on Imp Face.