Dates: August 19 to 23, 2024

Trailhead: Lyell Canyon

Nearest Town: Lee Vining, California

Distance Hiked: 22 miles (3,000 feet of elevation gain)

Native Land Territories Visited: Western Mono / Monache, Me-Wok (Central Sierra Miwok), Numu (Northern Paiute)

Reading Companion: Finding Everett Ruess by David Roberts (recommended by The Documentarian atop Kearsarge Pass in June of 2024)

Hello and welcome to my August Trail Report! Let us visit Yosemite again!

Below we have a 22 mile loop through a small portion of Yosemite’s expansive backcountry wilderness. Fun Fact: 94% of Yosemite’s 1,169 square miles are roadless wilderness with more than 700 miles of trail. Once I was a few miles from the trailhead I saw very few people. For one 24 hour period I did not see a single human. Not bad for one of the nation’s busiest national parks!

The unfinished business referred to in the title of this trail report is to visit Vogelsang High Sierra Camp – the one remaining camp that I had not yet visited.

The High Sierra Camps of Yosemite date back to the 1920s and were first established and maintained by the Yosemite Park and Curry Company. There are six total: May Lake, Glen Aulin, Vogelsang, Merced Lake, Sunrise and Tuolumne.

When all the camps are operating, a person can spend a week hiking from camp to camp with nothing more than a light day pack. The camps are situated one day’s worth of walking from each other. Everything is provided for. The camps are supplied by burros and friendly wranglers.

 

The Vogelsang High Sierra Camp is the highest elevation camp located at 10,300 feet. After returning home I became curious about the name Vogelsang – so charming, like “Valhalla” or “Edelweiss”. In fact, as I hiked along I hummed the Edelweiss melody and inserted Vogelsang, instead of Edelweiss.

As it turns out, my modification of the Rodgers and Hammerstein song may qualify as irony. In the movie, Captain Georg von Trapp sings Edelweiss as an act of defiance in opposition to the Nazi occupation of Austria. Then the whole family goes for a big hike over the Alps to America!

You see, Vogelsang is named for some faceless bureaucrat and you find the place name everywhere: the camp, the pass, the peak and the lake. Vogelsang was also a Nazi training area consisting of an enormous fortified complex that today is the second largest relic of Nazi infrastructure in Germany. Dear Lord!

On Monday, August 19 I left my hometown of Atascadero, California via Highway 41 en route to the southern entrance to Yosemite. I was in no hurry, and once I arrived at the Wawona General Store I stopped to enjoy a cold beverage by the south fork of the Merced River.

After a refreshing swim in the healing waters of the Merced, I continued on my journey with the windows down and the radio on. It was a late August summer day with just a hint of fall in the air. I felt like I was nineteen again.

The first night was spent in campsite 305 at Crane Flat campground. Four years were spent refurbishing this sprawling campground thanks to a $9.8 million investment from the Great American Outdoors Act. It looks amazing! All the campers were very respectful of their new outdoor living spaces. There were some musicians with acoustic instruments in nearby site 314 who lulled me to sleep.

  

Signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2020, the Great American Outdoors Act is considered to be “the most significant conservation legislation enacted in nearly half a century (Associated Press.)” We must give credit where credit is due. Following the signing ceremony, Lamar Alexander gave Mr. Trump a hiking stick, although it was not clear that he knew how to use one.

The next day I headed over to the Lyell Canyon trailhead to begin my hike. The drive from Crane Flat to Tuolumne Meadows always surprises me with its beauty.

Upon visiting the Wilderness Center to acquire my permit, I was expecting the usual oral quiz regarding backcountry etiquette. For example, a ranger might ask “What is the minimum distance from any trail or water source that a campsite can be located?” (Answer: 100 feet.) Instead, the ranger checked “my history” and then smiled and said “Have a good hike. Let us know if you see anything really weird.” I guess I must have an impressive history! Alas, I did not see anything really weird.

I walked seven miles out Lyell Canyon before finding a nice private campsite for the evening. I would be camped on the trail for two nights, so I rationed myself six ounces of trail whiskey for those two nights.

 

I was first introduced to the concept of trail whiskey by my former student Mr. T in July of 2014 while on a High Sierra backpacking trip. Then in August of 2022 while once again hiking in the Sierra, I encountered an Air National Guard medic who dismissed the importance of carrying a first aid kit, though she authoritatively proclaimed that she always carried bourbon.

The trees and I were having a grand old time sipping trail whiskey and talking. Before I knew it, all six ounces were gone.

The next morning’s hike involved a long, steep climb. Sadly I no longer felt like I was nineteen. When I finally topped out over the pass, I was rewarded with spectacular views and a lovely little lake to camp by.

Sung to the tune of Edelweiss, by Rodgers and Hammerstein:

Vogelsang,

Vogelsang,

why did I drink all the whiskey?

Old and far, without a car,

today I’m not feeling so frisky!

After having extinguished all the trail whiskey, I spent a sober evening of quiet meditation and awoke the next morning very early, bright eyed, bushy tailed and clear minded. I ventured on towards Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.

I discovered that the camp is still closed. Most of the camps have remained closed since the pandemic. A few of them opened this year, but not Vogelsang. I rather enjoyed seeing it in its deserted condition. It had a nice friendly ghost town vibe. If only its walls could talk. What kinds of antics, hijinks and shenanigans did the folks of yesteryear get up to while visiting these beautiful wild places?

As I pondered this question, a lone hiker came up the trail from the direction of Merced Lake. She had been out on the trail alone for four days and was fairly talkative. We shared two important observations. One was that although we both enjoyed solo backpacking and were motivated by the idea of some alone time, it wasn’t long before we started longing for another hiker to bump into. The other was that the Merced Lake High Sierra Camp was definitely haunted with unfriendly spirits. I had spent a night alone there in May of 2022 and had been inundated with the heebie-jeebies. So had my fellow hiker, as well as other people she had spoken with.

I then headed back down the mountain towards Lyell Creek. When I reached the creek I took a swim and ate lunch.

As I hiked along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River towards my car I heard young voices coming from the canyon to my left. “One, Two, Three!” Then laughter. “One, Two, Three!” Then more laughter. Finally, “One, Two, Three!” followed by splashes and screams. Always on the lookout for a good swimming hole, I took a peek into the canyon and saw three young friends enjoying a very nice swimming hole. (Coordinates: 37.87626, -119.33712)

After finding my car and heading down the road for another evening at Crane Flat site 305 (where I would find the musicians still holding court next door), I made a quick stop at the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center. This beautiful old building was originally a CCC mess hall. Once inside I witnessed the swearing in of two youngsters as “Junior Rangers”. They were almost too young to qualify, but the National Park Service ranger who was officiating seemed willing to bend the rules a little. It was a lovely ceremony. At its conclusion, the ranger announced in a booming voice to all of us in the building that the National Park Service had two new Junior Rangers who would be properly registered in the log book. Thunderous applause ensued. It was beautiful.

The visitor center has a fireplace above which I discovered a photograph of three old friends.

 

I began to reflect on the book that I had brought along for this trip. It’s about Everett Ruess. Everett was a crazy, mixed up kid. I had also been a crazy, mixed up kid and I have known and mentored many (crazy, mixed up kids, that is.) 

Everett is best known for his wanderings through the desert southwest with a burro or two. He also tramped around in the Sierra quite a bit. He plied his trade during the early 1930s, walking long distances while painting and writing. If he could, he would sell a painting. His concerned parents sent him enough money and provisions to keep him from becoming destitute. He would write home letting his family know where his next post office would be, hiking from post office to post office.

There is actually a post office in Yosemite’s Tuolumne meadows. During the summer, it receives hundreds of parcels as modern day vagabonds make their way up and down the John Muir and Pacific Crest Trails. 

In Everett’s case, his goals were simple. He did not want a traditional job. He did not want to go to college. (Instead he read lots of books.) 

What he wanted was to be a vagabond – a wanderer. He achieved his goals early on in life. Born in Oakland, California in 1914 he disappeared in Escalante, Utah at the age of 20. He left behind beauty, in the form of block prints and writings. He touched many lives and formed friendships whenever he could. He was of course imperfect, like all of us. His formula was straightforward though: to find beauty and friendship.

Beauty and friendship. So simple. 

Thank you for reading.