Photo by Paige
She has lots of very good pictures on her SmugMug Page

What an awesome trip! This was my first time in Yosemite and it was definitely worth the 4.5 hour drive from Monterey. Special thanks to Paige for putting this trip together (and for posting those awesome pics above).

I woke up at 4:30am Saturday to start the drive, and I should have made the trailhead by 9:30 when everyone was supposed to meet, but the Ranger at the gate said I had to drive all the way into Yosemite Valley to get my Wilderness Permit. Wrong...they had some at the Big Oaks turnoff, just like Paige had said. The lady even gave me wrong directions to the Wilderness Center! Oh well...it gave me a chance to see El Capitan, and I saw two coyotes before I even got out of the Jeep.

So I grabbed the map Paige left me on her car and left Ten Lakes Trailhead about 11am, hoping to catch up to the group. Fresh bear poop about 10 minutes into the hike! I never saw a bear, though.

I caught up to the group just after Half Moon Meadow on the climb up Ten Lakes Pass, and we got to the lake around 4pm, I think...awesome campsite! We built a fire and spent the night making dinner, eating and talking. I had Ramen, and Patrick mixed up some Beef Curry...I was pretty impressed with his backcountry cooking skills!

At 9:30, I went to bed at 34F and fidgeted with my underquilt for a while, trying to figure out how cold I could go. (More details here.) It was around 20-25F that night, and I woke up to a thick layer of ice in my water bladder! I was warm and comfy once I put the pad in the hammock.

I woke up about 7:30, shortly after sunup, and started boiling water for hot Jello. Eh...some hot Jello is better than others. Pistacio? Disgusting!

About 10am we started the steep climb back up to Ten Lakes Pass, then arrived at the trailhead around 3pm and I was home before 8! Next time I'll spend a few days up there...it was beautiful!

Pack Weight: 18 lbs plus 4 lbs food and 1.5 L water

The trail to Ten Lakes Basin	Stream at South End of Half Moon Meadow
Ten Lakes Pass from Half Moon Meadow	Looking out from atop Ten Lakes Pass
Beginning the Final Descent	Our Lake Seen from the Pass
Marci	Cindy
Jeff	My Hennessy Site
Patrick's Hennessy	View of the Lake
View of the Lake	My Hennessy Again
Moonrise	Moon Reflecting in the Lake
What a View to Wake Up To!	Awesome Shot of the Lake
Another Lake Shot	Breakfast Time!
One Last Shot Before We Leave	Beginning the Ascent to Ten Lakes Pass
Cindy Starting the Climb Out	Marci and Shosh
Me on the Way Up

Back to Trip Reports