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| View east from El Capitan |
It seems that there is always another awesome hike to be
discovered around Yosemite Valley beckoning a hiker’s
spirit to get boots on the ground. If
Half Dome is the most iconic feature of Yosemite
Valley, then the runner up for that honor must
(arguably) be mighty
El Capitan. The
Ahwahneechee name
for the rock is Totokonoolah, which probably means something like “The
Chief” or “Rock Chief”. The name El Capitan comes from
the
Mariposa Battalion being a loose Spanish translation of the native moniker, of
which “The Captain” is truly worthy. In the early days of Yosemite
as a national park, the original Big Oak Flat road
(wagon road) had a very sharp curve which was
referred to by guides as “OMG point”. As a wagon negotiated the curve
approaching from the west, El Capitan in all its glory
would become immediately and suddenly visible from a short distance, inspiring
wide eyed surprise and gaping awe. Even today the same sort of effect takes
place on the modern paved road as the immense granite face appears through the trees
on Southside Drive. Like
Half Dome, it was once considered to be impossible to climb, but today El
Capitan’s 3000 foot high granite wall has become a personal
challenge for accomplished technical climbers from around the world with dozens of
established climbing routes. And like Half Dome, the summit is also accessible to
hikers by trail.
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| Zoom to the Clark Range |
Lots of backpackers visit the summit of El Cap along with other points of interest while hiking some variation of the north rim trail,
after first obtaining a wilderness permit. For day hikers there are actually 3
possible routes, but I would guess the most popular route must be by way of the
Yosemite Falls
trail from the valley floor. I hiked that route
back in 2005 (pre-blog), visiting the top
of the falls, and Eagle Peak
along the way, which was a fantastic day of magnificent sights and great
challenging hiking. My wife and I also had a
memorable hike in May of 2009 on
that route, but could not make El Cap due to deep melting snow that was too
unstable. But there is another approach from the west which I had never done
before this hike. I had planned on hiking the route from
Tamarack Flat during
my trip in 2012 but had a really interesting day then. On this trip we
(my wife and I) finally got it in our trail log.
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| Jeffery Pine |
Tamarack Flat is one of Yosemite’s
non-reserved campgrounds. Campsites there are first-come first-served. To reach
it you need to drive a narrow, rough, winding little road for about 3.5 miles
from Tioga Road not far
from Crane Flat. There is a small general parking area which can serve as trail
head parking, but as I found out on my last trip, there are no bear lockers
except for those in the campsites. On the far end is a gated trail head at
about 6,165 feet. The first section begins as an old road, and is probably still
used for fire access if needed. Despite the namesake, my observation of conifer
populations were approximately equal amongst tamarack/lodgepole, sugar pines,
and white fir. Near the campground are a few burned areas showing good recovery,
but most of the forest is tall and fragrant, with quite a bit of thick lichens,
and showing evidence of weathered patina common at this altitude.
After roughly half a mile you pass the first of several
little creeks and begin enjoying seasonal wild flowers, most prevalent near the
riparian areas (see my photos). The trail continues descending gently all the
way down to Cascade Creek where there is a backpacking trail camp about 2.5
miles in. Some Yosemite hiking guides have this little
hike to Cascade Creek listed as a short day hike by itself. This is a pretty
area with a nice little cascade down a narrow little canyon, a beautiful little
pool upstream, some rocks to explore, and abundant greenery and wild flowers.
Continuing on, the trail heads gently downhill toward the junction with part of
the old Big Old Flat road where there is a junction to head toward Foresta.
Bearing left on a short section of the old road you finally reach the low point
of the hike at 5863 feet just over 3 miles in, and bear left again to begin a
rather relentless uphill.
The next section of trail climbs about 1,890 feet in roughly
2.85 miles using GPS data, and as always, GPS margin of error applies. This
hike is interesting because the summit that is your destination is actually not
the high point of the route. You
reach the highest point at approximately 7,753 feet just before descending again
to Ribbon Creek. Some portions of the trail are quite steep, while others are
gentle, but the route is scenic and will keep your mind busy taking in the
sights. At one point you spot what looks like a high granite ridge ahead
reaching above the trees, but your ascent will eventually bring you well above
that point and into the subalpine. Along one section the trail follows up along
a rock slope with sparse weathered jeffery pines scattered about, some of which
are very stately looking, and you can spot mariposa lilies and other wild
flowers that like sun. The next section levels out somewhat and brings you
through a dense wooded area which shows lots of white fir and incense cedar,
and you can spot lots of pine drops and spotted coral root. Soon after cresting
the top of the route the trail descends toward Ribbon Creek and along Ribbon
Meadow with more wild flowers that like moist areas. After passing a boggy
area with questionable water, you eventually get access to the Ribbon Creek
further along where you can filter water for drinking. Ribbon Creek is the source of Ribbon
fall, and is usually down to a trickle by mid summer. We found there was plenty
of water flowing even though this was a very dry year. The only other potential
drinking water stop is all the way down at Cascade Creek.
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Alpine Lily (Lilium parvum)
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Hiking on from the creek you begin climbing again and
soon can begin to see across the chasm of Yosemite Valley and the immense rock structure that is abutted by El Capitan. As you hike up along the side of the rock ridge admiring
the displays of stonecrop, you eventually break out onto “The Captain” and the long range
views are simply tremendous. From the top of the rock you can see its true shape. From
the bottom it looks like it must be flat on top but it isn’t. El Cap is dome
shaped on top and it would be foolhardy to attempt to get near the edge. This
will limit the dramatic effect of being able to look over a very high precipice
like you can at Eagle Peak, Half Dome, or the top of the falls. Since you cannot
see straight down, you cannot even see the valley floor at all, but the long range
views will be worth the effort. You also get the satisfaction that you are
standing atop a genuine icon; a natural wonder. The cool mountain breeze feels
really great on your face, and the mountain spirit will fill your senses. The
day we did this hike there was a fire burning near Yosemite Creek deemed the
“forbidden fire”, and it was high in the no-fight zone. This was making a lousy
haze effect that you can spot in my photos from this hike. The total round trip
elevation gain was 3,711 feet with a distance of 17 miles. I uploaded a photoset on flickr, and created a trip report at EveryTrail if you want to see more.
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