The Sierra High Route wasn’t all rocks and alpine lakes – it was also rocks and trees! Trees eating rocks!
And a good chunk of this section was on well-established trail. I struggled with my feelings about this. The trails bring civilization back far into the woods, though they do definitely make walking easier. As I got closer and closer to Tuolumne Meadows, hitting Vogelsang High Sierra Camp along the way, I started to really miss being off trail and making my own way. It’s so hard but so… charming. (Like being a kid in the Alaska woods again, just setting off and exploring, climbing on things, getting whimsical and finding oneself.) The pack trails leading up over Vogelsang Pass and back to Tuolumne got wider and wider, with more and more mule shit and trail-cuts, and then next thing I knew I was at the burger joint. I’ll spare you any more pics of Saturday and Sunday because they’re shots of things any Yosemite visitor could find with a 10-mile hike. Until my next Sierra High Route section!
Au revoir!
