Sunrise Creek to Upper Cathedral Lake. 14.8 miles hiked.
*note: if you start adding up the mileage, you’ll probably notice it’s more than what traditional JMT maps dictate. Omar had a GPS with him that always said 3-6 miles more than my original estimate. So whether it was accurate or not…those are the mileage numbers that I went with!
Happy 4th of July! As someone who works in food services, and normally goes to the gym before work, my typical weekday wake-up call is about 3am. So, with the mileage we needed to make up, we decided to set our alarm for 4am to hit the trail. Well, when that alarm went off, there was no light switch to turn on to get ready. I heard from the tent next to me “Ally, it’s hella dark this early in the morning!”. Probably not the most profound statement to ever be made, but he had a point! I decided another hour of sleep would be in order, so we snuggled back down in our sleeping bags. 5am was much easier to wake up to and get moving, and would become our normal call time. Omar was, and would continue to be, faster at breaking down camp each morning. It would take us between 45 minutes and an hour to get broken down, breakfast (usually a couple of bars and some trail mix) pulled out and bags packed back up.
So, we started off on day two. I was pleasantly surprised that I was not sore from a full day of hiking and climbing the previous day. After such a mentally jarring day one, it was time to focus on some positive things! After about a half mile, we crossed the creek and found a bunch of other camps set up. Next to plenty of running water. This would become another theme of ours. Stop somewhere we didn’t think there was any water, and right around the next corner – usually a waterfall or torrent of water.
We continued to climb and make our way towards Sunrise High Sierra Camp. Finally, around mid-morning, we hit a set of switchbacks. My book told me this was Sunrise Mountain. And boy did it suck! Not only was asthma still affecting me, causing some wheezing and shortness of breath, but I was coughing too. I was starting to realize that I couldn’t deny the possibility I was getting a cold. After our first day with no real break schedule, we implemented our break plan. Hike for 3 hours and then take a full 30 minute break (of course I stopped several times for a minute or so to catch my breath or sit down!). Then three hours later, an hour for lunch. By the time the next three hours went by (9 hours hiking time), we would hopefully be at, or close to camp for the day. Close to the top of the switchbacks, a gentleman in a straw hat came jogging down from the top. Chatting with him for a minute, he had decided that to celebrate the 4th of July, he was participating in a self-made ‘ultra marathon’ from Tuolumne Meadows down to Yosemite Valley. He then said that, aside from high passes, this segment of the trail was easily the worst. I was inclined to agree! Through my research and prep, I learned what passes would be easy (Cathedral, Island), which ones would be horrific (the Golden Staircase leading to Mather, the 13,000’+ Forrester Pass)….but nothing warns you about the monotonous Sunrise Mountain. When I got to the top Omar asked ‘so what pass was that?’ thinking that, of course that would be some landmark that we could check off the long list of still to come moments and highs. Alas, it was just some horrendous climb! So, if you’re reading this and planning on someday doing the JMT, a portion of it, or just hiking from the valley to Tuolumne…just be ready! Even Omar, who finished the ascent with no problem, said it had felt pretty rough. There. Now I’ve put out my own little PSA to make up for the lack of warning I feel I had!
Coming down the other side, we found a great little stream to stop and get some fresh water, and dip our tired feet for a while. Soon, a young man that we had waved to along Sunrise Creek came meandering down, and also stopped to get some water and take off his pack. His name was Joey, and we sat and chatted for a while. He was going solo, taking 22 days to complete the JMT. He was heading to Cathedral Lake. In order for us to catch up, we needed to get to Tuolumne Meadows that day, but we quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen. So Cathedral Lake sounded like a good alternative. We put back on our shoes with fresh socks, hanging our wet ones on the back of our pack to dry, and went on our way. Omar offered for him to walk with us, but he said he was moving pretty slow – his pack weighed 60 pounds! But he was hoping to drop at least 10 at Tuolumne, and only had one resupply at Muir Trail Ranch, so was carrying 11 days worth of food, instead of the 5.5 that Omar and I were carrying.
Stopping for lunch along a river with some other folks, Joey later caught up to us again and passed us. We still had about 20 minutes left of our break, but I could tell Omar was getting antsy to keep going, and get Cathedral Pass done and over with. So, I released him to head up and over. He could go ahead and scout out a nice camping spot at the lake on the other side. It was like I had rung the bell for recess – he was off like a rocket, yelling behind him ‘Don’t be lazy and rest for too long!’ Rocket. Yes, that was going to be Omar’s trail name. Check one thing off the list: one out of two needed trail names!
On the way up and over, I saw two pack horse/mule trains bringing supplies and trash from Sunrise High Sierra Camp back to Tuolumne Meadows. I have to say, even though, along the JMT, Cathedral pass seems to be a ‘throw away’ because it’s not over 10,000 feet in elevation, it certainly didn’t take away from its beauty. The pass is really more of a sandy saddle before you dip down to Upper Cathedral Lake, but it was a view I’ve never seen before. I’ve seen Cathedral Peak from Tioga Road, but never this close. I hadn’t earned the view until now. I have a friend from college that is an avid rock climber. Amazing woman. I knew that she had climbed Cathedral Peak, but when I saw those razor sharp peaks I had a sudden, new appreciation for her passion and how great she is at it. Go ahead and take a look at the picture above, I’ll wait. Pretty ridiculous, right?? At least now I have more ammo in my arsenal next time someone says I’m crazy for wanting to do something. Nope, always someone out there crazier.
The only problem with letting Omar go ahead, was the difficulty I had finding where he had set up camp! When I got down to the lake level, starting scanning for his tent, but didn’t see it, so continued to follow the trail, yelling his name every once in a while. Nothing. Eventually, about 3/4 of a mile down the trail, I knew I must have passed him, so turned around to backtrack. At some point I decided to leave the trail and walk out to the water’s edge and take a look around. Thankfully, I chose a spot directly across from Omar. It was actually Joey that spotted me from my bright pink long-sleeved shirt and Omar gave a whistle to get my attention. Never thought I’d get a cat call in the backcountry! Add another experience to the growing list. So, the three of us set up camp just off the water. Omar had already gone for a swim, so I took the opportunity to jump in for a bit. COLD!! Now being a Bay Area girl, I’m used to the cold ocean, but this was even colder. And of course the breeze kicked up as soon as I got out to try and dry off. But it was nice and refreshing – a nice way to end day number two.
Omar and Joey stayed up for a couple of hours chatting, while I hunkered down in my tent to rest for the night. Day two was much better than day one, but I could tell I was coming down with something, most likely that cold I’d been trying to ignore. So between sniffles and mini coughing fits, I fell asleep next to the chilly but beautiful Upper Cathedral Lake, thinking maybe, just maybe, I would be able to get through this after all.
