Laboring In Tuolumne

So this is going to be one more post about the greatness that can be found in Yosemite. There are just way to many world class climbs, amazing trails, and awesome animals to not spend at least one weekend a month in Yosemite. Jaz and I got our selves and four of our friends together for a backpacking, fishing, climbing trip in Toulumne meadows.

Here is the whole crew minus one, Kenny, who is taking the picture.

The trip started out pretty average with high spirits and beautiful scenery. Joelle thoroughly enjoys being outside as can be witnessed by her zen like stretching. We made it over out first pass which was an average climb but pretty windy. Apparently there are two methods for dealing with the wind, one is to try to put your head into it and power through. The other is to embrace it in the hopes that you will gain some lift and allow you to easily move forward. Kenny and Jasmine explored both methods.

Our second pass was cross country hiking (no trail) and after reaching the top we were rewarded with a spectacular view of our climb for the next day, Matthes Crest. This is a view from the east side instead of the standard approach view from the west side. We camped at Matthes Crest Lake which is off to the left.

The first evening in camp quickly exposed our weaknesses in gear and otherwise. Lewis proceeded to get progressively ill which proved to be extremely serious later in the trip while our stove, Joelle's and Lewis' stove, and our water filter all failed. Not so good for preparing food. Joelle gave us some good lessons in cooking over an open fire, a first for me, and after some small flare ups in frustrations a late dinner was served and amazing then everyone was just fine.

We awoke to what was probably the most beautiful sunrise I have ever witnessed. You can imagine how beautiful it was considering the picture was taken by complete amateurs with a cheap point and shoot. This did cause a significant delay in starting the climb however since who wants to climb on a 11000 ft. ridge with the risk of thundershowers looming.

Matthes Crest route deserves every one of the five stars that SuperTopo gives it. We climbed it in 30 mph winds that were biting cold wearing every piece of clothing we had on the trip but managed to have a great time. Especially once we got jasmine climbing and she could warm up a little. She admittedly did not have the best first pitch due to the cold. The route is usually climbed from south to north and has 300 feet of vertical climbing to gain the ridge. Then there is about one mile of traversing that is interspersed with 5.6 downcliming and upcliming moves. The last two pitches are the crux with a 5.6 downclimb and 5.7 lead. We then did two rappels off the east side to return to our camp. The standard rap route to the west had tons of rap stations but we found slings and did not have to leave behind any gear.

All ready to go and checking out the approach after the clouds cleared at 9am


Chris and Kenny climbed first so Kenny is taking the picture, Chris is the first one on the ridge, then me and Jaz are simul-climbing behind them. Jaz is the light blue spot on the highest point.


My awesome wife looking like the rock star that she is on the ridiculously exposed climbing that is Matthes Crest. I love being outside with her.



We got back to camp at 5pm, hungry but not too cold. The wind helped deliver the coldest night of our trip though and it got down to about 15F. I was the first one out of bed because jasmine and I had just purchased a new down bag two person sleeping system and were just as cozy as could be all cuddled up all night without wearing any extra cloths. Everyone was quick to jump out of there bags once I got a fire started and we started packing up to move to Cathedral lake. This hike took the four climbers of the group about 3 hours. Lewis' health had continued to deteriorate though and the hike took him and Joelle about 6 hours to complete. That evening we were all quite worried about him. He certainly was not having a very good time. We spent the evening relaxing, eating shmores, and talking logistics of getting Lewis out of the backcountry as early as possible. This involved us getting up a 4:30 to do our climb of Cathedral Peaks regular route so off to bed we went.

Now you may not think that you need an early start (especially a 4:30 one) for a climb on a mid-week day when you only have a 45 min approach but we sure were glad that we got that early of a start. Sure it was for other reasons than to beat the crowds but it still worked out that we had crowds to beat. The route was superb, again worthy of all 5 stars. Consistent, well protected, and fun 5.6 climbing for 5 pitches. This route is the debateably the most popular in all of Tuolumne for a reason. We were able to make it to the fourth pitch before anyone else even started at the base but by the time that we had walked off there were 5 other teams on the route, what a mess! I can not re-iterate enough how valuable our lesson of getting an early start has been in Yosemite on numerous occasions, thanks Chris.

Me and Jaz with South Cathedral Lake and Cathedral Peak in the background. Our route followed the right hand skyline of the peak. Our camp was off to the left.


Jasmine leading the perfect shoulder width chimney pitch and having a great time enjoying warm sunshine and zero wind.

For the most part the trip was totally awesome, relaxing, and well executed. I say for the most part because there was some fallout to deal with once Lewis got himself out of the backcountry. I have been hinting at issues all along which is exactly how it felt while we were out there. Things got serious pretty fast when Jaz and I woke up to a message from Joelle about taking Lewis to the hospital and being admitted into the ICU. We rushed to the hospital to find Lewis in stable condition but with absolutely no word as to what was wrong with him. I will spare you the details but the synopsis is that the poor guy most likely had a viral infection that was greatly exacerbated by the heavy physical exercise and high elevation. This in turn caused an acute kidney failure which of course lead to dehydration, head aches, and pneumonia. Lewis is doing quite well now but what a trip for him. Come to find out him and Joelle have numerous outrageous backpacking tails so if any of you reading this ever run into them you have an instant conversation starter. Simply ask them about the trip Lewis almost died or the trip that Joelle almost got eaten by a bear, or the trip that went horribly wrong in Big Sur.

Well, if there is anyone still reading this I am sure that you have had plenty of a story so until next time...don't get in viral infections.