Central Sierra: Yosemite NP, Humboldt-Toiyabe NF, Stanislaus NF

Halfmile maps i and j

This is where we start to come down from the high's of the Sierra's and into the land of the granite domes. Going to Yosemite has always been a dream of mine and being able to walk through it's Wilderness will make the experience even richer. From Tuolumne Meadows we trek from tourist mecca, across some beautiful granite outcrops and into the area less traveled. We pass by Mt Matterhorn in the Sawtooth range and thus passing what is considered to be the start/end of the High Sierra's.
Yosemite Wilderness ranges from the Lower Montane Forest of Yosemite Valley to the Upper Montane Forest and the Subalpine Forest. Maybe when near water you will be visited by a endangered Yosemite Toad.
From Yosemite National Park and Wilderness area we head into Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest; the largest National Forest in the lower 48 covering 6.3 million acres mostly in Nevada and a bit over in California. Although large, it is not contiguous. The forest lies in 13 counties in NV and 6 in CA. We just pass through a patch before we head into the Stanislaus National Forest.
Stanislaus National Forest got national attention this past year. It was where the Rim Fire began in August of 2013. It grew to be the third largest wildfire in CA recorded history. We will no doubt see the damage from last years event. If you read the Forest Service Website, Stanislaus National Forest sounds dreamy. "You can swim near a sandy beach or wade into cold clear streams cooling your feet" now that sounds lovely. After many miles of hiking, I could probably use a good swim. Even though the website doesn't show any weakness in it's nature-perfect facade, I'm sure the dreaminess/insane beauty of this forest is also partnered with a great sadness. Fire may be necessary for life, but it still hurts my heart to see the impact of a large burn.

Carson-Iceberg Wilderness is partial in the two national forests above. The Silver King Creek within it's borders supports the only native population of Paiute Cutthroat trout in existence. I'm going to use this amazing fact to iterate how important it is as backpackers to respect water. Soap residue is become a huge threat in remote areas. Unfortunately the safest option for taking a shower with soap in the backcountry is also a pain in the butt; collect water needed for shower, walk 200ft, shower and poor grey water out (double check location to make sure no water sources are around). That seems hard for me to actually commit to on a trail. So I like using two options: 1) the easy and cheap option, don't use soap expect for hands and dishes (I am happy to cart a half liter of water 200ft)  2) if I really can't take it I can wet a pack towel and take a quick towel bath with soap 200ft from water source. Just please don't take a bath directly in the stream/lake with soap. I have made this mistake before because my soap didn't have any chemicals in it, but really adding anything to the environments we will be traversing would be detrimental to the small, local animal and plant populations.

The Mokelumne Wilderness is where granite and lava beautifully collide. This is Piero's view headed up Round Top. In most of the pictures I've hunted down, the wild flowers in this section look unreal.

Flora:
With this section a new tree is added to you usual suspects. Along with Lodgepole pines, jeffery pines, aspen, and juniper comes mountain mahogany.
Endangered to this area is the Slender Stemmed Monkey Flower

Mariposa Desert Parsley

Yosemite Woolly Sunflower

Phantom Orchid

Fauna:
Record where and when you see a California Condor, Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep, and cutthroat trout as these animals have been having a hard go of it.

Rock Climbing:
Map i starts and ends with good climbing areas, but nothing is really marked in the middle. It starts with Tuolumne Meadows, which were covered in last blog entry, and ends with Sonora Pass. There is bouldering, route climbs (mostly sport) off Highway 108, and another area named Saint Mary's boulders. Then we jump to map j which starts with Sonora Pass and ends with Echo Lake. Same deal as with map i; good climbing at ends, nothing in the middle. Luther Rocks is a bit east from the trail off of the highway. Echo Lake rock climbing will be covered in the next blog with map k.