High Sierra Loop Trail #3, Vogelsang to Merced Lake

We woke Thursday morning to aches and pains. I had brought plenty of Ibuprofen (not willing to give up that weight in my pack!) and Marion and I were eating it like candy.

Breakfast is at 7:30 each morning, but half an hour before each meal they ring the dinner bell to announce "Hot Drinks!" This is an informal social hour where all of the hikers at the camp help themselves to coffee, or more likely, non-caffiene tea, and stood around talking with each other while we waited for them to open the doors to the dining tent for our meal. I grew quite accustomed to the apple cinnamon tea that was available at each camp.

Marion and I were long awake at the 7am bell and had rolled up our sleep sack and repacked it into our packs. At breakfast that morning we sat with Sharon at a table with some people not from our group. We shared stories of our first day on the trail and laughed as we explained that we were not allowed to discuss our occupations with them in the presence of members of our group. The older couple across from us asked Marion and Sharon if they were sisters, they looked so much alike. They both looked at each other and laughed and said, yes, indeed they were sisters. It turns out that Sharon, like Marion, is an only child and they were both happy to have a sister at long last.

After breakfast, before donning our packs again for the hike to the next camp we had one last bit of business to take care of. It seems that it is tradition on these guided hikes to "sing for our supper", and we were expected to compose a short song and serenade the camp workers while they enjoyed their breakfast. Jane came up with a military marching chant that started, "I don't know but I've been told. Vogelsang staff's as good as gold." After our performance we settled our packs on our hips and set off for Merced Lake camp, 12 miles away and over 3,000 feet lower.















We set off down Fletcher Creek, walking along a beautiful tree-covered trail with the creek flowing beside us, rushing down a cascade every quarter mile or so. Today's topic was wild flowers, and Lisa would stop often to point out the many varieties of flowers blooming on our path. We learned to identify among the 17 varieties of Lupin in Yosemite by noting the 5 petaled palmar leaves they all share. Early August is the middle of Spring for the high country, and the wild flowers were in full bloom where ever we went. Our trail would wander away from the water for a time and then come back to meet it again at some dramatic waterfall cascade. We stopped at just such a spot for lunch.

After lunch we hiked a few more miles like this on a gentle downhill slope when Lisa stopped us for a short side trek. We dropped our packs and walked a quarter mile up the rocks to a wonderful overlook, high above an expansive meadow that stretched for a few miles ahead of us. What a pleasure it was to have a guide with us to make sure that we don't miss these wonderful views only a few steps off the main trail. Knowing what was just ahead of us, we loaded on our packs and hiked off into the meadow for a few miles of flat trail.

At the other end of the meadow we came out to a dramatic drop-off where Fletcher Creek went rushing down sheer granite walls to Merced Lake, still 1,500 feet below. We stopped on this exposed cliff for a snack while Lisa taught us the current and previous theories on Yosemite's geologic history. Glaciers, volcanoes, earthquakes and subduction zones all had their part to play in Yosemite's formation.

From this point we only had a few miles to go, but almost half our elevation to lose. Walking downhill with a heavy pack is no picnic, and for Marion it was almost her undoing. The trail here is called the Stairway to Hell (or the Stairway From Hell, depending on which way you are travelling.) The trail was built by making a trench with large granite slabs on each side, filled with cobbles that were then to be covered with dirt. The problem is that there is not much dirt or soil to be had in this part of Yosemite, and that dirt which was filled in there washed quickly away on those steep slopes from the frequent mountain thunder storms. What is left is an uneven steep pathway of odd-shaped cobbles, each of which struggles to turn your ankle and pitch you and your pack over the side with each step. Lengthening your trekking poles and placing them before you to take some of the weight of each step helps, but Marion was really suffering. Hiking, whether uphill or downhill, is about finding your rhythm, and it's hard to alter your pace to accomodate your hiking partners. The best I could do for Marion those last few miles was to hike ahead of her until I came to a switchback and then wait for her to catch up. At the end, Lisa told Marion that as a last resort she could drop her pack on the trail and hike down without it, and Lisa would go back up for it after everyone had reached camp. There's no danger of someone stealing your pack or gear on the trail; The last thing someone wants to do is pick up some more weight to carry themselves.

At last we reached camp (with Marion's pack still on her back) and indulged in some more lukewarm lemonade. Merced Lake camp is the largest and most popular of the high sierra camps, being the only camp reachable from Yosemite Valley, some 13.5 miles away. This day the camp was full of a family reunion group, some 30 or more people who had ridden mules that morning from Curry Village to within 5 miles of Merced Lake. It was a short, easy walk for them to carry their gear the rest of the way to camp where they were staying for a week. Also at camp that day was a 7 day guided hike group that was heading the opposite direction from ours.

Lisa asked us to meet at 5pm for a special treat, so that left us an hour or so to get settled in. Merced Lake camp has hot showers, flush toilets, and a laundry sink, all of which we made use of. At 5, Lisa led us to a pretty spot along the river where she prepared some of her famous Irish lemonade and shared some of her personal stash of chocolate with us. We enjoyed a very happy hour together.

That night, July 31st, the camp workers decided to celebrate Halloween, so they were all dressed in costume as they led us into the darkened, candle-lit tent for dinner. Dinner was pulled-pork sandwiches on fresh, home-made Kaiser rolls. The tables were covered with Halloween candy which had to be eaten quickly lest it attract bears. We were happy to do our part for bear safety.

It was a fun campfire that night, with 2 rangers in camp to lead us. Ranger Dave from the other group (or Danger Rave, as he likes to be known) led a campfire on Yosemite's bears. Actually it was an hour of Dave telling stories about his (sometimes insane) encounters with bears, many of them involving Dave's nakedness at the time, and the spreading of urine as a deterrent.

As the fire burned down, we headed back to our tent ready for a good night's sleep, but our roommates had skipped the campfire and were already sound asleep, the husband snoring like a buzz saw. Ahh, the peaceful sounds of the wilderness.

Continued in High Sierra Loop Trail #4, Layover at Merced Lake