Last year, I’d already gone skiing twice before Christmas. This year… the difference is like night and day. Despite a record snow year last season (and an accompanying unusually late opening), Tioga Road is still open. It hasn’t been open this late in the last 30 YEARS!!! While this is bad news for the ski season and probably for the California water supply, it does provide a uniquely special opportunity to visit Tuolumne Meadows during the winter (without having to ski in for miles and miles).
Given some rather radical running goals for 2012 (Tahoe Rim Trail 50k and the Evolution Basin Loop), plus my unfulfilled longing to run more in the Yosemite high country, some trail running was in order. A brief search of the interwebs suggested that trail would be reasonably runnable, so off we headed.
For our first run, after a not-so-good night of sleep at the 9000ft bivy, we planned to go from the Cathedral Lakes Trailhead to the Sunrise Trailhead via the Sunrise High Sierra Camp (~12.7 miles). We locked Luke’s bike to a bear bin at the Sunrise Trailhead for the shuttle back to the car (although he was able to hitch a ride). From the very beginning, we encountered a little bit more snow than we expected, but the trail was well trodden until Cathedral Lakes. After that… there was generally one set of footprints, a few sections of snow-free trail, and enough landmarks to use the map to navigate when we needed to. It was a challenging but extremely rewarding run (try running through snow when you’re plunging through crust every step). I put together a little video about it:
Tuolumne Trail Running from Lizzy Trower on Vimeo.
The next day, despite tiredness from running and not sleeping (again) at the 9000ft bivy, we went out on another run, this time an out-and-back from the Porcupine Creek Trailhead to North Dome (~9 miles round trip). There was barely any snow on this run, and it was actually quite warm on top of North Dome.
Luke takes a break from running on top of North Dome.
Silly faces in the woods on our way back to Porcupine Creek Trailhead.
It was a great way to take advantage of the splitter weather (hey, you get to spend more time in the sun when you’re not in the Ditch!) and the miraculously open Tioga Road. I don’t know how much longer it will last, but do be prepared if you go out there, too. Having a map, extra layers, and plenty of food and water were necessities. Above 8000ft, the trail was more often snow-covered than not, and all the creeks we crossed were frozen solid.
Hope everyone is getting after it in the new year!
Lizzy
For this road to still be open is just CRAZY! Loved the video and fun post. Rock climbing to trail running, an interesting transition. Congratulations on your marriage.
Thanks for your comment!
I actually think trail running is a great complementary activity to climbing – build aerobic fitness without adding too much muscle bulk, spend quality time in the mountains while avoiding climbing burnout, etc. Plus, more often than not I’ve been most happy with climbing when it’s not my only activity.
love these photos! @luke, evolution traverse this year?!?