Started at the base of El Cap, here in the valley, ran 0.3mi west to start of Old Big Oak Flat road (not on Topo, but theres some descriptions on tha interwebs if u google it) Its a closed road covered in big rockslides, so the first 3 miles is run/ walk/ routefind/cross boulder land and some 4th class super steep climbing ...no "trail" just the way, keep goin west n up
Then, at 4.5 miles a trail sign says 5.5 to the top of el cap, u turn right (east) there . go up 4000ft (from start at bottom of the mtn, to top took me 3hr 31 min, was only 10miles but all up, and icy in spots)
From top of El Cap i ran down to Yosemite creek n ran down Yosemite falls trail n then home. started at 940AM, home by 5PM. ate lunch on El Cap n took pics n fell once runnin in ice cause i was too lazy to get my YakTrax out n put em on. Fuk it, i hadnt fallen since my Tenaya Lake run back in May so watever.
heres my peex fo u to see!
first view after all the rockslide crossings. (there were 3 and i didnt take pics case i was focusing on how n where to not fall n die)
...this is looking west from old road.
looking down at the Rostrum
thats the old road, its old n not maintained, which i love! unmaintained trails are the best, even better wen not on the topo map, it means no people. i didnt see anyone at all my first 3hrs, then ran into 2 campers/backpackers, n that was it til 330pm
view of the top, west side of El Cap
trail on the side of El Cap
top of El Cap...views from-
Half Dome partially hidden by that tree
Dome n Sentinal Rock
Looking east, Clouds Rest
lookin west
west
east
far
still on el cap. Big-Wall-climbers nests, i eat lunch here
nest, clouds rest n dome
south
north-east
Sentinel
Dome, sentinel, mtns...my home
north dome n washington column
same, on zoom. I live right where that shadow line is down there in tha trees
south
an' thats it.
*heres a link for you Hikers. with washout n fall pix. (i personally, did not consider this "challenging" i considered it fun and simply what you get normally on a run in the mountains, but i enjoy routefinding alot. and, these guys seemed to find just 2 logs to be a "challenge" lol. maybe some people just dont get out much.
and 3 hrs for 3 miles??? wtf? anyways, they have good pics of the slide areas. and tracked the route , so, info- ya. also, i didnt "prepare" i just got some juice n snacks n went. it was fine IMO , but, i live here, so my opinion is always 100% different than anyone elses! i dont consider something a challenge unless im pretty sure i could end up with badly broken bones or dead, this run only put me in one spot, briefly, where i coulda gotten broken, so it was ok http://www.panamintcity.com/yosemite/rainbowview.html
