(14 miles. Eagle Peak and return, 13 miles--8 hours)
The round trip to the summit of Eagle Peak via Yosemite Falls Trail is
one of the most attractive of one-day Yosemite excursions. From the
valley to the crest of El Capitan via the Yosemite Falls Trail,
returning via Gentry and the Big Oak Flat Road, is too long and hard a
trip to be attempted in one day except by the most hardened walkers.
The trail to Eagle Peak is excellent, but from that point to the
summit of El Capitan it is in poor condition. From this point along
the north rim to Gentry the route is so overgrown by brush as to be
almost impassable.
From ~Yosemite~ we follow Trail Trip 3 as far as the trail junction
above the zigzags west of the ~Upper Yosemite Fall~. Here we continue
straight ahead, paralleling ~Yosemite Creek~, to another junction a
quarter of a mile above. The trail to the north leads to ~Ten Lakes~
and ~Hetch Hetchy~ (Trail Trips 10 and 11). We turn to the left,
climbing westward near the north bank of ~Eagle Creek~ over an old
terminal moraine. One mile from the junction is ~Eagle Peak Meadow~
(Alt. 7200), where are good camp sites and forage. Ascending the creek
to its source, the trail continues south along the ridge, climbing
abruptly the last half mile to ~Eagle Peak~ (Alt. 7333), one of
Yosemite's finest lookout points. To the east the 3800-foot precipice
gives a vast impression of depth.
About one-third mile from the summit the little-used ~El Capitan
Trail~ branches to the west. Descending by sharp switchbacks to the
head of a small draw, the trail follows the rim westward thru a brushy
forest, undulating over the flat divides between several brooklets.
Swinging southward our trail emerges on an open transverse ridge,
which it follows a short distance to the summit of ~El Capitan~ (Alt.
7564), from which is a commanding outlook both up and down the valley.
It is possible to carefully descend towards the southeast to the rim,
where a slightly extending ledge allows one to peer over the sheer
wall of the 3000-foot cliff.
The old ~El Capitan Trail to Gentry~ branches to the west about
one-third of a mile north from the summit and continues thru very
brushy country along the north rim to ~Ribbon Creek~, about one mile
distant. From this point if one is a good woodsman and brush-fighter,
the old blazes may be followed thru a three-mile tangle to the ~Gentry
Checking Station~ on the ~Big Oak Flat Road~. Yosemite is then 8.1
miles distant by road.