California 2022, 2/3: Sonora pass
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 10.31 mi
- Elevation gain
- 3,406 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Difficult
- Elevation loss
- 623 ft
- Max elevation
- 9,651 ft
- TrailRank
- 32
- Min elevation
- 6,312 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Time
- 2 hours 52 minutes
- Coordinates
- 1373
- Uploaded
- October 8, 2022
- Recorded
- May 2022
near Kennedy Meadow, California (United States)
Viewed 99 times, downloaded 0 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
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West side of Sonora pass
Made with Bob's gravel: 100% asphalt
Preamble : John is an ace of improvisation: our return trip between Yosemite Park and Lee Vining being made impossible by the closure of the Tioga pass road (3031m), the highest road pass crossing the Sierra Nevada , he opted for the Sonora pass route (the 2nd highest in this mountain range) after our improvised visit to Yosemite Valley (the day before). While sleeping in Strawberry, 🍓 we had a bit of a scare, because the village was enveloped in thick smoke, in the evening as in the morning, but at breakfast (not so small, in fact), rangers reassured by telling us that it was a "prescribed burn" 🔥 (directed burning).
🏁 This is the beginning of the climb which presents the steepest slope... and even damn steep just before a superb point of view where a sign evokes the hardships endured by the first caravans which crossed the Sierra Nevada (if the Amerindians seem to have established some intertribal trade routes there, it was only explored by Europeans from 1827, and the first crossings in the vicinity of the Sonora pass seem to date back to the mid-19th century). The middle of the climb is less steep (there is even a slight descent). The cars are rare, the scenery is really wild! A family stops however, and absolutely wants to take a picture of me (with my smartphone), carrying the bike above my head!
We often stop to take pictures, making the bike "pose", sometimes playing with fire, it must be admitted, or rather "with the waters"... of the torrent (sinisterly named Deadman creek), especially near a rather picturesque waterfall. 💦 It gets tough at the end, as the temperature drops and the lack of oxygen must also start to be felt a little: that's good, that's what we came for to prepare for of our Hawaiian Challenge ! There is still a lot of snow ❄️ in the final part, but the Sonora pass road (2939m) is perfectly snow cleared. At the pass, we meet a couple of retirees, former followers of "trail", in great shape! Very kind, they even offer us licorice sticks (the secret of their performance!). These Austrian naturalized Americans explain to us that they appreciate the great American spaces, whereas in Austria, "you cannot go 5km without falling on a village" .
Ah, the Sierra Nevada and its landscapes... and above all: no damn Austrian village here! 😅 It would have become the big joke of the day (even if we understood what they meant: it's true that here, we feel very far from civilization) if I hadn't found a better one in evening... by running out of fuel 10km from John's, for not noticing the yellow light on his car's gauge. 🙈 But "shit happens" , right?! 😇
Oh, and speaking of which, a much less fun twist is about to happen... 😬
As expected, we begin the descent with the intention of climbing the other side of the pass. We thus pass from the basin of the Stanislaus river (tributary of the San Joaquim river, which ends its course in the bay of San Francisco) to that of the Walker river , which is part of the great endorheic basin of the American West (terminus of the route for the drops of water: the Walker lake... when the river has not completely evaporated before). I let John go in front (he traces much faster than me, of course), but less than 2km further, I see him stopped... could it be a new photo break? 🤔
Ouch, not really: his derailleur got stuck in the spokes of his rear wheel on the descent... resulting in the mutual destruction of these unfortunate artifacts! 💥😖💥 John, fortunately, comes out completely unscathed... but the bike is unusable. 😔 I propose to go get the car on the other side, but given my poor qualities as a descender, he finally prefers to go there himself with my bike (which belongs to Bob, a friend to whom John had given it ) to save time. It only remains for me to take a nap while waiting for him next to the unfortunate killed bike (far from any Austrian village, fortunately). A somewhat abrupt end to this beautiful day, where I will still have crossed the watershed line (Pacific / Great Basin) on the pedal!
California Adventures with John :
🚩 California 2022, 1/3: Yosemite valley
🚩 California 2022, 2/3: Sonora pass
🚩 California 2022, 3/3: Sonoma coast
Made with Bob's gravel: 100% asphalt
Preamble : John is an ace of improvisation: our return trip between Yosemite Park and Lee Vining being made impossible by the closure of the Tioga pass road (3031m), the highest road pass crossing the Sierra Nevada , he opted for the Sonora pass route (the 2nd highest in this mountain range) after our improvised visit to Yosemite Valley (the day before). While sleeping in Strawberry, 🍓 we had a bit of a scare, because the village was enveloped in thick smoke, in the evening as in the morning, but at breakfast (not so small, in fact), rangers reassured by telling us that it was a "prescribed burn" 🔥 (directed burning).
🏁 This is the beginning of the climb which presents the steepest slope... and even damn steep just before a superb point of view where a sign evokes the hardships endured by the first caravans which crossed the Sierra Nevada (if the Amerindians seem to have established some intertribal trade routes there, it was only explored by Europeans from 1827, and the first crossings in the vicinity of the Sonora pass seem to date back to the mid-19th century). The middle of the climb is less steep (there is even a slight descent). The cars are rare, the scenery is really wild! A family stops however, and absolutely wants to take a picture of me (with my smartphone), carrying the bike above my head!
We often stop to take pictures, making the bike "pose", sometimes playing with fire, it must be admitted, or rather "with the waters"... of the torrent (sinisterly named Deadman creek), especially near a rather picturesque waterfall. 💦 It gets tough at the end, as the temperature drops and the lack of oxygen must also start to be felt a little: that's good, that's what we came for to prepare for of our Hawaiian Challenge ! There is still a lot of snow ❄️ in the final part, but the Sonora pass road (2939m) is perfectly snow cleared. At the pass, we meet a couple of retirees, former followers of "trail", in great shape! Very kind, they even offer us licorice sticks (the secret of their performance!). These Austrian naturalized Americans explain to us that they appreciate the great American spaces, whereas in Austria, "you cannot go 5km without falling on a village" .
Ah, the Sierra Nevada and its landscapes... and above all: no damn Austrian village here! 😅 It would have become the big joke of the day (even if we understood what they meant: it's true that here, we feel very far from civilization) if I hadn't found a better one in evening... by running out of fuel 10km from John's, for not noticing the yellow light on his car's gauge. 🙈 But "shit happens" , right?! 😇
Oh, and speaking of which, a much less fun twist is about to happen... 😬
As expected, we begin the descent with the intention of climbing the other side of the pass. We thus pass from the basin of the Stanislaus river (tributary of the San Joaquim river, which ends its course in the bay of San Francisco) to that of the Walker river , which is part of the great endorheic basin of the American West (terminus of the route for the drops of water: the Walker lake... when the river has not completely evaporated before). I let John go in front (he traces much faster than me, of course), but less than 2km further, I see him stopped... could it be a new photo break? 🤔
Ouch, not really: his derailleur got stuck in the spokes of his rear wheel on the descent... resulting in the mutual destruction of these unfortunate artifacts! 💥😖💥 John, fortunately, comes out completely unscathed... but the bike is unusable. 😔 I propose to go get the car on the other side, but given my poor qualities as a descender, he finally prefers to go there himself with my bike (which belongs to Bob, a friend to whom John had given it ) to save time. It only remains for me to take a nap while waiting for him next to the unfortunate killed bike (far from any Austrian village, fortunately). A somewhat abrupt end to this beautiful day, where I will still have crossed the watershed line (Pacific / Great Basin) on the pedal!
California Adventures with John :
🚩 California 2022, 1/3: Yosemite valley
🚩 California 2022, 2/3: Sonora pass
🚩 California 2022, 3/3: Sonoma coast
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