We rekindled the fire the next morning for a bit more warmth while we waited for the sun to creep into the canyon. It wasn’t as cold as the past few days, but it was still October in the High Sierra. After coffee and breakfast, we set off for Vogelsang Pass (again) around 9:30.

Looking towards Mount Clark from near Vogelsang Pass. The smoke had died down a bit overnight as the winds subsided, but it was starting to build up again in the late morning.

Looking north over Vogelsang Lake. We hadn’t seen anyone in the last three days, since we were near Russell Pass and we started to wonder when we’d see the first group headed up the trail. Just after the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp we ran into a group of three headed for Vogelsang Peak.

Looking back towards Tuolumne Pass and Vogelsang Peak.

As morning turned to afternoon the smoke thickened. We had been wearing N95 masks all day which helped tremendously, but it began to sting our eyes a little bit. After many hours of hiking we reached the turn off to the ranger station. Our car was over at the Cathedral Lake Trailhead though, so we had to hike an additional two or three miles along the John Muir Trail through Tuolumne Meadows to get back. This stretch of trail wasn’t really that great, just a slog through the forest made a bit more uncomfortable by the now heavy smoke. But we were somewhat committed and at about 3:30 we reached our car and sat down for a rest before heading west for home.

We stopped at Tenaya Lake to clean off our feet. We were shocked by the number of people in the park despite the rather terrible conditions. There were a lot of climbers probably drawn by the fact that the reservation period was now over so they could come and go as they pleased. It seemed the ~200 AQI didn’t deter as many folks as we thought. After a quick rinse we piled back in the car and drove straight home, arriving in time to get some takeout burritos and a good night’s rest. While it hadn’t been quite the trip we had hoped for, it had still scratched that adventure itch. Now for a bit of rest while we waited for the first rains of the season to extinguish some of these fires.