It was a long time ago, July 16th 1988, to be exact, when four of us 'Labbies' decided to go to Yosemite, take a hike and climb North Peak. Actually the approach is mostly in the rugged and scenic Inyo Wilderness that borders on the east side of Yosemite, and the trip involved a one night backpacking excursion that started at Saddlebag Lake, elevation about 10,000 feet.

We drove across the Tioga Pass and up to Saddlebag Lake where we started our hike. Here we have Jay, Tim, Jim and Steve partway up the mountain. Please note that all the following pictures were taken by Jim, a great photographer and good friend. We had done another hike to Pyramid Peak a month earlier, but that is another story.

The topo map above shows the route to our camp site in purple and the climb to the top in orange (ignore the red lines that represent the borders of various wilderness sections). The hike around the lake and to our camp was less than three miles but it was the altitude that wore us out quickly.

What is amazing is that wild flowers grow in various patches between the rocks. The seeds survive the harsh winters with lots of snow and ice and the plants pop up again in the summer. Soon we had a clear view of our target, the rugged wall of North Peak. Thus far we had only climbed from about 10,000 feet to 10,350 at Steelhead Lake where we found a clump of trees to make our bivouac.

We explored the area and found the Hess Mine at the north end of Steelhead Lake. This was a tungsten ore mine many years ago, but now it is a water logged hole with old timbers and not too safe to explore. I did pick up a rock sample that is still displayed in my office.
The following morning we were ready to tackle the mountain. Looking up, we first thought to go to the right where you can see a large patch of snow. But then the wall becomes too steep. Studying a topo map, Tim suggested we should go around to the southwest side where it looked a bit less steep. So we did.

As we climbed we had some great views of the surrounding country, including Saddlebag Lake. Notice the trail along the left edge. However, now we were totally on our own, no trail and only a map to show the way. We met two other fellows with ice axes and crampons who were going up the glacier to the south trying to get to the top of Conness Peak, shown behind us in the picture below.

From this point on the terrain became very steep with lots of loose rocks and screed. Every step caused a minor rain of loose rocks, so we had to spread out rather than follow the leader. Steve and I were always bringing up the rear. But we made it. We had climbed almost 2000 feet.

The view in all directions was truly spectacular. Looking to the north east we could see Lundy Canyon and Nevada in the distance with Steelhead Lake below us. To the south more rugged country and pristine lakes that are only visible from above. Then to the south west more of Yosemite including Roosevelt Lake, Clouds Rest and Half Dome.

Thank you guys, and in particular Jim, for sending me these pictures and letting me reminisce about a great weekend. Next will be our trip to Pyramid Peak.
BTW I still have two rocks of this trip hanging on the wall of my home office.