Tuolumne Meadows

Tuolumne Meadows is a gentle, dome-studded meadowy section of the Tuolumne River, in the eastern section of Yosemite National Park. Its approximate location is coord|37|52.5|N|119|21|W|. Its approximate elevation is 8619 feet (2627 m).

Tuolumne Meadows has a good view of the Cathedral Range (in the background of the image, looking south), Lembert Dome and Mount Dana (to the north). Camping is available at the Tuolumne Meadows campground [cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tmcamp.htm|title=Tuolumne Meadows Campground|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=2008-07-08] (reservations recommended). [cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov./yose/planyourvisit/camping.htm|title=Campground Reservations|accessdate=2008-07-08|publisher=National Park Servce] Excellent hiking and rock climbing are accessible from Tuolumne Meadows, [cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/yose/wilderness/tmplan.htm|title=Tuolumne Meadows Trail Distances and Descriptions|accessdate=2008-07-08|publisher=National Park Service] which tends to be less crowded than Yosemite Valley. The John Muir Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail run through Tuolumne Meadows. Downstream (flowing to the right (western) side of the image), the Tuolumne River cascades over Waterwheel Falls, near Glen Aulin, eventually pooling at Hetch Hetchy.

The mountains of the Sierra near the meadows have somepermanent snowfields: in the summer they are mostly free of snow. Although brief, the late spring and summer wildflower bloom in Tuolumne Meadows is host to a wide variety of California wildflowers, including the relatively rare Purple Webber, a type of lupine. The roads to the meadows are generally free of snow from June through October. Due to the extreme elevation, road access is closed through winter season in the Meadows.

Many back country hiking and backpacking trail heads start in Tuolumne Meadows including the primary route to summit Mount Lyell (California), the highest peak in Yosemite National Park.

Rock climbing

In contrast to the big walls of Yosemite Valley, climbing at Tuolumne generally consists of short- to medium-length routes on eleven major domes and a number of minor ones, stretching from the Stately Pleasure Dome above Tenaya Lake to Lembert Dome on the east side of the Meadows. Since the area is all at a high elevation, the climbing season is mainly limited to June through September.

The rock is granite porphyrite, a very hard form of granite. It has a tendency for exfoliation when exposed to the harsh Sierra winters, thus producing the distinctive dome shapes. The resulting climbing includes both face and crack routes, the former often runout due to limited numbers of bolts, and the latter frequently following very thin cracks. The local ethic is to limit the placement of bolts on new routes and to forbid the addition of bolts to existing routes, resulting in distances of 40 feet (12 m) or more between bolts. [cite book|first=Don|last=Reid|coauthors=Chris Falkenstein|title=Rock Climbs of Tuolumne Meadows|publisher=Chockstone Press| origdate=May 1986|isbn=0-934641-01-3|pages=160]

The major domes include:
* Stately Pleasure Dome
* Polly Dome
* Daff Dome
* Pothole Dome
* Lembert Dome
* Fairview Dome
* Mariolumne Dome
* Medlicott Dome
* Pywiack Dome
* Tenaya Peak

In addition, the peaks of the nearby Cathedral Range, such as Mount Conness and Cathedral Peak, are traditionally considered part of the climbing area.

External maps

* [http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/YOSEpark2003.pdf Park Map] NPS

References

External links

* [http://www.travsite.com/camping/tuolumne-meadows.html Tuolumne Meadows Day Hikes]
* [http://yosemitecampsites.com/tuolumne/ Tuolumne Meadows Campground Site Photos]