To be honest, this leg, Glen Aulin to Ragged Peak, would be a real difficult climb for man and mount alike. A well suited pair could do it with lots of dismounted travel – some of it slow going over shale steps and loose gravel with a 2000 foot rise in elevation. The air will be super thin at the top – our intended camp.
Glen Aulin to Ragged Peak
Today’s Topic is: “Glen Aulin to Ragged Peak”
Glen Aulin to Ragged Peak stands as one of the most demanding, breathtaking high-country traverses in the Yosemite wilderness, taking stock and rider out of the lush river basin and up toward the sheer alpine spires guarding the northern horizon. Setting out from the timbered sanctuary of Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp, the cold morning air carries the sharp, resinous tang of lodgepole pine mixed with the icy, metallic bite of high altitude. Beneath the saddle, Sierra, a golden palomino mare with a muscular frame and a flowing, almost white mane, steps out with a rhythmic, sure-footed cadence. You sit deep in an oil-rubbed Wade saddle packed tightly with canvas bedding, a woolen slicker, and heavy leather saddlebags. Dressed in heavy denim beneath thick leather chaps, double-vamped boots firm in tapaderos, a wool vest, silk wildrag, and a wide-brimmed felt hat, you guide your mount with the calm confidence of a seasoned hand. Mapping this route along Google Earth lays out a rigorous seven-mile course, climbing steep mountain benches that reach upwards of a twenty-two degree grade, requiring absolute trust between horse and rider across unforgiving granite terrain.
Glen Aulin to Ragged Peak – Leaving the roar of the Tuolumne River and White Cascade behind, the route heads north, picking up the trail corridor that climbs toward Cold Canyon. The lower trail consists of decomposed granite sand and scattered pine needles, giving Sierra easy footing as the grade ascends gently through open stands of lodgepole. Before long, the easy dirt gives way to the rugged realities of high-altitude stone. The canyon narrows, forcing the path over exposed granite ledges and hand-built stone steps designed for pack stock. Sierra negotiates these step-overs with deliberate care, her iron-shod hooves making a sharp clink-clink against the rock as she places each hoof squarely before shifting her weight. As the pitch sharpens, reaching steep inclines that test her hindquarters, you lean forward over her neck, keeping your weight centered to take the strain off her back while giving her full rein to choose her footing.
Glen Aulin to Ragged Peak – To the west, across the canyon divide, the soaring, glaciated ridges of the high country frame the skyline, while to the east, the deep, unmaintained gorge of Conness Creek drops away into shadowy depth. The trail continues its relentless push upward, climbing toward the high timbered shelf. Here, the slope hits its steepest stretches, pushing right up against that twenty-two degree incline. Along these exposed switchbacks, the footing transforms into treacherous fields of loose shale and broken slate. The thin, flat slabs of rock shift and slide beneath weight, making every step an exercise in balance. Sensing the instability of the sliding stone, you swing your leg over the cantle and dismount onto the trail.
Glen Aulin to Ragged Peak – Walking ahead on foot in heavy chaps and tapadero boots, you lead Sierra by the reins, letting her navigate the shifting scree without the burden of a rider. Loose rock skitters down the slope with every step, sending small showers of grey slate rattling into the brush below. Sierra moves with immense patience, snorting softly as she tests the sliding gravel with her hooves, searching for solid granite bedrock underneath before stepping forward. Negotiating this section requires slow, methodical work; a sudden rush could cause a horse to slip or strain a tendon on the sharp edges of the stone. Up here, above nine thousand feet, your lungs burn in the crisp, thin air as you haul yourself and lead your mount up the unrelenting incline, but Sierra’s steady presence at your shoulder keeps the momentum going.
Glen Aulin to Ragged Peak – Topping out on the high granite bench around ninety-five hundred feet, the incline finally relaxes, and the terrain transitions into a wide, wind-swept plateau dotted with stunted krummholz pines and ancient juniper. Swinging back into the Wade saddle, you let Sierra catch her wind while taking in the immense, untouched landscape. Directly off the right shoulder, looming large and uncompromising against the pale mountain sky, stands the massive, jagged granite tooth of Ragged Peak, its sheer rock faces and steep talus aprons rising to nearly eleven thousand feet. Turning eastward off the main corridor, you guide Sierra along the northern bench below the peak’s rugged backside, picking a gentle line across polished granite slabs and patches of alpine meadow.
Glen Aulin to Ragged Peak – By late afternoon, after a grueling but rewarding seven-mile journey, horse and rider arrive at the designated camping spot nestled directly near the western base of Ragged Peak. The location offers shelter among a grove of weather-beaten lodgepoles, with a small, crystal-clear snowmelt stream trickling past cold granite boulders nearby. Unbuckling the cinch, you remove the Wade saddle and heavy blankets, rubbing down Sierra’s golden coat and checking her legs for any cuts or scrapes from the loose shale. She nickers softly, shaking out her long white mane, thoroughly content to graze on the sparse alpine grass while tethered safely in the timber.
Glen Aulin to Ragged Peak – With camp established and the canvas bedroll laid out near a ring of stones, you pull up a sun-warmed boulder just as the late afternoon hours slip into evening. The final reward of the arduous journey unfolds across the High Sierra horizon. As the sun sinks toward the western ridges, the sky erupts into rich hues of amber, rose, and deep violet, casting a brilliant golden glow across the sheer face of Ragged Peak. The surrounding granite cathedrals glow like warm embers against the darkening sky, while the deep valleys below slip into cool indigo shadows. Sitting back with a cup of trail coffee, watching the golden light fade into a canopy of emerging stars, the quiet majesty of the mountains settles deep into your chest, proving once again that every difficult mile on the trail earns a memory that lasts a lifetime. Completing the leg from Glen Aulin to Ragged Peak reminds any high-country traveler that the wildest vistas belong to those willing to earn them step by step.
Glen Aulin to Ragged Peak
Popi sends…
Other Random Thoughts: White Wolf to Glen Aulin
Can you see it?