Emeric Pass (unofficial)
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 4:45 pm
TITLE: Unofficial Emeric Pass
GENERAL OVERVIEW:
Unofficial "Emeric Pass" (my name - not named on map) connects Emeric Lake (connects to Fletcher Creek trail) in the Cathedral Range of the Yosemite Wilderness with the unnamed lake 9637 in the Echo Creek drainage to the north, and then ultimately to Nelson Lake, where you can pick up a good trail to Tuolumne Meadows.
CLASS/DIFFICULTY:
Class 2 over the pass proper due to steep slopes, micro route finding, and some scrambling; class 1 for the northern cross-country route extension from Lake 9637 to Nelson Lake.
LOCATION:
Emeric Pass is in the Yosemite National Park Wilderness at coordinates 37.7825 degrees north latitude and -119.3867 degrees west longitude. HST Map
ELEVATION: Approximately 9800 feet.
USGS TOPO MAP (7.5'): Tenaya Lake
ROUTE DESCRIPTION & PHOTOS:
On the map below, trails are solid lines and the Emeric Pass cross-country route is a dotted line. Here are directions for the pass going from Emeric Lake north. I hiked this route on September 6, 2016. A use trail runs through the meadows and along the lake shore around the east, north, and west sides of Emeric Lake. Leave this use trail at the north corner of Emeric lake to start the cross-country route to Emeric Pass.
Head up the grassy slope with some rocks north of Emeric Lake to the trees that mark a ravine (dry) that splits the solid granite slope.
Head up this ravine (steep) following the line of trees along the edge of solid granite approximately 15 minutes to where an obvious wide forested bench heads up left (northwest). Just before this point, I had to walk up a steep slab, made easier by the big feldspar knobs to rest boots on. There might be an easier route here at the top of the ravine by staying on the lower edge of the ravine. I stayed on the upper side of the ravine against the solid granite.
Ascend northwest up the forested bench easily over low-angle slabs and mixed broken rock and dirt. I stayed close to the lower side of the bench, partly for the views.
Eventually, the bench gets steeper with big boulders, but you can pick your way around them. I saw deer prints and possible boot prints on this bench.
Views get better and better as you near the pass.
Close to the pass, the bench narrows down to a flat dirt floored linear feature about 20 feet wide. On the right (north) side of this narrowed bench is a cliff face about 20 feet high with the pass ridge on top of it. You need to get up there. Where the bench constricts to a short narrow section about 3 feet wide, just beyond and right above you see three dead pine trunks on the ridge top. They mark the low spot of the pass.
On your right, you can scramble up a diagonal joint system across the cliff to the top. There are hand holds. If you miss this joint system, the main bench continues flat and sandy about 100 feet beyond the constriction and then appears to end in a cliff.
Once you've scrambled up to the cliff top by the three dead pines, twenty feet of walking on granite slabs takes you to the apparent low point of the pass. It took me one hour to reach the pass from Emeric Lake. The view is great!
A route directly northwest and downslope from this low point of the pass is steep and cliffy. Instead, head southwest up the ridge top with easy slab walking, gaining a bit of elevation, until you reach an obvious ravine turning right (northeast) and heading diagonally down slope. This ravine is lined with mountain hemlock trees.
Follow this ravine steeply down along the cliffy edge of the solid granite. The grade moderates as it gets lower and onto more forested slopes. Follow the obvious drainage all the way down this slope through the densest, tallest trees to the head of the meadow at the east end of Lake 9637. There are other ways down the slope as well from the top of the ravine that stay further west - one had ducks. But the ravine is the most direct route. Lake 9637 is very deep - surprising for a meadow and forest fringed lake.
GENERAL OVERVIEW:
Unofficial "Emeric Pass" (my name - not named on map) connects Emeric Lake (connects to Fletcher Creek trail) in the Cathedral Range of the Yosemite Wilderness with the unnamed lake 9637 in the Echo Creek drainage to the north, and then ultimately to Nelson Lake, where you can pick up a good trail to Tuolumne Meadows.
CLASS/DIFFICULTY:
Class 2 over the pass proper due to steep slopes, micro route finding, and some scrambling; class 1 for the northern cross-country route extension from Lake 9637 to Nelson Lake.
LOCATION:
Emeric Pass is in the Yosemite National Park Wilderness at coordinates 37.7825 degrees north latitude and -119.3867 degrees west longitude. HST Map
ELEVATION: Approximately 9800 feet.
USGS TOPO MAP (7.5'): Tenaya Lake
ROUTE DESCRIPTION & PHOTOS:
On the map below, trails are solid lines and the Emeric Pass cross-country route is a dotted line. Here are directions for the pass going from Emeric Lake north. I hiked this route on September 6, 2016. A use trail runs through the meadows and along the lake shore around the east, north, and west sides of Emeric Lake. Leave this use trail at the north corner of Emeric lake to start the cross-country route to Emeric Pass.
Head up the grassy slope with some rocks north of Emeric Lake to the trees that mark a ravine (dry) that splits the solid granite slope.
Head up this ravine (steep) following the line of trees along the edge of solid granite approximately 15 minutes to where an obvious wide forested bench heads up left (northwest). Just before this point, I had to walk up a steep slab, made easier by the big feldspar knobs to rest boots on. There might be an easier route here at the top of the ravine by staying on the lower edge of the ravine. I stayed on the upper side of the ravine against the solid granite.
Ascend northwest up the forested bench easily over low-angle slabs and mixed broken rock and dirt. I stayed close to the lower side of the bench, partly for the views.
Eventually, the bench gets steeper with big boulders, but you can pick your way around them. I saw deer prints and possible boot prints on this bench.
Views get better and better as you near the pass.
Close to the pass, the bench narrows down to a flat dirt floored linear feature about 20 feet wide. On the right (north) side of this narrowed bench is a cliff face about 20 feet high with the pass ridge on top of it. You need to get up there. Where the bench constricts to a short narrow section about 3 feet wide, just beyond and right above you see three dead pine trunks on the ridge top. They mark the low spot of the pass.
On your right, you can scramble up a diagonal joint system across the cliff to the top. There are hand holds. If you miss this joint system, the main bench continues flat and sandy about 100 feet beyond the constriction and then appears to end in a cliff.
Once you've scrambled up to the cliff top by the three dead pines, twenty feet of walking on granite slabs takes you to the apparent low point of the pass. It took me one hour to reach the pass from Emeric Lake. The view is great!
A route directly northwest and downslope from this low point of the pass is steep and cliffy. Instead, head southwest up the ridge top with easy slab walking, gaining a bit of elevation, until you reach an obvious ravine turning right (northeast) and heading diagonally down slope. This ravine is lined with mountain hemlock trees.
Follow this ravine steeply down along the cliffy edge of the solid granite. The grade moderates as it gets lower and onto more forested slopes. Follow the obvious drainage all the way down this slope through the densest, tallest trees to the head of the meadow at the east end of Lake 9637. There are other ways down the slope as well from the top of the ravine that stay further west - one had ducks. But the ravine is the most direct route. Lake 9637 is very deep - surprising for a meadow and forest fringed lake.