We wake up early and pack up our gear for the last time. The morning is cool, which is good because we now have to climb 800 feet of switchbacks in about a mile to get out of the Ten Lakes area and up-and-over Ten Lakes Pass. We begin the due West climb up the switchbacks – and it doesn’t take long for the East-rising sun to start to heat us up. We encounter some pikas and a huge Marmot on the switchback ascent, as Ten Lakes Pass is reasonably high up at 9,670 feet in elevation.
We finish the ascent and arrive at Ten Lakes Pass – a beautiful alpine meadow – and are greeted by some playful deer. Now – we begin our 8 mile descent South and West to are starting point at White Wolf campground. After the initial set of steep downward switchbacks, the trail crosses the lovely Half Moon Meadow. We encounter a pair of backpackers camped out there, but otherwise it is quiet and still. It’s a beautiful meadow at the base of the Ten Lakes Pass – and we make a note to come back and visit it again.
From there, it’s another 2 miles or so until the trail junction of the Ten Lakes Trail and the East/West White Wolf Trail. We stop at the junction for a snack – there’s no water in Yosemite Creek at the junction, but we have plenty so we are ok to keep going. The trail heads directly West towards White Wolf, covering about 3 ½ miles of beautiful dense forest with some amazingly large trees. It also winds its way through a burn area left over from the Lukens fire many years earlier. But the forest is coming back – which is a good sign. From the Lukens Lake trail junction, it’s now just a bit under 2 miles to complete our journey.
We arrive back at the White Wolf Campground to the eerie sight of zero people. The campground closed just after Labor Day (the day after we were there), so it was locked up tight and no one was around. We saw two people sitting at a picnic table, and they look surprised to see us coming out of the forest, but other than that – no one. We were the only car left in the overflow parking, which was weird. We packed everything back into the car and followed the dirt loop back to the access road.
When we got to the access road / Highway 120 junction the GATE WAS CLOSED! Uh oh – how were we going to out??? I’ve got no phone signal either!! My first thought was to turn around and go back to those two people at the picnic table and say “how the heck did you guys get in here???” But first, I decided to get out of the car and check the gate. Sure enough, it was closed BUT THE LOCK wasn’t latched. Phew!!! I unwrapped the lock and chain and opened the gate, moved my car out, and then re-wrapped everything up. It took a few minutes for my heart to slow down.
And just like that, our 5-day adventure on the Yosemite Wilderness Grand Canyon of Tuolumne Loop was complete. Now, time to drive to Bishop for Mexican Food and Beers! Then, the next morning, it would be a stop at the Alabama Hills Café in Lone Pine for breakfast, and then home!