Circuit-hiking from Yosemite's Upper Cathedral Lake to Columbia Finger and Tenaya Peak

On our last saunter of our 10-day Yosemite adventure in August 2019, David Witt and I set off from our Upper Cathedral Lake camp over Cathedral Pass to the ridge between Tresidder Peak and Columbia Finger.

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Columbia Finger

Columbia Finger (left) and Tresidder Peak (right)

Tresidder Peak and Cathedral Peak

We then contoured over to the tarn that feeds the creek that flows through Sunrise High Sierra Camp's Long Meadow.

From the tarn we contoured and climbed up to Tenaya Peak where we met two groups of climbers: two women from Philadelphia who came up with ropes and a man and a woman who climbed up barefoot and without ropes. I was astonished at both parties!

Then we headed up to the 10,450' point that overlooks the outlet of Lower Cathedral Lake, which I call Bob's Point because I love the view from here.

David and I scouted the only direct route down from Bob's Point to what I call Tresidder Cirque, which led down to our camp on Upper Cathedral Lake. David went down to explore the wildflowers and water gardens of this beautiful basin.

I returned to Bob's Point to spend the next three hours watching the afternoon shadows climb towards the peaks and the lighting change to warm sunset oranges and pinks. I stood on a narrow granite ledge of the perpendicular point at a chest-high wall facing the east watching and listening to the Clark's nutcrackers winging in front of me towards the whitebark pines cones they feed on.

My Watching Point and Listening Ledge

A Clark's nutcracker in flight

I took in the last direct light on Cathedral Peak and spied the green flash of the last limb of the red sun setting perfectly into the notch of the ridge north of Mt. Hoffman.

I put on my daypack with headlamp handy and set off for camp in the dusk. After some effort I found the only ledge that could get me down off the ridge and onto the

I followed the sound of the rushing waters of the creek just like I had fourteen years before in September 2005 when I last watched the sunset from Bob’s Point. Then I had no flashlight so I carefully worked my way down the rocks in the dusk and followed the light of a campfire someone had lit near my camp down to the lake.

After a fine saunter down from the point I was finally surprised when my headlamp revealed I had arrived back on the shores of Upper Cathedral Lake.