September 23, 2025.
From the Tioga Pass area, there was one objective that seemed the most obvious to me: Mt. Dana. It’s the second highest peak in Yosemite National Park and there’s an unofficial route to the top that leaves right from the pass. But why stop there? I noticed Mt. Gibbs isn’t too far away, and after a little online research I found several trip reports connecting the two. I even thought I might add a minor peak that’s roughly between the two. With a rough itinerary in mind, I had Aaron drop me off at the Mono Pass trailhead.
Mt. Gibbs
The morning air was sharp and chilly against my face. I snuggled into my fleece and began walking up the Mono Pass trail. I made it less than a mile up the well-graded trail before heading cross country towards the ridge. It was steep, but easy to navigate due to the widely spaced trees and lack of shrubbery. Excellent bushwhacking country.
All that uphill helped warm me up. I emerged into a meadow, where I stopped to look at the beautiful mountain scenery. While catching my breath, I noticed a family of deer grazing at the meadow’s edge. What an idyllic spot! I kept going uphill until there was no further to go and I sat on the summit of Mt. Gibbs. Well, that was easy, I thought. A good omen for the rest of the day, perhaps.
After my first lunch, I poked around the north ridge looking for a way to scramble down to the saddle. On the map it looked really straightforward. In real life, however, the steep, loose blocks did not give me the warm fuzzies. I exhausted all my options on that route and went back to the drawing board.
I noticed a bowl to the east that had a big, flat landing at the bottom. While it wouldn’t be fun getting down there, it would be far safer than traversing the ridge. So, knowing that would add extra elevation gain to my day, I admitted defeat and scrambled down to the bowl. It was tedious work negotiating the talus all while dreading the bonus climbing I’d given myself. But as I descended, I thought back to my original plan. If I’m going to be all the way over here, then I might as well add that third unnamed bump to my itinerary. Seemed like a good way to make lemons into lemonade. (And to give myself even more elevation gain).
On the way down, I got some excellent views of the cliffs beneath the north ridge of Mt. Gibbs. And I even found a blooming wildflower. Eh, maybe this route isn’t so bad after all.
Peak 12565
Once I reached the bottom of the bowl, I looked at my options for climbing back out. I chose a gentle route up more boulders to the north. From there, I angled northeast towards the highpoint of a broad plateau. It looked like nothing with Gibbs and Dana towering above it. But, it was a blip on the map and it was something to do. The weather was so gorgeous and I hadn’t seen a soul all day, so there was no sense of hurrying back.
And this ended up being my favorite part of the day! All the boulders here were big and solid, so it was fun hopping from one to the next. A flock of American pipits flew overhead, chattering away as I walked. And as I ate my second lunch on the summit, I was joined briefly by a gray-crowned rosy finch, a lifer! How lucky I felt to be there at that moment.
I looked down and spied something familiar: a Talenti jar. Inside was a summit register. This was the first time I’d seen one housed in a Talenti container in all my years of doing this foolishness. I signed in as one of the handful of visitors who had come since it was placed in 2021.
Mt. Dana
Looking up from my glorious perch, I saw the work still ahead of me, and the sole reason for this outing: Mt. Dana. From the saddle, I had to ascend another 1500′ of elevation to reach the top. After all the hiking I’d done so far, that felt like a lot. In order to motivate myself, I broke it down: that’s less than 4 Pilot Buttes. I could do that.
I’ve been using Pilot Butte as a measure of elevation gain on many hikes on this trip. When I lived in Bend, I’d hike up Pilot Butte at least once a week. It’s a 400′ climb to the top, and on a good day I could be up there in 20 minutes no problem. That is, of course, on fresh legs and a packed trail, so the data didn’t always directly translate into mountain climbing. But it helps me mentally prepare for the time and effort to come.
I settled into a groove. After reaching the saddle, I told myself I’d take a break at least every Pilot Butte. Until then, I kept my head down and legs moving,
It was hard not to take more breaks because the climb was so beautiful. I saw so many varieties of colorful rocks that kept distracting me from my mission. This place was so different from what I think of when I conjure up visions of Yosemite. I had no idea this kind of landscape existed here. Again I felt gratitude for being there on that day.
But the wonder soon drifted into monotony and I turned to step-counting to help keep my body moving. 1, 2, 3…30, pause. Breathe. 1, 2, 3…and on and on. This is another strategy that is great to use while climbing mountains, especially at the end of a long climb. I looked up to see what lay ahead of me and I was convinced I was looking up at the false summit.
So imagine my delight when I got there and IT WAS THE TOP! I fully expected to be sharing that moment with a horde of Yosemite tourists but it was empty. I sat up there for 20 glorious minutes in the warm sunshine, soaking up the killer views and blissful silence.
Now that all the cross country travel was over, all I had to do was follow the use trail down. Aaron would be waiting for me at nearby parking lot that looked like an easy bushwhack from near the bottom of the trail.
Mentally, I checked out and just started putting one foot in front of the other. I passed one couple on their way up. Then, about halfway down the steep summit cone, I saw a young man standing on the trail. We chatted for a bit and he asked about the rest of the trail. I gave him my assessment, then he said “my sister doesn’t want to finish the hike.” Sister? As I walked past him, I encountered a young woman sitting in the fetal position backed up to the rocks at the edge of the trail. She was crying and obviously terrified. I talked to her for a couple minutes, assuring her that it is always okay to turn around and hoped that it was loud enough for her brother to hear me. By this time, it was mid-afternoon and they still had a bit of climbing to do on the type of terrain she was not happy to be on. And then get all the way back down (with no poles and probably no warm layers). I really hope they called it at that point and got down safely.
Note to those brother-types: please assess how your hiking companions are doing and listen when they say they’re not having a good time. It’s horrible to drag people into situations in which they do not feel safe. Best case scenario they’ll never want to hike with you again and worse case scenario they’ll get injured or die. It is just not worth it!
After that, I just saw one other person on the trail. This was not the Yosemite experience I expected! I was thrilled with how the whole day played out and so stoked to get three highpoints and be back in time for a scenic drive into the valley!
