Date: August 18, 2018
Climbing partner: Kevin Shenk
Route: Miwok, Wawona Dome, Yosemite (5.6 G)

“Adventure Climbing!!!”

This battle cry would be heard many times that day. At times it would be yelled joyously. Other times it would be cried painfully to mask a new scrape or bruise. And on occasion it would be muttered sarcastically in a fit of exasperation.

The Plan

Climbing in Fire Season

The 2018 fire season has arguably been the worst in California state history. The Mendocino Complex Fire is still burning and has scorched nearly a half million acres. Closer to Yosemite, the Ferguson Fire had threatened communities neighboring the park and had even forced most of the park to close. Among these closures were the Wawona Hotel and Wawona Road. This isolated the southern section of park from some of the more famous features of the Yosemite Valley, but left a number of beautiful (albeit smokey) campsites up for grabs.

Exploring his own Backyard

In the chaos of fire season, my friend Kevin spotted an opportunity. Hailing from El Portal, he had grown up seeing the high bands of cliffs in southern Yosemite. This included the formidable bulge of Wawona Dome. Unable to pursue the more famous routes of Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows, he wanted to explore these often overlooked crags.

Finding an Accomplice

Kevin was having trouble finding a partner who would want to venture out in hot and smokey conditions to explore a route that may or may not even be reachable. Eventually he had to turn to a partner who, while lacking in any climbing fitness, shared a love for long approaches and quiet crags.

The Climb

The Approach

Armed with a 30-year-old guidebook published by a family friend, Kevin and I left the trailhead up a well-worn fire road. We were just beginning to marvel at how much lumber had been cleared in order to draw nearby a fire line when we unexpectedly found ourselves right back at the car. We laughed off our mistake and found the trail we had missed, not yet realizing just how much more of the day we would spend lost and bewildered.

The fire road soon gave way to hiking trail, and then the hiking trail to to deer trail. When the deer trail became a mouse trail, we began to wonder if we were actually heading the right direction. But with Wawona Dome looming directly overhead, we opted to dive into the walls of manzanita.

The thick brush tore at clothes and skin, but we eventually popped out onto the base of the dome. We marveled up at Fred Beckey’s original direct line before getting a bit more realistic and bushwhacking another 20 minutes to Miwok, a friendly 5.6.

With the sun directly overhead and having taken 2.5 hours to complete the 1.5 hour expected approach, I became acutely aware that 2 liters of water was not going to be enough in 95 degree temps. But you can’t let a little thing like dehydration kill the stoke.

Miwok

The climb itself would prove the easiest part of the day. Kevin led the three pitches of low-angle crack. The rock was flawless granite and offered ample opportunities to place protection. But a mid-pitch bushwhack, scalding rocks, a few dirty moves and a couple sections of friction climbing were certainly enough to keep things interesting. Overall, the route had some great easy trad and offered impressive views, but it’s probably not a route I’d go out of my way to revisit.

The walk off

Bushwhacking the was the theme of the day, and the walk off was no exception. Only this time, we enjoyed the extra excitement from knowing that tripping over a snagged shoelace or slipping a sandy patch would mean an expedited one-way trip to base camp.

We skirted the sandy cliffs and took a somewhat circuitous route down in order to avoid the gnarly direct descent down the gully that our guidebook had recommended. Back at the bottom of the route I enjoyed the last couple drops of my water before the hot 2.5 hour manzanita mayhem back to the car.

The Hootenanny

As with all good trips to Wawona, this one ended with kicking our heels up at the famous Wawona Barn Dance. The fire had chased away most of the younger attendees, but luckily cougars are among the wildlife of southern Yosemite.

Ultimately, Miwok in summer was more a test of fitness and will than actual climbing strength. But a weekend with friends in Yosemite rarely disappoints, and this one certainly did not.