After following up Long Meadow, the trail rounds the eastern base of Columbia Finger, passing over glaciated granite and thru stunted forests. The serrate crest of ~Echo Peak~ (Alt. 11,100) towers imposingly at the right across the canyon. A rise of a few feet takes us over ~Cathedral Pass~ (Alt. 9850). Just beyond is a beautiful unnamed lake above which the spires of ~Cathedral Peak~ rise impressively at the north. Skirting the east shore of this little lake at about timber line, the trail bears northward across a sandy plateau where white bark pine grows abundantly. To the west, down the canyon, can be seen the upper end of ~Cathedral Lake~ (Alt. 9250) about one mile distant. Here camping and fishing are good. The lake was stocked long ago and re-stocked in 1915 by fish from Tuolumne Meadows. Continuing around the west flank of Cathedral Peak the trail gradually bears northeast, descending into denser forests of lodgepole pine, fir and hemlock. To the left can be seen the summit of ~Fairview Dome~ (Alt. 9250) about one mile distant. A gradual descent through the dense forest, which is especially noted for its many beautiful mountain hemlocks, takes us finally to the south edge of ~Tuolumne Meadows~, where the trail joins the Tioga Road. The ranger camp and Sierra Club Lodge are about one mile east.
YOSEMITE TO EAGLE PEAK, EL CAPITAN AND GENTRY
(14 miles. Eagle Peak and return, 13 miles--8 hours)
The round trip to the summit of Eagle Peak via Yosemite Falls Trail is one of the most attractive of one-day Yosemite excursions. From the valley to the crest of El Capitan via the Yosemite Falls Trail, returning via Gentry and the Big Oak Flat Road, is too long and hard a trip to be attempted in one day except by the most hardened walkers. The trail to Eagle Peak is excellent, but from that point to the summit of El Capitan it is in poor condition. From this point along the north rim to Gentry the route is so overgrown by brush as to be almost impassable.
From ~Yosemite~ we follow Trail Trip 3 as far as the trail junction above the zigzags west of the ~Upper Yosemite Fall~. Here we continue straight ahead, paralleling ~Yosemite Creek~, to another junction a quarter of a mile above. The trail to the north leads to ~Ten Lakes~ and ~Hetch Hetchy~ (Trail Trips 10 and 11). We turn to the left, climbing westward near the north bank of ~Eagle Creek~ over an old terminal moraine. One mile from the junction is ~Eagle Peak Meadow~ (Alt. 7200), where are good camp sites and forage. Ascending the creek to its source, the trail continues south along the ridge, climbing abruptly the last half mile to ~Eagle Peak~ (Alt. 7333), one of Yosemite's finest lookout points. To the east the 3800-foot precipice gives a vast impression of depth.