Tioga Road

Bill Bushnell — Saturday, July 25, 1992

Not even 60 miles. Well, I had two reasons for not pushing myself on a longer ride today: One, I overextended myself two days earlier, and I didn’t want a repeat performance of the unpleasant symptoms, and two, since CA-120 or Tioga Rd. through the Yosemite high country is one of the most scenic roads in the Sierras, I wanted to have time to take pictures and enjoy the scenery. It makes little sense to attempt distance/speed records here. I decided to limit my ride to CA-120 from US-395 to Olmsted Point overlooking Tenaya Lake, Cloud’s Rest and Half Dome as this is the most interesting section.

After sleeping in after the extended happy hour the night before, I finally pull out of the parking lot in front of the condo. I drive from Mammoth Lakes up to Lee Vining before starting the ride. Unfortunately, this means I won’t have much time to warm up as CA-120 begins climbing right from US-395, and then has only a short semi-level stretch before beginning the long upgrade in earnest.

When I arrive at CA-120, the air is already warm. I’m carrying three water bottles today, and I’ve promised myself that I’ll keep drinking water even if I don’t always feel thirsty. After checking over my bike, I ride a tenth of a mile down to the intersection of the two highways before resetting my meter.

The first mile of climbing is hot and windless, but before long the road levels off. On the left there’s a spigot for drinking water. I stop and top off my water bottles. A tenth of a mile later is the Inyo National Forest Ranger Station at Lee Vining. This is the last opportunity for water until I reach the campgrounds near Tioga Pass.

As I continue up from the ranger station, the road rises very gradually for the next mile or so. But suddenly, after passing through a gate, the road begins the long upgrade to Ellery Lake. To the left down the slope is the pretty Lee Vining Creek and meadow. To the right up a long gravel slope is Lee Vining Peak. Ahead I can see some higher peaks: on the left two peaks at the end of the Dana Plateau, and on the right Lee Vining Peak. Mt. Dana is still hidden from view. I stop several times along the way to take some pictures.

The road is smooth and in good condition, and the shoulder is usually wide enough to comfortably accommodate a bicycle. While traffic is somewhat heavy, it is no worse than CA-9 here in the local Santa Cruz Mountains. On the way, the road passes through a large scree slope that looks like it slides constantly. As I ride by I can hear rocks and pebbles falling and sliding.

After about an hour and a half of nearly constant grade, I reach Ellery Lake.

The sign reads an elevation of 9538, so my Avocet 50 is reading low, as usual.

From Ellery Lake to Tioga Pass, the road ascends very gradually. The mountains rising on either side are magnificent: Gaylor Peak and Mt. Conness on the right and Mt. Dana on the left. Traffic seems to be getting heavier as I approach the entrance station. A van full of teenagers passes by; one of them is pumping the bulb of a toy horn.

At the entrance station, about 40 cars wait to enter the park. I pass carefully on the right. As I wave my entrance fee receipt, the ranger waves me through. I’ve made it! Nearly 3000 feet of climbing! (Actually a little more than 3000 feet, but the Avocet isn’t giving me full credit. Tioga Pass lies at 9945 feet.) I rest for a few minutes and enjoy the scenery before continuing on to Tuolumne Meadows.

Unfortunately, CA-120 through Yosemite National Park is very narrow with a 6-inch to non-existent shoulder, and is heavily traveled by cars, trucks, vans, and—worst of all—Winnebago campers. With the clear, warm weather in the Sierras we’ve had for the last week, everyone is crowding into the park.

The road from Tioga Pass down to Tuolumne Meadows is a nearly constant gradual downhill. The road is narrow and traffic is heavy, but I manage to maintain enough speed to keep most of the cars from passing. Before long the great hulk of Lembert Dome comes into view, and after crossing the Tuolumne River, I pull into the parking lot of the store and grill.

Backpackers mill about and car tourists crowd the parking lot searching in vain for an empty parking spot. It would be nice to have a dedicated bicycle path through Yosemite somewhere away from the road that only bicycles are allowed to use.

After refilling my water bottles I continue along the Meadows. At the west end, I stop at the turnout and eat lunch. This turnout is where east-bound visitors first glimpse Tuolumne Meadows, an alpine meadow nearly two miles long and one mile across surrounded by mountains and peaks 2000 to 3000 feet higher.

After eating I continue west on CA-120. The road rises briefly and then begins a long descent before rising again. At the top of the second rise, I stop. An older man and his wife are just getting out of their car.

“How far’r you going today?”, the man asks.

“Just down to Olmsted Point. This is the best part of Tioga Rd. I came up from Lee Vining this morning.”, I answer.

“Good luck.”, he says.

“Thanks.”

I get back on my bike and start down the final hill toward Tenaya Lake. Soon the road opens up allowing an impressive view of Pywiak Dome on the left, Tenaya Lake ahead, and Polly Dome on the right. When I reach the lake I continue along the shore and then climb the short grade cut into the granite on the way to Olmsted Point.

At Olmsted Point I take a couple of pictures. Several people are milling about enjoying the view. After watching me strap the camera to the horn of my bike seat and take a self-portrait, an elderly couple approach me and ask me to take their picture.

“Do you mind?”, the man asks as he hands me his well-worn auto-focus camera.

“Not at all. Let’s see, why don’t you two stand over there.”, I say pointing.

“That way I can get you both in between Cloud’s Rest and Half Dome.”, I reply.

Click.

“Do you ride any marathons?”, the man asks.

“No. I like to ride for fun and to enjoy the scenery. I’m only riding about 60 miles today—not really marathon distance.”, I reply.

“That sounds far enough for me!”, the man exclaims.

With that we exchange good-byes and I start back on Tioga Rd. toward Tenaya Lake. I stop several times on the way back to take pictures at the Lake and to take pictures of rock climbers on Pywiak Dome. The two long hills on the way back to Tuolumne Meadows are not as difficult as I had expected judging from the speed of my earlier descent. Before long I reach the Meadows, and as before I stop at the store to refill my water bottles and use the facilities.

The rock formations are more impressive in the afternoon sun than they had been earlier in the day. I stop to take a picture on the bridge in front of Lembert Dome. If I had had an extra two hours or so, I would have locked the bike and hiked up to the top. The view from the top is worth the short hike. I could see some hikers on the top. It looked as if they were trying to find a shortcut down the steep slab side of the dome. Many years ago, I foolishly tried to walk up the south side of the Dome to find that the slab became steeper and steeper, and was finally too steep for comfort. Fortunately, I managed to retreat by sitting and slowly inching my way down.

Unlike the climb from Tenaya Lake, the climb from Tuolumne Meadows to Tioga Pass is more difficult than I expect. The grade is shallow, but the hill seems interminable, and the Winnebagos seem more frequent and impatient. Too bad I didn’t ride this road during the week! Maybe I’m still tired from two days ago, but I stop several times to take pictures of Mt. Dana, Mt. Gibbs, and Mammoth Peak to break the monotony. On my way up the long hill, I notice a couple of men chopping a long-dead and fallen tree. I seem to remember reading somewhere that one isn’t supposed to collect down wood in this area.

A little more than an hour later, I reach Tioga Pass again. After stretching my muscles and after putting on my new leg warmers and checking over my bike, I begin the long descent down the east side.

After an initial downhill, the road levels off until it gets past Ellery Lake. Now the fun part begins. This reminds me of the east side of Carson Pass, only it’s about four or five times longer. My speed gets up to the mid-40’s and then stays there. A large camper appears ahead moving very slowly down the hill. I can see that there is no oncoming traffic, so I pass. Fortunately, I do not come upon any more traffic until just before the bottom of the grade. I reach my maximum speed while negotiating an inside corner. It’s quite thrilling to manage a corner at 49 mph. Even on a relatively shallow turn, the bike leans quite a bit. I might have broken my previous speed record on Spooner Summit if I had had a favorable wind. Winds were blowing up the east side and up the west side of Tioga Pass, so I had headwinds on all of the downhills.

I continue straight to the car parked at US-395. What took me about two hours to climb required only 23 minutes to descend, but it was fun. When I reach the car, the air is hot and dry, much warmer than at the pass. The thermometer reads 85F.

Well I made it this time, and while I’m still a bit more tired than I would be normally after a 60-mile ride, I don’t feel at all sick as I was two days earlier. Since I missed seeing June Lake on Thursday, I drive the June Lake Loop on my way back to Mammoth Lakes.

Ride stats:

distance: 58.9 miles

climbing: 5480 feet

total time: 6:50

riding time: 4:27

average speed: 13.2 mph

maximum speed: 49.0 mph

east ascent to Tioga Pass (riding time): 1:27

index: 81

irp: 12

mirp: 18

An article on indexing can be found here.

©2004, Bill Bushnell

Please do not publish or distribute for profit without permission.