Mount Dana

Back up Mount Dana this June, and this time with company — a fun, scrappy climb up the same steep, trail-less talus slope from Tioga Pass, made better by good people to share it with.

The route never gets easier the second time around — the loose rock underfoot demands the same steady, careful pace all the way up — but the views make every bit of it worth it: Mono Lake spread out to the east, the granite spine of Yosemite's high country to the west, and the Sierra crest running out in both directions from the 13,061-foot summit.

Found the old USGS benchmark disk bolted into the summit rock, a nice detail to stop and appreciate before the group photo. A genuinely fun, high-bang-for-the-buck peak — six miles round trip for a view this good is hard to beat.

Thank you, Mario and Carolina, for the invite — this one was a lot more fun with company than it was solo the first time.

Mount Dana is the second-highest peak in Yosemite at 13,061 feet, and it's deceptive — barely six miles round trip, starting right at Tioga Pass. On paper that sounds easy. In practice, there's no maintained trail, the air gets seriously thin above 12,000 feet, and the last stretch is a steep, loose talus slog that doesn't let up until the summit.

It never felt dangerous, but it demanded respect the whole way — steady pace, plenty of water, and paying attention to the weather rolling in over the ridge. The payoff at the top is one of the best views I've had anywhere: Mono Lake and the desert stretching out to the east, the granite heart of Yosemite's high country to the west, and almost the entire Sierra crest in between. Short on paper, serious in practice, and absolutely worth it.