Well, I was not ready to end the hiking season season just yet.  I love the Tuolumne Meadows area, and there was this peak that I have driven by many times before, but never had the chance to hike - Mount Hoffmann.  Not exactly in Tuolumne Meadows, it is located just west of Tenaya Lake.  Mount Hoffmann is one of those mountains that sticks up all by itself and, thus, has fantastic 360-degree views.  In fact, it sticks out so well that the powers at be decided to put a radio repeater on top to help with backcountry radio communications in Yosemite National Park.

This year, we really had no early snow storms come through, and Tioga Pass Road was still open the first weekend in December.  I knew it would be frigid but I also knew there would be no crowds and we’d probably have the entire mountain to ourselves.  The former was truer than you could imagine but surprisingly we did come across a couple people on the way up, but they turned back before summitting due to the “pleasant” weather.  Anyway, my wife Cheryl and our friend Keith decided to go with me on this crazy adventure.  We will never forget this day hike.

We started at the May Lake trailhead, which is at the beginning of a very pleasant, almost fire road-like, trail leading to the May Lake High Sierra Camp.  The camp was torn down for the winter, and it was kind of eerie walking around it.  The camp gave us a great view of Mount Hoffmann, and it was clear that we should hang along the left shoreline of the lake to find the use trail to the top.  This use trail was as good as some maintained trails, and was not difficult to follow the entire way to the summit.  In fact, you can see most of the trail in Google Earth.  I’m glad the trail was easy because nothing else on this trip was.

The first setback was the fact that our CamelBak bladder hoses completely froze and Cheryl and I could no longer drink water after only 30 minutes or so of hiking.  Luckily Keith brought along water bottles and had to turn them upside down so that the ice would form at the bottom of the bottle instead of at the opening.  As we hiked farther and farther, our faces got more numb.  Soon, none of us could speak well - it was as if we had Novocain shot into our jaws.  We all happened to bring bandanas, which we used to cover our faces to stay warm.

The top of the mountain is fairly flat and gentle, but the final ascent to the true peak is a bit of a scramble, but not too bad.  It would be easier if there wasn’t ice.  After reaching the antenna on top, we unanimously decided to forget about eating our lunches and instead decided to eat a quick snack and get down the mountain as quickly as possible.  It was trying to snow on us and nearly every molecule of water we saw or had was frozen. 

At this point, I really regretted wearing my running shoes instead of boots.  My feet were numb and it felt like I was walking with cobbles strapped to the bottom of my shoes - I had no feeling.  I treated this hike as a test, wearing only the clothes I usually bring with me on backpacking trips: synthetic long sleeve shirt, stretchy fleece, ultralight raincoat, synthetic zip-off-leg pants, and thick hiking socks.  I realized that I could survive in this kind of environment wearing my typical gear - as long as I kept moving.  When we got back home, I check the Tuolumne Meadows weather station and it  recorded a high of 14 degrees that day - at 8,500 feet.  Being over 2,000 feet higher than Tuolumne Meadows and with a windchill, I figure we were around or below zero degrees - the coldest I have ever been.  This trip really put things in perspective and showed me how cold things could actually get.  But, in all reality, it really doesn’t get much colder than this in the Sierras, further proving that the Sierras are the friendliest mountains in the world.

We hiked down the mountain quickly with anxious anticipation of jumping in the car and turning on the heater.  I’m glad the car battery still worked, but my hatchback shocks lost all of their gas when I opened my trunk.  I’m not sure why, but I blame it on the cold.  They were just fine that morning.

Would I ever do something like this again?  I think it’s good for everyone to intentionally put themselves through something like this at least once to see how bad the weather can actually get and experience its affect on the body.  But I learned my lesson, and I’ll never forget it.  And one thing’s for sure - I want to hike Mount Hoffmann again, in the summer, on a sunny day.  I can’t wait to experience that 360-degree view on a clear, warm day!