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Mt. Dana: A Weekend Warrior's Delight
#26535 08/05/12 08:51 PM
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Akichow Offline OP
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I realize Mt. Dana may be far too short (only 13,054') and far too North (Tioga Pass) to qualify for a trip report here. But oh my goodness, is this a great hike!

And for my fellow weekend warriors from the San Francisco Bay Area, I cannot imagine a better training hike for Whitney or, for that matter, Kilimanjaro. In fact, I found Dana more strenuous, hour for hour, than either of Whitney (Main Trail) or Kili (Lemosho route), though Shasta still takes the cake for me. I did Dana with minimal acclimatization (one night at Tuolumne Meadows, with short day hike on Saturday to Elizabeth Lake), which probably influenced my experience, but this is one rocky and steep trail!

But perhaps I should let the summit pictures, which I took today (August 5), do the talking. This was a rare (for me) solo venture on a peak of this magnitude, and it definitely pushed the envelop a little bit. But so worth it.

Mono Lake from Dana Summit



Yosemite High Country, with Mt. Lyell, from Dana Summit



Tuolumne Meadows from Dana Summit


Mt. Conness, Saddle Bag Lake, from just below Dana Summit



Marmot on Dana Summit Plateau



Zoom on Mt. Lyell on the way up (maybe 11,800' on Dana)



Re: Mt. Dana: A Weekend Warrior
Akichow #26536 08/05/12 09:05 PM
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I love Dana; I took the exact same pictures that you took, and it was the first mountain that I hiked alone (drove up from the valley, hiked it, drove home -- happy birthday to me!) I have long said that Dana compares more to a Mini-NorthFork than Whitney Main Trail, as the grade is the same. In my not so humble opinion, the views are far more spactacular than Whitney, also (I also agree that Shasta is in a class by herself; I have hiked part of that route)

Any mountain hiked is worth talking about, so carry on with trip reports and snap away at the alpine views.


The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.
Re: Mt. Dana: A Weekend Warrior's Delight
Akichow #26540 08/05/12 09:50 PM
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Wow, fantastic pics! Thanks for this trip report! I was just up in Tuolumne a couple weeks ago and considered attempting Dana. I am out of shape right now and was with my parents who aren't in any shape do do a hike like this, so I skipped it this time.

Now I have something to look forward to the next time I'm in the area. Dana is definitely on the list!

Re: Mt. Dana: A Weekend Warrior's Delight
Akichow #26546 08/05/12 11:10 PM
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Outstanding pictures! The clouds add beauty to the view.

Thanks much for sharing.

Re: Mt. Dana: A Weekend Warrior's Delight
Akichow #26583 08/06/12 04:23 PM
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Gotta agree, Karin - Dana is an awesome mountain. Did it last July when it was still 30% snow-covered, which made for quite an uphill pull in microspikes. It's definitely one of the steepest class 2 hikes I've ever done, and can make your thighs scream. Like you said, though - the resulting views are well worth it.

If you admired Dana's steepness, you'd love Corkscrew Peak in DV - something like 3500 feet of gain in about 2 miles - most of it scree once you start the real ascent. I think this was ultimately the steepest class 2 I've ever done (well, there was some class 3 on Corkscrew, but not much). Here's a shot of the main chute from March, 2011:




Re: Mt. Dana: A Weekend Warrior's Delight
Akichow #26596 08/06/12 06:21 PM
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Great pictures Akichow!

Photos reminds me of the acclimitazation hike we did this July for Whitney. Though we couldn't summit Dana due to time constraints, the views you captured from summit makes me want do this again.

Stalin

Re: Mt. Dana: A Weekend Warrior's Delight
Bulldog34 #26599 08/06/12 06:39 PM
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Akichow Offline OP
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Ah Bulldog, no sooner do I scratch something off my bucket list then do you entice me to add an item or two!!! It just gets longer and longer....

Re: Mt. Dana: A Weekend Warrior's Delight
Akichow #26607 08/07/12 05:54 AM
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Definitely an early/late winter hike, Karin. The summit is below 6000 feet, so pretty much dry-footed the whole way. The valley views are incredible. It's funny - I got the idea to climb Corkscrew from Bob Rockwell, when he responded several years ago to a post where I asked for Death Valley hike ideas. He said it was one of his favorites in DV (Ubehebe Peak being another). Two years later, when I finally get this hike underway, Bob is on the mountain as well. Too strange.

And bucket lists grow - they shouldn't shrink!


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