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Clouds Rest is a mountain in
There are three main ways to access the summit of Clouds Rest; via the Sunrise Lakes Trailhead off of CA-120 (commonly known as the Northeast Ridge Route); via the Happy Isles Trailhead in Yosemite Valley (commonly known as the South Slope); or via the Northwest Face of the mountain.
The Sunrise Lakes Trail is a round trip hike of that begins at an elevation of and gains over to reach the summit at . The summit has wide-ranging 360-degree panoramic views.
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...
east northeast of Yosemite Village
Yosemite Valley (''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mariposa County, California, United States. It consists of the developed area of Yosemite Village and the other areas of the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite Natio ...
, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. Although there are many peaks in the park having far greater elevation, the proximity of Clouds Rest to the valley gives it a very high degree of visual prominence.
Geography
The summit can be reached by a trail hike from Tioga Pass Road or a trail hike from Happy Isles by way of Little Yosemite Valley. There are also several technical routes available. Clouds Rest is anarête
An arête ( ) is a narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although freque ...
, a thin, almost knife-like, ridge of rock formed when glaciers eroded away solid rock to form Tenaya Canyon and Little Yosemite Valley. The northwest face, mostly solid granite, rises above Tenaya Creek.
History
Lafayette H. Bunnell, a medical doctor with theMariposa Battalion
Mariposa Battalion was a California State Militia unit formed in 1851 to defeat the Ahwahnechee and Chowchillas in the Mariposa War, a part of the California genocide.
After a force under Mariposa County Sheriff James Burney was found unequ ...
, notes that his party named the summit Clouds Rest because they returned to camp to avoid a snow storm after seeing "the clouds rapidly settling down to rest upon that mountain."
Recreation
There are three main ways to access the summit of Clouds Rest; via the Sunrise Lakes Trailhead off of CA-120 (commonly known as the Northeast Ridge Route); via the Happy Isles Trailhead in Yosemite Valley (commonly known as the South Slope); or via the Northwest Face of the mountain.
The Sunrise Lakes Trail is a round trip hike of that begins at an elevation of and gains over to reach the summit at . The summit has wide-ranging 360-degree panoramic views.
References
External links
* Mountains of Yosemite National Park Mountains of Mariposa County, California Articles containing video clips Mountains of Northern California {{MariposaCountyCA-geo-stub