Moonlit Meander Kuna Crest Traverse--Tuolumne, October 2000
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Having bought a postcard like this I knew I'd have to do something
cool on a full moon in order to use it. An opportunity presented
itself in the upcoming waxing and the Moonlit Meander was born. Lizzy
gave me the route and after person after person bailed on me--from
Thursday right up through Saturday morning--finally 5 of us set off
on Sat in just one car. Heyning's car took surprisingly long to park
at Dublin/Pleasanton BART and we finally loaded up to ascend the Kuna
Crest an hour later than I had planned, each bearing a
mini-pumpkin--only $1 for four! Shortly after entering the trees a
line of tracks showed the passing of a bear--the season's first
snowfall, earlier that week, had brought its first touch of magic to
the trip. Continuing on we gained the ridge and continued on up the
3000' gain to Mammoth Peak, taking in the sunset over the Cathedral
range and stopping for dinner in the period of dark between sun down
and moon rise. Blessed with a quiet still clear night, we still had
to dress warmly against the plunging temperatures; finally gaining the
summit of Mammoth at 10 pm a beautiful landscape lay spread out
beneath us, revealed in all its glory by the just-past-full moon--snow
dusted peaks, gleaming lakes, a cloud filled valley...The large
boulders that made up the initial stretch of the crest proved slow
going for Dave and Karla, and at around midnight having found a
campable site we decided to call it a night. Dave, Bryce and I rose
early to take in a gorgeous sunrise; Dave went back to bed while Bryce
and I set to melting snow. Before setting off a family photo of the
pumpkins was required--but only 3 could be found! Heyning proved the
culprit with 2 in his pack, and photo duly taken we set off a little
further along the crest before descending to Lyell Canyon. The snow
treated us to more magic--as well as being the icing on the view--in
the form of some LARGE cat tracks and we all declared the meander a
success.

(picture on the postcard: from the book Ich, Kater Robinson: a cat sits 
on a chimney, surveying a moonlit city-and-harbour-scape)