An amazing and highly recommended day out.
Went trailhead to trailhead starting from the Tenaya Lake Picnic Area Trailhead, which seems like the most logical start. Tenaya, full Matthes including south and north summits, left the ridge about 100 ft before it ended avoiding the last two small towers, same as the previous folks... and then Cathedral. So damn good.
Full Report:
What a weekend. Creek fire out of Oakhurst blew up Saturday turning Yosemite into a scary, sad, ash raining Mars lookalike. Overnight katabatic winds (love that word!) cleared things out by this morning making a long run possible. Selfishly grateful for that and still quite concerned for our forests, this state, and the future of fire season here.
Woke up to clear ish skies and decided to go for it. The tuolumne triple (Tenaya, Full Matthes, Cathedral) is my new favorite linkup. Incredible climbing, and linking the peaks is off trail pretty much all day. Just wow! Can’t wait to do it again under clear skies. Every peak is classic and amazing. Tagged Matthes south summit then headed up for my first time on the north summit and the ridge after it. Got a little punchy and more exposed than I expected. Felt slow navigating for the first time there. Curious to check other peoples lines and where they bail off the true ridge. Also first time on Cathedral. Wow so incredibly good. I understand why there are always lines!
All in all just a damn good day, cruising through backcountry, running on slabs, filling up water at streams/lakes, and climbing classics. Was extra psyched to nab the FKT on the linkup. Elevation/distance is apparently off, as people claim it is 7.3k/13m... so it goes!