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)
