July 2016 - (with Gemma) Ascent from May Lake Trailhead. Our first walk proper in the USA and we excitedly headed to Yosemite National Park to climb Mount Hoffmann, one of the Sierra Nevada peaks which is well over 3000m. Fortunately the start point (trailhead) on the Tioga Pass was also well over 2000m so overall it was an ascent of a little over 600m however the ridiculously hot weather combined with the reduced oxygen at this altitude meant the going was slow to steady. Initially the route climbs through woodland to the picturesque and wonderfully named May Lake before tracing it south and pulling up steeply to a col of sorts and then it’s a scrambly ridge to the summit. During our steady plod upwards we saw loads of chipmunks and then, higher up, tons of marmots, and even compacted snow fields! The views were tremendous across to Cathedral Peak and Half Dome, and all around the mountain vistas were breath-taking. No bears were spotted today but we passed some folk with ‘Bear Bells’ so, if bears are encountered, they’re not surprised into aggression.