Backcountry Yosemite - includes related articles on Yosemite National Park

Ghost mines at the crest The Tioga Road reaches its apex at Tioga Pass, only 55 feet shy of the 10,000-foot elevation mark. Alternating peaks and passes stretch north and south, dividing the national park from Inyo National Forest and the Sierra's relatively lush west flank from its forbiddingly dry and steep east slope. Here the gray granite of the park's geologic landscape is usurped by the red and black hues of metamorphic rock not worn away by erosion. Veins of silver-bearing quartz embedded in the rock drew miners to the crest around Tioga Pass in the 1870s, though they met with little success. Today, abandoned mine shafts and cabins add a picturesque element to the awe-inspiring scenery on day-hikes to the high passes. A longer overnight option culminates at a saddle below 13, 114-foot Mount Lyell, the park's highest peak.

Gaylor Lakes, Tioga HIll. This 2-mile hike to the birthplace of the area's short-lived silver rush begins with a steep climb north from a parking area just west of the Tioga Pass entrance station. Reaching a ridgetop, the route drops to a broad meadow and circles Middle Gaylor Lake to an inlet that leads gently upslope to Upper Gaylor Lake. It's a short climb from here to a stone cabin of the Great Sierra Mine--an impressive work of masonry, its stacked stone walls and chimney still standing without the aid of mortar (though its timber roof has collapsed).

High country hikes to lakes, ghost mines, alpine peak

Nearby you'll find other cabin remains and two vertical mine shafts, as well as a rusting horse-drawn lifting winch.

Mono Pass, Parker Pass. Following the route of the Mono Trail from a trailhead 1 1/2 miles southwest of Tioga Pass, a 4-mile hike leads past two pioneer cabins and on to Mono Pass, where you have a clear view down Bloody Canyon to Mono Lake. Just above the pass are cabins (one with an intact roof makes a good shelter during sudden rain squalls) and tunnels of the Golden Crown and Ella Boss mines. Before you reach Mono Pass, a sometimes-faint trail branches west around Mount Lewis to Parker Pass, below the Kuna Crest's snow-filled crevices.

Donohue Pass. Before tackling the 2,000-foot ascent to Donohue, you can stretch your legs on a 9-mile approach up almost-level Lyell Canyon. This part of the John Muir Trail (pick it up at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge trailhead) alternately traverses open meadows along the willow-lined Lyell Fork and stands of young lodgepole pines; look for a wide swath cut by a rockslide on the east canyon wall. As you approach campsites at the head of the canyon, the canyon and trail curve to the right, revealing a majestic view of glacier-capped Mount Lyell and the crown of the Sierra. The 3-mile climb from the base camp to Donohue Pass offers even more awesome perspectives, including the craggy Ritter Range.

A peak you can scale without climbing skills or equipment The trek to the 13,053-foot peak of Mount Dana takes you into the alpine realm, where only small, ground-hugging plants can tolerate the harsh conditions. It's best to make this ascent early in the day, before thunderclouds gather. An exposed peak is the last place you want to be when lightning starts flashing. Although commonly used, this route is not an official trail, and anyone hiking it should exercise extreme caution to avoid damaging the fragile alpine vegetation. The 3,000-foot climb to the summit of Yosemite's second-highest peak begins at Tioga Pass, heading east between small ice ponds and ascending steeply for about 1/2 mile to a saddle. From here, follow a ridge south to the summit. An extraordinary view opening down the east slope of the Sierra includes the White Mountains and Mono Lake. Closer to the north, Dana Plateau is an unglaciated remnant of a once-extensive upland. In midsummer, sky pilot dots the high slopes with bright blue; these delicate-seeming flowers grow only far above timberline.