Backpacking in Yosemite!! Tell me what to see!

In My Humble Opinion
1

FPDs (fellow backpacking dopers)-

I am taking a 6-7 day backpacking trip to Yosemite in August, and we’re starting to plan our route so that we can make reservations for campsites in April. They fill up pretty quickly from what I hear.

If you’ve been there, I’d love to hear what your favorite sights & places were. Maybe we can include them on our route. It’s such a huge place, and none of our group has been there before, so we’re feeling a little overwhelmed by the possibilities.

Help! Thanks,
~fig

2

Are you doing the High Sierra Camps loop? 'Cause that’s available only on a lottery system. Other than that, most of the backpacking “camps” outside of Yosemite Valley are FCFS, and with a wilderness permit (for a large group you’ll want to reserve in advance, but they save a percentage of permits for “day of” issuance) you can camp anywhere that is (going from memory) 4 miles in from a trailhead and 200 meters off-trail and away from a water source.

I tend to prefer North Yosemite because of the variety, but I also go early in the season. By August, the main trails neary the Valley will be thick with tourists, and forget going up Half-Dome without a couple hours wait. Honestly, around that time of the season I’d personally hit one of the other National Park/Forest areas like Inyo or the Trinity Alps, which are less celebrated and somewhat less accessible, but equal if not superior in beauty.

And, not to discourage you–there’s some great natural beauty at Yosemite–but I find the adoration of it to be somewhat overstated. It just doesn’t compare to the Grand Tetons or Denali National Park, or even other parts of the Sierras (like the aforementioned Trinity Alps). Part of that is no doubt my desire to avoid crowds, but I’m still just a little underwhelmed. It’s still a great trip, but not my favorite. If there’s one thing you definitely should see, I’d say it’s the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, which doesn’t quite live up to its namesake but is beautiful nonetheless, especially the Meadows area.

Not being certain how much backpacking experience you’ve had I’ll offer up a few tips:[ul]
[li]Bear cannisters/vaults are required outside of Loop campsites (which provide fixed safes). You can rent them at a ranger station for a modest fee, or bring your own. I like the clear Garcia-types, but they have the black ones where the lid folds inward, limiiting capacity. They warn you to keep all “foodstuff” including lotions, toothpaste, et cetera in your cannister at all times except when preparing and eating. [/li][li]Whenever I go the rangers are always warning about “bear activity”, but a quick check of stats shows no fatalities from black bears in the latter half of the century, and while I’ve seen plenty of bearsign, I’ve never seen an actual bear in Yosemite. If you follow food procedures above and travel in a group you’re probably never even going to see a bear. If you do, stay together, stand upright, and make noise/throw stones. With spare exceptions, black bears are not aggressive or predatory.[/li][li]Be prepared for sudden storms at any time; the High Sierras are notorious for bad weather even in mid-summer. August is a little early for snow or flash but it’s not unheard of. Take rain gear, et cetera.[/li][li]Don’t be like those yahoos who are ten miles in and ask me where they’re at/if they can see my map/do I know what is on this trail. Get a map and compass, and know how to use it. [/li][li]Water shouldn’t be an issue at any time of the year except at the highest altitudes, but you will need to purify before drinking. A good filter and a couple of 1l Nalgene bottles will serve your needs.[/li][li]No open fires outside of campsites. While the park is wet, it’s also pine country, and fire travels quickly, threatening both wildlife and people. Use a stove.[/ul]Good luck, and have fun.[/li]
Stranger

3

The falls are fun.

4

I’m not sure we’ve decided that yet. I’ll check with my group. Thanks.

Hmmm…I’m pretty sure our group “leader” (more like instigator) mentioned Half-Dome as being on his wishlist. I may have to discourage him…

I’ll read up on it - thanks.

Thanks for these. I’ve done one other extended backpacking trip - last summer to Olympic National Park in WA. You and several other dopers gave me lots of great tips before that one. So, I’m already pretty well versed in bear avoidance, food security, and packing appropriately. Belated thanks, Stranger!

5

I loved the waterfall day hike up to the top of Half Dome, but that’s a day-long thing, not a week-long thing. I’d suggest hiking at night to time your ascent at dawn, because sunrise on the top of half dome is amazingly cool.

6

I wouldn’t necessarily avoid Half-Dome, but as mlerose says, you might do the ascent in the late afternoon/early evening, camp at the base near Half-Dome, and then get up their first thing in the morning. Half-Dome is one of the things about Yosemite that I think is overrated, though; there are better views from the south (Glacier Point, Sentinel Dome) than Half Dome. And not that you shouldn’t hike down to Yosemite Valley, as long as you can tolerate the crowds–a cold beer in the middle of a week-long hike is manna–but I prefer to stay further away, 'cause people just bug me. You can get to Half Dome from Merced Lake from the east, or Sunrise from the north Here’s a detail map of the Park (PDF), though you should get yourself a good topo map as well…I recommend the Tom Harrison Yosemite High Country Trail Map over the standard USGS 1:24,000 and 7.5 minute maps, but even it isn’t complete in the sense of having all trails marked.

Stranger

7

Our group is very anti-tourist. On our last trip we saw maybe a dozen other people over the course of the week, and we liked it that way. I think as long as we can get a healthy portion of eye candy into our route, no one will moan too much about avoiding the valley. For me it really depends on whether or not the John Muir trail is worth a day’s hiking. I’m assuming they didn’t name a crappy trail after that guy. Have you been on it?

I already have two different top maps – the National Geographic and a Tom Harrison – but my Tom Harrison seems less impressive than what you’re describing. Do they come in two different flavors?. So far I’m able to make out most things I need to know by using both maps. [Edit: it looks as if your Tom Harrison is a different scale than what I bought at Bivouac…I’ll order one…thanks.]

Wouldn’t hiking at night be dangerous?

8

freebie bump

9

I have, and it’s pretty good, but if you’re not doing a loop from or through the Valley, I’d actually go via Merced Lake (see general Yosemite trail map here, PDF). The walk along the Merced river is beautiful (except for the buggy bit in Little Yosemite Valley) and is IMHO one of the lesser sung treasures of Yosemite. The hike up to Vogelsang after Merced campground verges on brutal–there’s an unrelenting 1500’ staircase climb right after the lake, but the views are worth it. If you can loop from the north (get your pass at Tuomulmne Meadows station) then it’s a good way to get to Half Dome without going through the crowds.

I haven’t hiked up directly north of the Valley (El Capitan, et cetera) fearing it to be too crowded but you might check it out as well. And when they say “Hiking in Tenaya Canyon is dangerous and strongly discouraged” in bold red print they mean it. In general, you want to stay on trails (especially if it’s wet) but it’s particularly true through there. I’ve also never been able to get to Glen Aulin, 'cause the times I’ve been in the past have been early in the season and it’s been way too wet, so you might check up that way for less people.

Make sure you look at the Yosemite Trail Map, not the Recreation map. The large Harrison trail maps are generally on a larger scale than the 7.5 min/1:24,000 USGS maps so there’s less topographic detail, but the trails and features are marked more clearly and the elevations are more accurate. My only beef is that they don’t offer it in mapcard format, and the maps are just too damn nice to cut up and paste on cardstock. My solution to that is to scan in and print the relavent portions (for my personal use) as needed.

Yeah, I meant hiking up late in the afternoon or early evening. I wouldn’t do any serious hiking at night unless pressed.

Stranger

10

We did the hike during the day, camped at the base, climbed up before sunrise. But when we got to the top, there were some other people up there who had hiked through the night to get there in time to be on the top at sunrise. It never occurred to me that it would be dangerous. But I was happy with the way we did it.

11

The John Muir Trail is over 200 miles long, starting in Yosemite Valley and ending at the summit of Mt. Whitney, which is 2 parks south (Kings Canyon, then Sequoia). Its famous for covering the highest points of the High Sierra. Much of it overlaps the Pacific Crest Trail.Most people take 2-3 weeks to do the entire trail. In Yosemite, I’ve done the valley floor up to Little Yosemite Valley. Nice, but crowded. I’ve also done the Lyell fork of the Tuolumne south of Tuolumne Meadows. Flat and scenic, but a damn bear got my food (this was before bearproof canisters, when hanging from bear cables was the recommended practice) so I had to turn back early.
I’ll second the recommendation for Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. Great scenery, lots of good trailside cascades and waterfalls, and once you get below Glen Aulin, no people. When I was there July 4 weekend in 1996, I saw 5 people in 48 hours. 3 of those were backcountry rangers. I started at Tuolumne Meadowns, ambled down the river for a 3 days, then had one nasty uphill slog out of the canyon up to White Wolf. Even though the river continues on to Hetch Hetchy, there’s no trail out that way.

12

Yeah - I meant the stretch from Yosemite valley up to the Tuolumne Meadows. But, the more I look at the maps, there’s no way to make a loop that’s doable in our timeframe if we go up that way…unless we leave a spare car at the other end somewhere, which is a pain.

Thanks.