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Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....

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tanngrisnir3
Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 09:39AM
A. How are the skeeters so far, esp in Lyell Canyon?
B. Anyone ever done the 'fisherman's route' up to Cathedral Lakes and found it any better than the normal route? My g/f has vertigo, so I don't want to risk that too much.
C. We've got Gaylor Lakes in sight for sunrise. Is it worth it to hoof the extra bit up to Granite Lakes?
D. There is no D
E. How scenic is Elizabeth Lake compared to Budd Lake? I'm not finding anything particularly great online of Elizabeth, but Budd looks promising, even though it looks like bushwhacking will be required.
F. Lastly, if the hike in/out of one of these places is photo-worthy, that's great too, as the point is the pics, and not really the destination, per se.

The reason I'm asking is that I've used TM as a launch point to points way farther out over the years, but have never really stuck around TM itself to see it's more localized things.

Thanks,

T3
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eeek
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 10:01AM
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tanngrisnir3
A. How are the skeeters so far, esp in Lyell Canyon?

There weren't any up there last weekend. Did run into a few lower down on the Yosemite Falls trail but that's not 8500 feet.
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hikerchick395
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 10:04AM



Elizabeth Lake last Sep

(no bushwhacking to Budd Lake)
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tanngrisnir3
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 10:19AM
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hikerchick395



Elizabeth Lake last Sep

(no bushwhacking to Budd Lake)

Very nice!

I'm looking at some online topos, and it appears there's no formally maintain/recognized trail, so I just assumed el whacko del bush, which isn't something I'm opposed to.

Do you know where the trail to Budd Lake is?
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basilbop
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 11:00AM
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tanngrisnir3

Do you know where the trail to Budd Lake is?

Start up the trail to Cathedral Lakes/Pass, and after about a quarter mile (after a few steep, short switchbacks) look for an obvious use trail heading to the left. The Budd Lake use trail is fairly easy to follow from there to the lake, except perhaps for one short section where it goes over open granite, where you want to go up/away from the creek towards a small gulley.
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chick-on
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 11:11AM
Like this:
http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,26855,27263#msg-27263

Link to map is:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103089501068510688008/Testies#5493579400857839362

(not sure why it changed)

Answer to all your questions are Yes

A. Yes there are no skeeters yet
B. Yes the fisherman's route (I hate that name) kills the normal crap JMT route (why people love that way is way TH beyond me)
C. Yes
D. Yes
E. Yes they are both scenic... and go above them for better lighting
F. Yes


Picasa Pictures



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2012 11:16AM by chick-on.
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tanngrisnir3
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 11:17AM
Quote
chick-on
Like this:
http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,26855,27263#msg-27263

Link to map is:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103089501068510688008/Testies#5493579400857839362

(not sure why it changed)

Answer to all your questions are Yes

A. Yes there are no skeeters yet
B. Yes the fisherman's route (I hate that name) kills the normal crap JMT route (why people love that way is way TH beyond me)
C. Yes
D. Yes
E. Yes they are both scenic... and go above them for better lighting
F. Yes

I LOVE YES!
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chick-on
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 11:26AM
Sorry. Maybe I was a little too exuberant.
The hike up to Budd and Eliz can be rather mundane. There's lots of trees..
Some nice views of Cathedral from Budd Creek and you cross Budd Creek so
there's that stuff.. but a lot of woods hiking... especially for Elizabeth.
Map

If you nix the trail the gullies east of Budd are interesting. And the open areas between Unicorn Creek and Budd Creek
much lower... those I thought were really nice.


Picasa Pictures
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tanngrisnir3
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 01:36PM
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chick-on
Sorry. Maybe I was a little too exuberant.
The hike up to Budd and Eliz can be rather mundane. There's lots of trees..
Some nice views of Cathedral from Budd Creek and you cross Budd Creek so
there's that stuff.. but a lot of woods hiking... especially for Elizabeth.
Map

If you nix the trail the gullies east of Budd are interesting. And the open areas between Unicorn Creek and Budd Creek
much lower... those I thought were really nice.

Well, one of the things that she REALLY wants to do is go to Cathedral Lakes, and I'm not partiucularly interested in 'comp-stomping', or shooting the same shots that other photographers have shot before for myself. There are two quite well known angles to get upper lake in, but I though perhaps a good compromise might be hiking up to Budd, since it looks cool and I've seen a great shot of Unicorn w/Budd in the foreground, then possibly going up over that apparent saddle between Budd Lake and Catherdral.

How is that saddle, btw, if you've done it? Looks rather easy from topos.
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chick-on
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 01:50PM
Unicorn or Cockscomb?

That would be a really nice loop... up Budd... over to Upper and back down.
It's very simple xcountry. The saddle is very open with stellar views of Cathedral.
Echo #n (I forget, I think it's #3) is fairly simple scramble too if you want to do that.
Go for it

I would expect that there aren't any buggies yet at Memorial Day... but close.
Lyell was completely free of snow and looked nice and delicious. It should be
really nice then having had a couple weeks to dry down some.

Have fun

EDIT: I very highly doubt your g/f will have any issue with that loop.


Picasa Pictures



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2012 01:51PM by chick-on.
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tanngrisnir3
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 01:56PM
Quote
chick-on
Unicorn or Cockscomb?

That would be a really nice loop... up Budd... over to Upper and back down.
It's very simple xcountry. The saddle is very open with stellar views of Cathedral.
Echo #n (I forget, I think it's #3) is fairly simple scramble too if you want to do that.
Go for it

I would expect that there aren't any buggies yet at Memorial Day... but close.
Lyell was completely free of snow and looked nice and delicious. It should be
really nice then having had a couple weeks to dry down some.

Have fun

EDIT: I very highly doubt your g/f will have any issue with that loop.

Yep, you got it right: going west from Budd Lake, over that saddle that appears to be open granite, and then descending to Upper Cathedral.

And she's never been anywhere like Lyell, so just hiking for the pleasure of it, finding possible comps, and then turning back when it pleases us will be a great intro, I hope.

I've always loved the look of Lyell Canyon, ever since I was a kid. Hoping for great skies to make some shots work.
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LBFam
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
June 18, 2012 10:26AM
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chick-on
That would be a really nice loop... up Budd... over to Upper and back down.
It's very simple xcountry. The saddle is very open with stellar views of Cathedral.
Echo #n (I forget, I think it's #3) is fairly simple scramble too if you want to do that.
Go for it

tanngrisnir3, did you happen to do this loop? I'm thinking about doing this exact day hike in a few weeks (7/7) and was interested to know if you ended up going to Budd Lake and across to Cathedral. And how it was.
I've never been to the Cathedral Lakes and thought it would be even better to get off the main trail and check out Budd lake then cross the saddle to Cathedral.
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hotrod4x5
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 11:35AM
What are the dates of your trip? That makes a big difference in the number of mosquitos.
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tanngrisnir3
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 01:38PM
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hotrod4x5
What are the dates of your trip? That makes a big difference in the number of mosquitos.

Oh, sorry, I should have been more clear: this coming memorical weekend.

The cabins opened up and BAM! We pounced and got lucky.

That's why I asked how conditions are now, rather than later in the summer.

The only thing that sort of sucks is that the most beloved dining spot of the Tioga Pass Resort will not be opened by that time.

Sigh.
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hotrod4x5
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 01:58PM
So the tent cabins will be open already? Any word on the campground?

I'm curious how much the cabins are going for? (just checked the calendar and they are all completely booked, that was fast!)



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2012 02:07PM by hotrod4x5.
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beccawright
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 17, 2012 02:23PM
The tent cabins go for $120 night.
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hotrod4x5
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 17, 2012 02:31PM
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beccawright
The tent cabins go for $120 night.
eye popping smiley
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tanngrisnir3
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 18, 2012 11:24AM
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hotrod4x5
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beccawright
The tent cabins go for $120 night.
eye popping smiley

Yeah, it's a bit much for what you get compared to a nice hotel room, but afte a full day of hiking/shooting from dawn, it's sooooooo nice to get back to a place with showers, etc.... in the middle of it all.
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Strix
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 01:40PM
B. The last time we hiked it we used the TM Shuttle. The driver knew exactly what we were talking about (we called it the 'climbers trail') and dropped us off at the spot. We hiked out the regular trail. I'll never hike up the regular trail again.
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tanngrisnir3
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 16, 2012 01:57PM
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Strix
B. The last time we hiked it we used the TM Shuttle. The driver knew exactly what we were talking about (we called it the 'climbers trail') and dropped us off at the spot. We hiked out the regular trail. I'll never hike up the regular trail again.

Awesome! So that's two very certain votes for the Fisherman's Route.

And it looks a LOT shorter



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2012 02:00PM by tanngrisnir3.
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Mom
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 17, 2012 04:44PM
Thanks for the heads up on the opening of the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge. We'll be there Memorial Day weekend also. Can't wait.

I'm open for trail suggestions. Here are the one's I've done:
Cathedral Lakes
Lembert Dome
Dog Lake
Elizabeth Lake
Rafferty Creek to Vogelsang
And in July, I'm doing the High Sierra Loop to Glen Aulin and May Lake

So any suggestions? Something without too many uneven rocks. Hubby has a bad back and doesn't want to twist it.
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hotrod4x5
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 18, 2012 06:46AM
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Mom
Thanks for the heads up on the opening of the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge. We'll be there Memorial Day weekend also. Can't wait.

I'm open for trail suggestions. Here are the one's I've done:
Cathedral Lakes
Lembert Dome
Dog Lake
Elizabeth Lake
Rafferty Creek to Vogelsang
And in July, I'm doing the High Sierra Loop to Glen Aulin and May Lake

So any suggestions? Something without too many uneven rocks. Hubby has a bad back and doesn't want to twist it.
The short, but steep, trail to Gaylor Lakes is a good one. http://www.yosemitehikes.com/tioga-road/gaylor-lakes/gaylor-lakes.htm
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chick-on
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 18, 2012 07:04AM
It's all good mom.

But for Hubby... take him down Lyell canyon as far as your heart desires.
And up Pothole Dome.

Those should be relatively ez on da back.


Picasa Pictures
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Mom
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 18, 2012 09:27AM
I was thinking about Lyell Canyon. Is there any 'destination' spot?

I was also thinking about the trail to May Lake from Tioga Road and maybe beyond.

Anyway, I'm so glad I enjoy this site, otherwise I would have missed the opening of TML. Thanks.
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qumqats
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 18, 2012 11:55AM
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Mom
I was thinking about Lyell Canyon. Is there any 'destination' spot?
. . . snip . . . Thanks.

There's pretty spots along the flat part of the canyon, but by far the best is at the end ( 9 miles in? ) just before the trail starts going up the headwall at the south end of the valley.
You can walk out into the middle of the valley and look down the river with the headwall and all the mountains ( Lyell etc. ) in the background.




If you keep going up towards Donohue Pass there's a couple of gorgeous hanging valleys you pass thru.




Tioga Lake, Lyell Canyon and Mt Lyell attempt - Sep 11-14, 2003
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Dan-O
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 18, 2012 12:18PM
I camped at a nice spot right near the junction to Ireland Lake. I beleive there was several fire rings beside the one I used. Great spot!
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plawrence
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 18, 2012 12:54PM
Just a reminder that probably by the Memorial Day weekend, there will be active mosquitos around Tuolumne Meadows and the rest of the high country. So be sure to bring you preferred insect repellant spay or cream with you so you won't be eaten alive. The mosquitos can be very active around Pothole Dome and Lyell Canyon for instance, even some years in late May.

.
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Mom
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 18, 2012 03:04PM
Wow. Those photos were beautiful. I'm well aware of the skeeters. We were swarmed by the nasty things last August on the way up to Vogelsang. I've got my head netting packed and ready. I prefer to wear long sleeves and long pants rather than wear repellant.

On another topic: Food.
Anybody know if the general store and the grill will be open on Memorial Day weekend?
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qumqats
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 18, 2012 03:49PM
Does anyone know when the TM shuttle bus and the valley to TM hiker's bus will start running?
--
I'm answering my own question.
Yosemite Shuttle Buses
Tuolumne Meadows Hikers Bus
I called (209) 372-4FUN which is on both of those pages and asked.
I was not told exactly when it'll start running, but it sounds like within a couple of weeks, and certainly by the Jul 4 week I need to use it on.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/2012 04:03PM by qumqats.
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eeek
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 18, 2012 05:08PM
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qumqats
Does anyone know when the TM shuttle bus and the valley to TM hiker's bus will start running?

Even NPS doesn't know yet.
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Mom
Re: Just snagged tent cabins for 3 nights in Tuolumne, so some questions.....
May 18, 2012 03:36PM
I found a DNC press release. The store and grill WILL be open May 25.
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