Hi All -
New to the forum and looking for suggestions for a backpacking trip during the first or second week of Dec. Myself and a buddy are not working at the moment so we are thinking of a couple days off the grid in Yosemite. However, neither of us have been before so looking for the pro tips.
We are coming from the Bay Area and from what I can gather by this point Tioga road will be sketchy at best and more likely just outright closed, so that would imply that we need to start from Yosemite Valley. From a bit of online research I have identified Yosemite Valley to Merced Lake as an interesting possibility but at 13-14 miles I wonder if that is a bit much to tackle in one day, and if so, what would be our options for setting camp along the way.
With that background let me pose a bit more open question - what would be a some good options given our constraints? Are there other good options for 2-3 days starting out of Yosemite Valley? Are there camping options along the Merced Lake route? And what are the extremes we need to be prepared for at this time of year (e.g. snowshoes?)
Thanks, everyone. Really looking forward to experiencing Yosemite for the first time!
Cheers,
-Hamish