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mainer33
First trip to Y, arriving on November 16th for a week. looking to backpack in and camp at wilderness site, one or two nights. Not looking for any killer physical hikes, but rather a hike that gets us into the wilderness and good views. Any suggestions?
alan
Keep in mind that highway 120 will more than likely be closed for the winter by then, and hopefully there will be lots of snow above the valley. Even if there is no snow and 120 is open there will be no overnight parking allowed. Trailhead parking should be available at Badger Pass (now know as Snow Play Area or something like that) so, depending on snow conditions there would be opportunities to hike out of there.
Further south there are trails out of Wawona. Again, a lot depends on snow conditions.
The Hetch Hetchy area, which is lower and further west, would have less snow relative to the areas around the valley but the views there are not quite as "spectacular". Plenty of options there. The road to the dam is kept open all year with intermittent closures due snowfall.
Be prepared for winter camping and renting snowshoes. It will be cold in November and it gets dark at five o'clock and stays dark until about 7AM. Lots of bag time.
The suggestion to stay on the valley floor and day trip is a good one especially since this would be your first visit. It will still be cold though.
And what Tom said.
Old DudeEdited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/15/2016 09:27AM by mrcondron.