The Not As Planned TR: Sept 12-17

All posts are those of the individual authors and the owner of this site does not endorse them. Content should be considered opinion and not fact until verified independently.

Forum List Message List New Topic Print View

lilagray

The Not As Planned TR: Sept 12-17
October 16, 2016 12:47PM

Registered: 11 years ago
Posts: 89

With the best of intentions and words of wisdom from Chick-on we headed out for a much needed romp in the Yosemite backcountry.

We started from glacier point panorama trail head (only permit we could secure) around 2pm and went the required minimum distance, beyond Buena Vista trail, to our first camp. We were not alone. I follow the JMT yahoo group and am well aware that many JMT'ers start the hike from here because they cannot secure permits, so we were not totally stunned but it was still more than expected. We found a little ledge overlooking the creek with some seclusion and posted up for the night. Enjoyed a nice dinner of thai wrap and potatoe/curry sambosa from our local Gloria wrap guru. Too much info?

In the morning we took the high trail around to the top of Nevada falls. There was a prescribed burn in the valley which was creating an immense amount of smoke along this section. We wrapped our bandannas around our faces to help filter. We looked like bandits! We were glad we had a heads up or we would have been worried like a couple of gents we ran into. We continued along through Little Yosemite Valley and along the Merced river. The smoke had vanished by LYV. We enjoyed the section along Bunnell Cascade and were feeling pretty good. The clouds began to darken and we were a bit concerned about getting stuck in a downpour so we stopped and set up camp. The drops started falling within about twenty minutes but never amounted to much. It was quite windy so we made an early dinner and hunkerd' down.

The next day our goal was Bernice Lake. Now, I will preface this section by saying that some "life circumstances" have prevented us from being in the sort of hiking shape that we are used to. Pretty much zero training or preparation for this trip. Off we go, continuing through Echo Valley, along the Merced River, and eventually to Merced Lake. We took a short lunch break just passed the high sierra camp (we were surprised by how quiet it was- only saw two people). We continued along Lewis Creek and were moving quite slowly after lunch. It was hot and well- no more excuses. We realized that we were not going to make the final push to the lake. We stopped for a bar and a "safety meeting" to discuss options. We must stop now! So, we crossed the creek and found a nice little spot. We soaked our feet and went to bed. We were knackerd'.

The next day we had a nice morning climb up over Vogey pass. It was nice to start ahead of the heat and get some great views. We had a nice look at Bernice from the climb and it seems like a nice little spot.We were still happy with our decision. Hike your own hike. Right? Continuing through the high sierra camp (empty and broken down) we went down through the nice meadow along fletcher creek. It felt good to go down a bit. We enjoyed the views and solitude. We didn't see anyone along this stretch. As were were getting closer to Merced Lake we were thinking about where to camp. Our original goal was to get to Echo Valley and maybe beyond for the secret camping spot from chick-on. It was clear that we did not have the stamina... we also did not want to do the stretch after the lake because it was getting later in the afternoon. So... we decided to camp just before the lake on the back side of the high sierra camp. Not the greatest spot we have stayed in but it was open on some nice rock and worked for us. We had a nice dinner and discussed the next day. It was was clear to us that our initial goals for this trip were not realistic and did not match our level of fitness. So, we decided that we would scratch the Clouds Rest plan for the next day. We were both relieved and it seemed silly to set ourselves up for a hard climb and another exhausting day falling short of our goals. We would save Clouds Rest (neither of us have been there) for another time. The only question was where to spend our last night since we had planned to stay up near Clouds Rest.

We started the next day off with good energy. It was nice to come back through Echo Valley from the other direction. We started the climb up to the area where we were hoping to stay the night before. It was clear again that we made the right decision. We could not have made it this far with our limited energy. We were LOVING the morning views and this portion of the hike. We definitely both felt that this was the one spot on the entire trip that we would want to visit again and camp. This "YUMMY" area is just that and I can see now why Chick-on was encouraging us to stay up there. I wish we could have made it! That said, we stopped for an early lunch to savor the views for a bit longer. It was a magical spot and the views won't be forgotten.

Pushing on, we were thinking we would try to stay somewhere between Little Yosemite Valley and the top of Nevada Falls. When we hiked through LYV on the way up we both thought the place seemed like a zoo and that we would never want to stay there. Well, as we made our way toward the Half Dome junction we started to see the hordes of people... we saw a ranger and were happy to ask for some information about camping. She was pretty alarmed that we were inquiring about staying beyond LYV. She said "you have to stay there or hike all the way out". Ok... I had a feeling there were restrictions but I was not sure about having to hike all the way out. I think it might have been a slight exaggeration. So, we accepted our position and found a spot at LYV... the place we thought we would never stay. It was just one of those trips... It was still kind of early for dinner so we tried to go and soak our feet in the river. There were SO many people that we could not even find a spot that was not overrun with people. Eventually after walking up and down the river, we found a little log that we could shimmy out onto and dip our feet. It was a pleasant spot and great to cool down. Just as we were preparing to leave we spotted a bear and a cub crossing the water just down river. It was exciting to see them and not surprising that they are in this area considering the number of people and the potential for inappropriate food storage.

It was surprisingly quiet that night. There were some very early risers starting off for the JMT or HD or whatever but other than that it was much better than expected for being in an area with so many people. We have never backpacked and stayed with so many people before!

The next day we re-traced our exit through the upper Nevada Falls, along the Panorama trail and out to Glacier Point. We drove from there straight to San Francisco to enjoy a couple of nights in the City and to catch a Giants game. In some ways it was a good thing that we stayed in LYV on our last night because it helped to prepare us for transitioning into a city type of atmosphere. I think it would have been more difficult if we were coming from a trip with more solitude.

There is the trip- I am sorry that I cannot post pictures on these trip reports. Same old problems with the site. We also have a great video of a bird dipping in the cascades which I would love to share. He was so much fun to watch.

As I said in the title- the trip was not what we had planned for but it was still the back country of Yosemite and we loved getting out there. Hopefully more opportunities next year and time to dust off the snow shoes!

Happy Hiking--