Re: Great Winter Day Hikes?

Hello and Happy New Year to all. I was planning to do a late Jan/ early Feb hike up the Snow Creek trail towards the cabin and Mt. Watkins. Apparently the lack of snow has lead to the cabin and Badger Pass not opening this year so I am looking for a good Plan B for my restless feet.

My first thought is to do Happy Isles to Clouds Rest as an epic day hike. I've gone from Tenaya Lake to HI in one day but never the other way.

Does anyone have any recommendation for something comparably challenging with a nice, rewarding view at the end? I've already done 4-Mile and Yose Falls. I've never been to SEKI and wonder if anything cool is still open down there? Or should I just man up and get a 0-degree sleeping bag so I can get further into the wilderness? What say the collective wisdom of the forum?

Happy New Year!

My first recommendation will be to watch the weather forecast. The Sierra will look very different next weekend than it does this weekend.

Don't want to hijack the thread....but we've come to love hiking the roads of the Emigrant Wilderness and the Stanislaus National Forest, just north of Yosemite, during the winter. All the USFS roads get closed due to snow, and they make really nice hikes. We've done Herring Creek, Eagle Meadows, Fence Creek, Kennedy Meadows, Keltz Mine, and an ummarked road out of Eureka Valley. All begin with a locked gate...and some go on for miles and miles.

Trails/roads out of Crane Flat offer some nice views as well.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2018 09:16AM by balzaccom.

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Alex L
Hello and Happy New Year to all. I was planning to do a late Jan/ early Feb hike up the Snow Creek trail towards the cabin and Mt. Watkins. Apparently the lack of snow has lead to the cabin and Badger Pass not opening this year so I am looking for a good Plan B for my restless feet.

I am planning to go to one of those two in the coming weeks and can give you some beta before the end of the month. The 0* bag depends on what you currently have and what all you are planning to do. I am also a strong believer in hot water nalgene bottles

Did valley to Clouds Rest from 1/13-1/15 with two nights at the junction of CR trail and HD trail. These conditions have probably changed significantly after last two weeks of snow



Looks like a good campsite. I don't think this is the one that everyone talks about here...





Camp chef working hard


Not bad


Hitting consistent snow beyond 9k


Coffee time


This view never gets old...


and this...looking east...


and looking north...


Taking time to go downhill on the icy section...one person at a time


and some more...


Dinner time


Ice cut is closed (knew this)


Total elevation profile

Thanks for sharing those photos!

Was going to do CR this winter too! Just waiting for a little more snow. Didn't think there would be that much by now but your photos now have me thinking...Should I bring crampons and ice axe since there's more snow now?? I want to do the "normal" route from the valley but if its sketchy, I may just do the forsythe (however you spell it) and go the longer back way.

Also...please tell us more about that yummy looking meal!

Thanks!
-Kevin

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KevinD
Should I bring crampons and ice axe since there's more snow now?? I want to do the "normal" route from the valley but if its sketchy, I may just do the forsythe (however you spell it) and go the longer back way.

In our case, the daytime high was in low 50s. There was one dicey section with a mix of ice and rock steps (shown in pic where the person with no trekking poles is crouching/sitting). We all had yaktrax or microspikes. In colder/icy conditions, I would say ice axe is a must, even with microspikes, and crampons are highly recommended.

Not sure what route you are talking about..I am curious now. I want to do at least one more snow trip (this wasn't a snow trip per se as we weren't camping in the snow) to CR or Sentinel Dome.

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KevinD
Also...please tell us more about that yummy looking meal!

Day 1 was burritos with chorizo, including 30 mins of cooking rice and beans. Day 2 was chicken with stuffing. It was fun but too much work in my opinion even though I wasn't chopping/cooking.

How was SeKi? I haven't been there since a trip to Pear lake and Moose lake 5 years back

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nwhkr

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KevinD
Should I bring crampons and ice axe since there's more snow now?? I want to do the "normal" route from the valley but if its sketchy, I may just do the forsythe (however you spell it) and go the longer back way.

In our case, the daytime high was in low 50s. There was one dicey section with a mix of ice and rock steps (shown in pic where the person with no trekking poles is crouching/sitting). We all had yaktrax or microspikes. In colder/icy conditions, I would say ice axe is a must, even with microspikes, and crampons are highly recommended.

Not sure what route you are talking about..I am curious now. I want to do at least one more snow trip (this wasn't a snow trip per se as we weren't camping in the snow) to CR or Sentinel Dome.

Quote
KevinD
Also...please tell us more about that yummy looking meal!

Day 1 was burritos with chorizo, including 30 mins of cooking rice and beans. Day 2 was chicken with stuffing. It was fun but too much work in my opinion even though I wasn't chopping/cooking.

How was SeKi? I haven't been there since a trip to Pear lake and Moose lake 5 years back

Sounds yummy! I usually don't mind making a meal in the backcountry but in winter...yea...quicker the better!

SEKI was good! Snow line was around 8500 feet but by the time we left, the sun had caused it to go up to about 9200.

The route for CR I was talking about is the longer route that connects you with the JMT/sunrise area. Less steep and dicey but still.. if conditions are ok, I'd take the regular route up since it would cut quite some time. CR actually looks pretty nice right now from the webcam but I probably won't be heading back to Yose till after President's day weekend. Hope the snow is still there by then....

For now, I'll be exploring the Eastern Sierra and hope to make it to Big Pine Lakes this monday. Supposedly, the road is open all the way to Glacier Lodge and there is about 15 inches of now!

Nwhkr, thanks for this great trip report and gorgeous photos.

Balzaccom, thank you kindly for those suggestions as well. I will definitely look into those USFS roads next.

After some busy working weekends, I decided to bite the bullet and take up winter camping. Current plan is to head up in the direction of either Clouds or North Dome next weekend.

If I do, I'll definitely check back in and post updated condition reports.

Cheers,
Alex

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Alex L
Nwhkr, thanks for this great trip report and gorgeous photos.

Balzaccom, thank you kindly for those suggestions as well. I will definitely look into those USFS roads next.

After some busy working weekends, I decided to bite the bullet and take up winter camping. Current plan is to head up in the direction of either Clouds or North Dome next weekend.

If I do, I'll definitely check back in and post updated condition reports.

Cheers,
Alex

Hey Mate,

If you want, you can join us for a winter outing! We were planning to do CR in a few weeks (hoping for more snow). We are aiming for Sequoia again next week.

Alex,

I have NO experience hiking in the snow, but in September I
did a monster hike that involved most of the places you named...

Half Dome Village-CR-Tenaya Lake-Snow Creek Trail-HDV

This was one lap of Tenaya Canyon, for lack of a better title.

Also, I've gone from the Valley to CR and back-big but not ridiculous.

They are probably tougher in the snow, but both can be done.