Day hikes on east side of Yosemite/Hoover??

In between "big hikes" this summer we still need a fix of the Sierra; we plan to visit for just the weekend and enjoy some low-stress day hikes. We never planned on visiting The Valley itself (too crowded) - and with the Ferguson Fire raging all the more reason to avoid that area. We planned to be in the high country (Tuolumne Meadows area) and thought we'd maybe hike a bunch of domes: Fairview, Medlicott, Polly, Pothole, Pywiack... (just recently did Lembert) but the fire may impact the air quality there too.

I just happened upon some writings and they referred to "Virginia Pass" which I had never heard of. Now I know where it is. I've seen some pictures attributed to that area, but they may be incorrectly associated (I can't find a location using just topo maps that matches the topography). In any case, we also enjoy the eastside (Humphreys Basin, Palisades, Twin Lakes (Bridgeport), etc.) I see there are roads from 395 leading up to Lundy Lake, which could be a Lundy->Steelhead->Saddlebag hike; or Green Lake, which could be a Green->East->Summit(->Virginia) hike; or Virginia Lakes, the other direction.

Any suggestions on these places, trails, views and hikes? I note that from all the maps I have access to, the trail to Virginia Pass (at the YOSE boundary, north of Camiaca Peak) from the west stops at the park boundary. The topo map makes this look very "doable" down to the creek in Glines Cayon, easily connecting to trails leading back to Green Lake. Is this possible, ill-advised, trivial?

Thanks for input, and enjoy it out there.

There is an unmaintained but obvious trail from Green Lake to Virginia Pass. It's actually a bit better than the supposedly maintained trail on the Yosemite side, both down from Virginia Pass and back up to Summit Lake Pass. It's a fine,scenic loop that you can't go wrong with. Keep an eye out for some old stamping equipment in Glines Canyon and the old dams (part of the Dynamo Pond/Bodie hydroelectric project?) on Green and East Lakes. So: not ill-advised, not trivial, but possible, and recommended.

Lundy Canyon is also nice, as is Summit Lake from Virginia Lakes (or so I hear--I hiked it at night...), or the Robinson Creek/Crown/Rock Island/Peeler loop, or Bloody Canyon, or... let's just say that the infamous "advance party" is out there scouting east-side trailheads, and if you were to end up in Lundy Canyon, you might run into them...

Thanks for the info. Lots of great places on the east side too.

Yep. We've done most of these East side Hoover Wilderness hikes. Virginia Pass goes from the Green Creek trailhead over to the upper reaches of Virginia Canyon. Virginia LAKES Pass goes from the Virginia Lakes trailhead via Summit Lake into the canyon a bit further down. Both passes, and the lakes nearby, are usually really windy. In between you have East Lake, Gilman Lake, and the Hoover Lakes to visit...or a side trip up to West Lake. I think the Virginia Lakes route is more fun to hike. Virginia Canyon is lovely.

Twin Lakes has a few options, from Peeler to Robinson Lakes, or all the way down to Benson and back. But there is also a use trail up Little Slide Canyon that takes you over to the East of Mule Pass--and eventually Matterhorn Canyon, which is stunning.

Further North, Leavitt Meadows has a long trail that takes you up into the "Ladies' Lakes" like Dorothy, Stella, Ruth, Helen, Harriett...lovely area, which can also be accessed via Leavitt Lake.

And further South, the Walker Lake trailhead takes you up Bloody Canyon to the Sardine Lakes and Mono Pass...and Gibbs Lake trailhead takes you to Gibbs Lake---haven't done that one yet.

Even further you get to Rush Creek and access to Thousand Island Lake and all the Ansel Adams Wilderness.

Trip reports on these, except Gibbs Lake, are all on our website under the destinations section...

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2018 08:22PM by balzaccom.