Re: Gaylor Creek x-country?

The online permit reservation system lists a new (well, at least for me) entry trailhead - Gaylor Creek XC. The park map is not updated to locate the trailhead, so I assume it is located at Gaylor Lakes TH. Does anyone know more about this new TH? I am curious how far from HWY120 should you hike to set up a camp. I believe Granite Lakes area is too close and might be out of question. Skelton? Where else would you go? From the website page:
- No camping in the park from Great Sierra Mine to White Mountain and all watershed downstream.
- No camping in the Monroe Hall Research Area.
- Along the Tuolumne Watershed, ensure all washing and waste is 300 feet from water.

This is to accommodate Sierra High Route starting effectively from Tuolumne.
You have to be OUTSIDE the park and OUTSIDE Hall Research Area if you
are South of White Mountain.
You CAN NOT camp at Gaylor, Granite, or Skelton Lakes. Period.
As stated pretty much the area south of the ridge from Ragged Peak to White Mountain
is off limits to overnight camping.

They must have been getting too many requests to start by going thru Gaylor to start.
I dunno, I would have just said too bad... get a Twenty Lakes and just hike from Bennettville
or wherever off 120 outside the park.
Or probably they were getting people taking Glen Aulin or Young and going that way
and after one too many decided they better accommodate.

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I agree with the Great Pink One on this... I'd add that I suspect the park service would discourage--if not forbid--using this new trailhead to go to Young Lakes in lieu of the two Young Lakes permits--they generally view such things as subverting the trailhead quota mechanism.

One more wild guess: it's only recently that the area just outside the park to the north of the Great Sierra Mine was added to the Hoover Wilderness, so in the past you could have started at the Gaylor Lakes trailhead and once outside the park/Hall area/private mining claims, you'd be dispersed camping in the national forest--no wilderness permit required. Your first entry into (the Hoover) wilderness would be covered by a 20 Lakes Basin permit. But now, you enter contiguous wilderness right at the trailhead--and the general rule in the Sierra is you get a permit for the first wilderness you enter from your trailhead, even if you don't spend the first night in that wilderness (e.g. Sierra/Ansel Adams if going to Chain Lakes, Stanislaus/Emigrant for going to Kibbie Lake/Ridge, Mono Pass continuing out of the park into the Ansel Adams, etc.)

Interesting note on Hoover.

It's a bit nebulous. You have to start where your permit says AND you need a permit for where you are going to camp.
If you're carrying overnight gear in Yosemite you are required to have a wilderness permit.
Ok, maybe not nebulous. It's pretty clear. But I'm easily confoozed.

Anyway, absolutely agree on Young. And they are pretty clear that everyone in the group should be VERY proficient
at cross country. "We had to camp here because Billy couldn't make it... " is not a valid excuse.

Young via "Gaylor Creek" is probably out of most peoples pay grade anyway.

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chick-on
If you're carrying overnight gear in Yosemite you are required to have a wilderness permit.
Ok, maybe not nebulous. It's pretty clear. But I'm easily confoozed.

This was clarified to close a "loophole" where peak baggers and others would carry overnight gear just in case they couldn't do their trip as a day trip--and likely fully knowing and expceting that they couldn't finish in a day. I think for similar reasons there's the rule that if you're in the backcountry at night, you need a wilderness permit--no 24-hour "day" hikes.

Thanks for the input. Good to know that you guys are still monitoring this forum.

Quote
chick-on
You have to start where your permit says AND you need a permit for where you are going to camp.
If you're carrying overnight gear in Yosemite you are required to have a wilderness permit.

Maybe this policy has changed recently, but 2 years ago we had an overnight permit for Stanislaus and camped at Kibbie, which was approved by the issuing ranger.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2020 06:25PM by SergiyP.

Received an update from Yosemite Conservancy Wilderness Reservations Staff:

This map illustrates the no camp zones within Tuolumne Meadows and the Monroe Hall Research Natural Area.

https://caltopo.com/m/SMRD

The Gaylor Lakes cross-country TH is the trail West from the entrance and before Tuolumne Meadows.

Yes, cross-country'ing over to Young Lakes and beyond is one of the few options with this TH.

Quote
SergiyP
Thanks for the input. Good to know that you guys are still monitoring this forum.

Quote
chick-on
You have to start where your permit says AND you need a permit for where you are going to camp.
If you're carrying overnight gear in Yosemite you are required to have a wilderness permit.

Maybe this policy has changed recently, but 2 years ago we had an overnight permit for Stanislaus and camped at Kibbie, which was approved by the issuing ranger.

You re-inforced what I was aluding to. You needed a Yosemte permit.

You had to have gotten a "Kibbie Lake" permit from Stanislaus if you went to Kibbie Lake on your first day and night.

Anyway, yeah, there's a new permit out there.

Have fun

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