Re: Hiking Itinerary - trail suggestions/possible?

Hello,
Let me first say thanks to all of you that helped me out before on my post about camping at Yosemite Creek, much appreciated. So below I have a basic itinerary of my 4 days in the Park and I'm looking for some insight on which trails might be the best choice or if my plans have holes or not enough time alloted. One main question is if leaving from the Yosemite Creek Campground and heading towards Yosemite Falls, what is the RT distance and elevation gain if stopping at the top of the falls and returning to camp? Also I'm a bit concerned about the elevation because I live right on the coast...should I expect to lower my expectations and normal mileage and elevation gains due to the altitude (usually sea level to 1900ft is my avg hike)? Thanks beforehand! Jeremy

DAY 1 - TUE 7/21
Arrive: by 8:30 and setup camp at Yosemite Creek Campground (hopefully!!)
Hike: Yosemite Falls (?) or Mono Pass (7.8,miles, 900ft)
Sunset: Teneya Lake (2.5miles, flat)


DAY 2 - WED 7/22 Valley Floor and Glacier Point
Sunrise: sleep in
Hike: Bike the Valley floor…Sentinel/Cook Meadow Loop and Lower Yosemite Falls (3miles, flat, 1hr), Bridalveil Falls (1.2miles, 200ft, 30min)
Sunset: Sentinel dome (2.2miles, 500ft, 2hrs), Glacier Point (1mile, flat) for sunset - drive back to Yosemite Creek Camp


DAY 3 - THUR 7/23 Tioga Road / Tuolumene Meadows

Sunrise: start hike below while still dark
Hike: Glen Aulin (13miles, 600ft, 7-10 hrs) or Ten Lakes Trail (?)
Sunset: ???


DAY 4 - FRI 7/24

Sunrise: easy hike or viewpoint - leave at dark for sunrise then return to packup
Hike: Gaylor Lake (3miles, 600ft, 2-5hrs) or Pothole dome (2.5miles, 250ft, 2-3hrs) the leave afterwards.

Just wanted to share my experience with you at lower and middle/upper Gaylor Lake trails recently. Both were workouts to get to (wasn't yet acclimated to the elevation) but beautiful. My one complaint about Lower Gaylor was the mosquitoes, which was minimal along much of trail until you reach 1/2 mile from the lake and it became nearly unbearable with hundreds swarming and trying to bite wherever I forgot to apply repellent (tried picaridin but had to go back to DEET). Needless to say, I learned my lesson to reapply a bit more diligently when I later noticed all the bites I had received. I enjoyed upper Gaylor not only for the lower incidents of mosquitoes but also cuz you can visit Granite lakes and the Sierra Mine. Saw a pika hanging out on the old stone cabin at the top but ofcourse had only a wide angle lens with me =(



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/16/2009 03:14PM by quicksilver.

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girdog
One main question is if leaving from the Yosemite Creek Campground and heading towards Yosemite Falls, what is the RT distance and elevation gain if stopping at the top of the falls and returning to camp?

The RT distance to the footbridge is a shade less than 13 mi. and the elevation differential is 0.6k.

Re. the Ten Lakes route:
Starting out at the Ten Lakes trailhead on the Tioga Road, the hike up to Ten Lakes Pass (immediately past Half Moon Meadow) is just about 10 mi. RT with a 2.2k elevation differential.

Quote
girdog
Also I'm a bit concerned about the elevation because I live right on the coast...should I expect to lower my expectations and normal mileage and elevation gains due to the altitude (usually sea level to 1900ft is my avg hike)?

Probably not... you're really not that high up. (But you'll find out on your first hike. Altitude affects people differently. Personally, I have never been bothered by going directly from my home at 1.3k up to 8-10k and immediately hitting the trail for a full day.) My rule of thumb is 2 mph, excluding stops, averaged over elevation gain/loss, when carrying a 50 lb. pack.

We are planning on going to Tuolumne Meadows Campground for 3-4 days. We are interested in the see the high country flowers and would like too know if flowers are at peak or past it by 1st week in Aug. We have not booked a site yet in the campground.
We plan on he day of arrival to acclimatize and wander about area. We are used to hiking with elevation gains of 1000-2000 from sea level in WA We had a very tentative itinerary of the following hikes: Gaylor Lakes, Catheral Lakes and Elizabeth Lake. I know some of these trails are busy. If we are camping and can get an early by our standards start 8-8:30 will that be of any benefit? We hike at about 2 mph on moderate to moderately strenuous hikes 6miles is a nice day hike for us
Any ideas on trails or different locations would be appreciated. We have been down in the valley many years ago and as great as it is it's awful busy and very much dampens the impact of the peace and the wonderful beauty of the area.

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bobhelenyosemite
Any ideas on trails or different locations would be appreciated.

Not clear if you mean 6 mi. or 12 mi. RT. Anyway, some short hikes near the lower end of the scale:
(1) Glen Aulin trailhead: out to Twin Bridges or the overlook before you drop down to Twin Bridges.
(2) Porcupine Flat trailhead: up to Indian Rock.
(3) Yosemite Institute parking lot: down to the Tuolumne Grove of sequoias.
(4) Cathedral Lakes trailhead: out to Cathedral Lakes



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2009 08:42PM by szalkowski.

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bobhelenyosemite
would like too know if flowers are at peak or past it by 1st week in Aug.

That depends on altitude.

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bobhelenyosemite
would like too know if flowers are at peak or past it by 1st week in Aug.

I was at elevation from Y.V. to Whitney (4,000 - 14,495) the last 3 weeks. All flowers we saw were either at or slightly past peak.

Thanks "szalkowski"!

If you haven't booked a site in the campground, make sure you get there in the early morning to get one of the first come/first serve sites.... you can also roll the dice getting there late and hoping people cancelled and no one else got them.

You may see flowers, but not as many as there was in spring... still, I've seen some brilliant wildflowers around 8500-9000 in the Sierras as late as September. Just depends.