Trail Condition Question

Scheduled to bp starting from TM down Lyell Creek to Evelyn Lake to Vogelsang, down Lewis Crekk to Merced Lake to YV......Considering I'll be hiking w/ my 7 year old, are trail condition ok?? with this routing, any creek crossing issues?
Thanks in advance!!

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skinnet
Trail Condition Question

Scheduled to bp starting from TM down Lyell Creek to Evelyn Lake to Vogelsang, down Lewis Crekk to Merced Lake to YV......Considering I'll be hiking w/ my 7 year old, are trail condition ok?? with this routing, any creek crossing issues?
Thanks in advance!!

Time frame?

With out looking at a map, off the top of my head. SNOW may slow you down. I heard that Sunrise High camp won't be open until July 24

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ed_rod52
With out looking at a map, off the top of my head. SNOW may slow you down. I heard that Sunrise High camp won't be open until July 24

Ed,

What is your source of information regarding Sunrise opening the 24th? Last I heard from Dave (who works in the park) was that there had been no determination yet whether or not the HSC's were going to open at all this year. It's my undestanding it's all of them or none of them. The concern was that the late snowmelt would confine them to such a short season that they could not make any money. They never opened them in 2006 and there was less snow that year. Dave, time to chime in again.

Some one with that belong to yahoo group (JMT) also I be leave I saw it on the yosemite site. Looking it up now

Starting 7/10 and estimating 4 days / 3 nights......

Stream crossings aside, I would highly recommend that you structure your trip transportation-wise such that you are not committed to making the valley once you start.

The average (i.e., fifty percentile) seven-year-old is 4 feet tall and weighs 55 pounds, so I trust that your son/daughter is not going to be backpacking much, if any, weight. Even so, a 30+ mile hike over 4 days with the elevation changes involved (I get +3.3k and -7.9k when tracing out your proposed route using TOPO!) might be pushing it a bit for someone that age.

I would suggest that you see how things go the first two days and make a decision at the Vogelsang HSC whether to push for the valley. Even if you do, I would recommend that you follow Fletcher Creek down rather than Lewis Creek (since you start losing elevation immediately after passing the HSC, it is a bit shorter, and you avoid several stream crossings). If you decide to bail, then you can then use the Rafferty Creek trail to loop back to Tuolumne Meadows (and, if you have some time to waste, you can always do a dayhike around the Vogelsang area.)

Since the approach to Vogelsang from the E has lots of sun exposure, my guess is that you are not going to run into any major snow problems there by the time of your trip. The N-facing trail up to Vogelsang Pass is likely going to be another situation entirely.

I worry a bit (actually, a lot) about doing the stream fordings with a seven-year-old. For that reason alone, I would argue for you to considering just doing the Lyell-Vogelsang-Rafferty loop from Tuolumne Meadows. On that loop, I think that there is only one fording, across Rafferty, which may be somewhat challenging. (There should be two others, one stream flowing into Evelyn and another into the unnamed lake E of Evelyn.) At any rate, it wouldn't hurt to also carry along some ~5mm. accessory cord to assist in the crossings if deemed desirable.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2010 09:22PM by szalkowski.

Thanks for the posts....I'm not worried about the distance and / or elevation change +/- as we regularly hike 10+ per day averaging 2.8mph....Our routing is closer to 33 miles and over 4 days should be doable with out pushing limits....The greatest one day upward elevation change is from Lyell creek to the Ireland lake Trail head - I'm not concerned over the elevation change but rather the conditions once we "head up".....While he (47" and 45lbs) is a great swimmer, I am concerned over the swift water creek crossing and would never put him (us) in danger. Thus, I understand the concerns contained in the post and assure the authors we would turn back before being exposed to an undue risk.

I think a seven year old will be like a puppy, If he gets tired he will sit down and refuse to move. I doubt he can be pushed beyond what he is able and willing to do.

---

Old Dude

For those interested, the route was fantastic....My little guy got a touch of altitude sickness at the end of day 1 around 9 miles in and @ 10,600......fully recovered the following morning and made the 40.2 in 3 1/2 days with no issues (other than a few m'quito bites at vogelsand and Merced lake.......Snow was minimal and trails in pretty good shape considering the winter....highly recommeded route!!!!!!!

Wow, that's one fit 7-yo, if he can manage that trip. Kudos to him/her and you both!

My [older] grandson is 8yo, and is a competition swimmer, and runner, but I doubt he could handle such rigor.

I agree with Szal'ski ... gee', I'd be nervous as all heck seeing a ~7yo child cross some of these streams ... gulp, and my g'son's an amazing swimmer (I'm not ... I got the fluency of, say, a barnacle)

Good Luck!

I share every one concern with the 7 year old but last year a 7 year old completed the hold JMT
2009 Camden Watson - age 7. On 8/11/09 Camden Watson 7yrs old (Born Aug. 2001) arrived at Happy Isles trailhead in Yosemite Valley having completed the JMT carrying a base weight of 17lbs. So dad know his son better than any one else

Here is what I found Sunrise HSC’s opening date will be no earlier than July 23rd.