Re: North Dome Access when Tioga Road is Closed

Greetings,

Working on planning a trip in early June this year. I'm getting worried about Tioga Road still being closed. Aside from wanting to hike near the usual highlights of Clouds Rest and Half Dome, I would also like to see if there is a good way to hike to North Dome (assuming Tioga Rd. is closed). The National Parks maps layer on Google Earth shows a red trail branching off from Yosemite Point and Upper Yose Falls that heads on over to North Dome. The distances in GEarth put it at 4 miles from Yose Point.

Anybody have more information they could shed on this trail? Is it there? Is it fairly easy to follow? Other concerns on getting from Yose Point and Upper Yose Falls to North Dome? Or is there a better way?

thanks for any help,

Mark

This is the North Rim Trail. You can access North Dome from that side, or by climbing up Snow Creek Falls from the other side. That's steep climb, but so is Yosemite Falls Trail. The North Rim Trail is around 7,000 feet elevation, so you can estimate snow levels from that. Right now it would be under lots of snow.

It is a clearly marked trail---but that's assuming the snow on the ground is melted.

I don't think there is much hope that Tioga Pass is going to be open by early june this year; there is simpy too much snow up there.

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Without this forum, I would never know about this alternative routes. Someone should organize a list of these.

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Sherry
Without this forum, I would never know about this alternative routes. Someone should organize a list of these.

The "alternate routes" are all clearly shown on topographic and trail maps.
One only needs to look.

The hike to North Dome from Tioga Road is fairly straight forward (about 4 hours). The hike from the Valley floor is much more challenging and (for most of us) would involve spending the night. There is no water source on North Dome, so remember to bring some with you.

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Tom F.
There is no water source on North Dome, so remember to bring some with you.

Unless of course, there's still snow there in June.

The trail from 120 to North Dome is about 4.5 miles and should take about two hours. You might consider Mt Watkins if 120 is open when you hike.
If 120 is not open when you plan to hike then it will probably be a snowshoe trip. The Snow Creek trail to either Watkins or North Dome would be a better choice than Yosemite Falls. Hiking from Yosemite Falls requires crossing Lehemite Creek which could be a torrent. Using the Snow Creek trail doesn't require any creek crossings.

Bill-e-g please correct me if I've made an error.

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Old Dude

That's great information. I hadn't noticed that Snow Creek trail on the maps. Now I see it. Looks like that would be a picturesque hike. Good views of HD along the way I would presume?

The snowshoeing was an aspect I hadn't considered yet. Given the crazy amounts of snow there presently, can anyone guess from past experience what the snow conditions might be like along the rim of the valley? My group and I was considering hikes along the Pohono Trail, Clouds Rest and of course North Dome. Could we be looking at 6+ inches of snow or more even around June 7-10 at and above 7000ft?

I've got the snowshoes. Used them in 2-3+ feet of snow in Colorado back in February but was sorta hoping to not have to fly them out in June.

And thanks again, everyone, for all the great info.

The snow melt is going to be dependent on the daytime temps. To me April has been a bit cool. The big test will be May. If May is hot then the snow along the north rim with its southern exposure could clear out pretty fast. 120 opening though will depend more on how fast the snowplow crews can move. They go very cautiously.

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Old Dude

If you want to hike in snow then take the Snow Creek Trail.
This year can almost guarantee you will hit snow when coming around/over Indian Ridge.
The North Rim will have little to no snow on it. It's south facing and loses quickly.
(unlike Pohono which could still hold significant snow this year well into June)
(It's not all about elevation)
Anyway, I'd suggest you take Yosemite Falls trail and deal with Indian Canyon and Lehemite
crossings. You'll def. find logs across Lehemite. Indian may be a little more
of a challenge... but if you aren't comfortable... then just turn around
and enjoy Yose Pt. and falls more.

You can't go wrong any way you go really... so just go for it.
And yes, Snow Creek up to the bridge is spectacular... there is actually no real need to
go up to North Dome to be honest. It's not like it really has sooooo much better
views than Yose Pt. and Snow Creek area. (all the views are incredible)

(btw... if there were only 6" of snow on the trails you'd be able to easily follow them)

Have fun

there's some views of snow creek trail here (the video)
http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,30488,30488#msg-30488



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2011 08:51AM by bill-e-g.

Thanks. I'm waiting to get to North Dome this year, and this will come in handy.

I was wondering about this yesterday too, and currently just waiting for the road to be open to hike it just to be on the safer side since it will be my first time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/2011 02:47PM by lizzy79.

I'm going to be this week, so will keep you posted about the conditions when I get back.