Hi there. This is my 1st post and I've never been to Tuolumne Meadows, but have solid backpacking experience and have been doing lots of research for an early June trip to the high country. Right now I have wilderness permits reserved for the Cathedral Lake trailhead, and we're looking at a 4 day/3 night trip. I will post my initial thoughts, and hopefully some of you can offer recommendations on how this trip can be improved!
After seeing some incredible photos (and reading rave reviews on here), our main destination is Clouds Rest. I'm thinking:
DAY 1: Park @Cathedral Lakes trailhead and hike in. Setup camp at Lower Cathedral (is lower preferable?). There are no rock climbers in my group, but I've read that it's possible to summit Medlicott Dome with basic scrambling. If so, we would like to hike up there before sunset. The directions I have written down are: "from lower lake's northwest shore, walk northward across gently sloping granite slabs ~1 mile to summit." Anything else I need to know about reaching Medlicott Dome?
DAY 2: Pack up and hike to Sunrise Lakes. Setup camp near one of the lakes (I've read that the northern-most lake is most secluded, so perhaps we should go for that one?). Also, fire rings are okay here, right?
DAY 3: Leave camp setup at Sunrise. Look for fork that goes to Clouds Rest. Summit CR and return to camp at Sunrise. I'm thinking if we camp another night at Sunrise it might be too boring, so maybe we'll hike down to Tenaya Lake and camp somewhere around there.
DAY 4: What about leaving our stuff at Tenaya and heading up to May Lake / Mount Hoffmann? How many miles would it be to hike from Tenaya to the top of Hoffmann and back? Would this be a good way to end our trip, or can someone recommend something else for our 3rd night/4th day?
Other questions:
-I know that we can't predict the weather, but how much snow should we be expecting on the trails for the 1st week of June? Since there isn't much snow to begin with and it seems to be warming up quickly, I should plan on leaving my crampons/gaiters at home, right? Or should i take them just in case? Will there be enough snow on the ground to have a snowball fight? I hope so...
-Of the lakes mentioned above, which one would be best for swimming? I know the water will be cold, but just how cold? Any temp ranges someone can give me? My buddy and I are experienced swimmers and it would be fun to swim across one of the lakes, so I might bring a wetsuit and go for it!
-Boulder jumping into May Lake?? On the SummitPost page for Mount Hoffmann, it says there's a large boulder which can be used for jumping into the lake. Any idea how high up this is? I love jumping into water and have leaped from the bridge at the pools of Hana and from a high rock in Tahoe that most wouldn't dare consider, but I want to convince my buddies that this one is safe.
-Are there lots of snakes in Tuolumne Meadows? One of my friends keeps saying that we need a snake bite kit, which is an interesting point but seems unnecessary. Thoughts?
-Has anyone bought the GoPro2 camera and regretted it? It looks like the annual REI sale starts in a couple days and if the 20% off coupon can be used on this cam I might get it and wear it for the Clouds Rest summit!
Thanks for reading all, let me know if you have any suggestions. Cheers!