Re: Sunrise high Sierra camp to Valley how many miles

Just wondering how is the hike from Sunrise high Sierra camp to Yosemite Valley in 1 day with Half Dome side trip .Doable?Or better spend the night at LYV and carry all the weight in the backpack,because we would have to spend 1 night in our tent at LYV?

I could do it, but that says nothing about whether you could. Can you do a 10+ mile day with a significant climb in the middle?

Rather than overnight in LYV, I would suggest hiking from Sunrise camp to near where the JMT and Clouds Rest trails meet, arriving in the early afternoon (there are several nice sites there). The Half Dome spur trail is just down the trail a bit. Leave camp (and your gear) around 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon and be on top of Half Dome after most of the crowd has left. The next day, cruise down to the valley for beer and pizza.

16 miles.

I think an appropriate perspective is, do you want a ball-busting clock watching hike or do you want to enjoy yourselves?

We would like to enjoy ourselves.The problem is that we will spend 1st night at Vogelsang HSC and second night at Merced Lake high sierra camp and because of 1 night in tent we will have to take all our gear.So I am wondering how to do it with Half Dome with out spending night in our tent We would have to take backpacks,floor mat tent and food.So maybe to hike little longer and carry maybe 10 pounds at most,or enjoy ourself and carry 30 pounds+?

EZ. Don't take the tent.


(I'm actually serious) (but it depends on time of year... moz-keet-toes, weather forecast, and wuttnut)
(most of year dis bird sleep under stars)

Have fun

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chatka
We would like to enjoy ourselves.The problem is that we will spend 1st night at Vogelsang HSC and second night at Merced Lake high sierra camp and because of 1 night in tent we will have to take all our gear.So I am wondering how to do it with Half Dome with out spending night in our tent We would have to take backpacks,floor mat tent and food.So maybe to hike little longer and carry maybe 10 pounds at most,or enjoy ourself and carry 30 pounds+?

Your tent weighs 20 pounds?

Rent a lighter tent, or take a tarp. Tents are rentable or borrow-able, you know? and many don't weigh more than 5 lbs. Add a bear can and you've got 7, not 20.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2013 07:36AM by AlmostThere.

Sleep mat and food

chatka khan,
Dunno your route... but in case not obvious... nix the JMT from Sunrise HSC and
head over to Sunrise Lakes and then up and over Clouds Rest on your way down
to Happy Isles...
If you can guarantee that you get ur booty to LYV then you don't need to carry a
bear can. If you do Half Dome the next day.. then you have to hike back up
the approx 900 ft. you dropped from HD/JMT Jct. to LYV.
Don't camp w/o your food secured ... bears will be lurking and you will lose your food...
Have fun

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chatka
Sleep mat and food

And at the wrong time of year you'll have massive blood loss.

We will be there July 1 st,Sunrise HSC will open in July 4th.

I bring a tent in early July....

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2013 04:27PM by tomdisco.

When is better time of the year when we would not have massive blood lost?

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chatka
When is better time of the year when we would not have massive blood lost?

December is good.

Nice

The pests are pretty much gone when you get into August. But it very much depends on the weather and how wet things still are.

Last half of August onward, typically. Mosquitoes diminish in number through July. This year things may move earlier if we don't start getting some more weather (this incoming storm doesn't cut it, long range forecast is still dry). But early July is often bug heaven as standing water coincides with warming temps.

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chatka

When is better time of the year when we would not have massive blood lost?

In the high country of Yosemite:

• Between mid-October until the end of May: extremely little numbers of mosquitos (if any).
• June: a few mosquitos usually start showing up in the first week, then rapidly increasing throughout the month.
• First two weeks of July: in a typical year, the peak time for mosquitos in Yosemite's high country.
• Mid-July thru mid-August: there could still be a lot of mosquitos, but it can vary a bit due to temperature and water conditions.
• Mid-August to mid-October: decreasing amount of mosquitos in the high country, sometimes rapidly, sometimes gradual. Again it depends on the temps and water level.

There are two things that influence the amount of mosquitos in Yosemite: the amount of standing water and the nightly low temperatures.

Hard frosts kill mosquitos dead. That's why regardless how wet or dry the winter and spring has been in Yosemite, there's rarely if ever any mosquitos to worry about until June, because even in May the high country of Yosemite can experience nightly lows in the 20's.

When the hard frosts return to the Yosemite high country (usually in early fall), the mosquitos cease being any sort of problem in the Yosemite high country. It's the time between the hard frost during the summer when the mosquitoes breed, prosper and suck our blood.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2013 09:42PM by plawrence.

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chatka
Sleep mat and food

20 lbs of mat or food?

2 lb mat/19 of food? That much food I'd be out for 10 days. (I usually take it out of the packaging, put in ziplocks, dehydrating where necessary to further lighten 'er up.)

Tent is wise in early summer. Unless you like DEET baths, or have a mosquito net to put around you.

I just checked the NPS trail descriptions and they say that from Happy Isles to Sunrise HSC it is 13.2 miles

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=200006

Must be via JMT. (the mileage)
Original poster wanted from Sunrise up Half Dome... then down to HI.
Katy gave answer of 16.... which is close enough...

Regardless. A good link for peeps asking mileage questions to refer to.

Or to take it further... there's maps there too...
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/trails.htm

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You're right chick-on - cheez, when am I going to learn how to read

You're link was good. Hopefully Chaka Chan reads it.

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When I was 19 and working at TML, 2 of us hiked from TML to the Valley via Sunrise and HD and hitchhiked back to TML in time for dinner ;-) Another adventure that summer was to drive to Whitney portal from TML (that's when Tioga Pass was periodically closed for construction, so you had to carefully time leaving/entering the Park), sleep in the front seat of my '61 Karman Ghia, leave at the crack of dawn and hiked to the top of Whitney and back in 7:57...with 30 min on top...and then drove back to TM before the road closed for the night. Ahhh youth!

Steve

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https://photos.app.goo.gl/P6JNdGJBW5ob8oUU2



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2013 08:24AM by calberry.