Since it doesn't look like we'll be getting winter this... winter, we found ourselves yet again in Yosemite making hay--and miles--while the sun shines. The plan--something involving fractional domes. The Half Dome cables were of course down for the season. Vernal Fall had a decent amount of water--although most was probably from the recent light dusting of snow, not a harbinger of aby basilbop - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Lots of good ideas/photos rolling in on this topic. Thanks for all the help. I lack any backpacking equipment/skill/knowledge, so day hiking from the Valley always seemed the easy and cheap way to see the most cool sights. I'm getting quite a bit of that territory covered, so maybe going into the back country is the next sensible thing. Chick-on - No need to use your time for maps, etc.by AnotherDave - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Some sort of Quarter Domes/base of Half Dome/Diving Board trip would be a pretty cool day. If that wasn't enough for you, top out of Liberty Cap and Mt. Broderick on the way out. Here's another view (from down in Tenaya Canyon) of Quarter Domes...its high on my list of to-do's. You mention Indian Canyon (been up there...glad I did it but probably wouldn't do it again)...perhaps up Indianby Bearproof - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
A couple I can chime in on: Pohono west of Taft -- nice trail, lots of forest punctuated with about 4 stunning overlooks. Almost no views along the trail other than these overlooks. From Taft you will descend to Bridalveil Creek then up to Dewey Point, great views of El Cap and the Cathedral Rocks. Then Crocker and Stanford Points, similar views as from Dewey but a little further west. The desby JRinGeorgia - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Will give you some routes sometime this week. I wouldn't have to do any of those you mention if could only go once per year. If I could only go once per year I'd make that once a 3 week backpack trip. Here's Top o Bridalveil: http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,29312,29312 Moran "Easy" from 4MT ... There's a zillion posts on the forum about this. Can direct you eby chick-on - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
QuoteAnotherDave ... If you could only go to Yosemite once per year, are any of these on the "don't miss" list? Could your time/effort be better spent on hikes to other spots? Also, if you've been to any of these spots, maybe you could share some info about what to look for in these areas. I'd pick these from your list, with some twists: 1. Merced Lake: Try this: in earlyby basilbop - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I hope to be in Yosemite in September and am looking for some new spots. Here is a list of places I've heard about on this forum, but have yet to visit: MORAN PT-Accessible from somewhere on the 4FT EAGLE TOWER-Looked (briefly) for a way to get there last year POHONO TRAIL-Never been between Taft and Tunnel View OH MY GOSH PT-Somewhere beyond Columbia Rock MERCED LAKE-Would you try a 30 mby AnotherDave - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Still there... no change from earlier this year.... right near Casa Nevada and found this also right near the base of Nevada... nice to top it all off... hopefully it just happened on it's own... but ... the little arch on Easter Quarter Dome is no moreby chick-on - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Trip Dates: June 27-29, 2014 The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne (or the GCT) was one of the first extended backpacking trips my wife and I did. For some reason, the canyon itself didn't really resonate with us then; we much preferred the "return" portion of our loop, passing by the Tuolumne Tarns, the South Fork of Cathedral Creek, and the Ten Lakes Basin. Perhaps it had been too hoby basilbop - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
QuoteCalaveras Personally I don't think there are any bad views of Half Dome and I don't defer to landscape photographers as to what sort of pictures I like. Exactly how I feel. What I want out of a picture I take is what it looked like when I was there. That is what I like. Thanks for the 3D stuff. Just saw it. The Quarter Domes one is just awesome.by chick-on - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I wasn't planning on going to Yosemite, but high winds on Mt. Shasta and a timely opening of Tioga Pass made a last minute trip happen. We got an early start on Saturday, encountering snow immediately from the Mono Pass Trailhead. Our first challenge was crossing the Dana Fork After backtracking upstream we found an easy crossing of a small side creek and then an easy crossing of the maiby edg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
My teenager and I went up on Sunday night for a trip up Half Dome, Cloud's Rest and through Echo Valley. We were hoping for the good weather from the weekend, but the forecast was iffy for what we were planning, so we put our contingency plan on our permit when we started out on Monday morning. Both Vernal and Nevada falls were flowing well, but well below peak flows from previous years (a monby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quoteplawrence Ansel Adam's route to the Diving Board supposedly started near Happy Isles going up LeConte's Gully. From a 1998 article in Spot Magazine: “We came up LeConte Gully, Ansel's route, under the north face of Grizzly Peak, up from Happy Isles, up out of Camp Curry to climb to the Diving Board. The Board is a hanging cornice on the west edge of Half Dome. It is the spot where Anseby wherever - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Ansel Adam's route to the Diving Board supposedly started near Happy Isles going up LeConte's Gully. From a 1998 article in Spot Magazine: “We came up LeConte Gully, Ansel's route, under the north face of Grizzly Peak, up from Happy Isles, up out of Camp Curry to climb to the Diving Board. The Board is a hanging cornice on the west edge of Half Dome. It is the spot where Ansel took his remaby plawrence - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quotechicagocwright Thank you all again for great research. What is the route and distance (in time) between the Diving Board and Snake Dike? (or am I missing something obvious) The Snake Dike climb (dike is a ribbon-like igneous intrusion in geology-speak) is the most popular climb on Half Dome. There are 13 climbers in this photo off the web: It's a quarter of a mile and a couple hundreby wherever - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Continuing my TR on my recent 9-day Yosemite adventure, this thread covers Days 6 & 7. I had so much stuff I had to spread it out over separate posts. Linkies to the whole enchilada: Intro and Days 1 & 2 Days 3, 4, 5 Days 6 & 7 Days 8 & 9 and finish Plants & animals Wed 7/24 – Day 6 I loaded up 6L (over 13 lbs) of water because I was expecting no source untiby JRinGeorgia - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Hi all, I recently spent nine glorious days backpacking in Yosemite (July 19-27) and wanted to share about it in this trip report. Lots of pics, I pared them down to about 350 that are in this album, with many posted into this thread. Lots of rambling in this TR – as Mark Twain once said, if I’d had more time I would have written less. So I’ll spread it over separate posts. This thread coveby JRinGeorgia - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteW7SG ... if you could pls group the hikes, little or no bush, lots of bush, etc, that would help me out greatly.... Well, that's not so easy to say. What I can do is list some of them where the bushwhacking is easy and likely to remain so. I'll do so at the bottom of this post. But first let me explain why it's hard to rate the difficult ones. It can change drastically. I think thaby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Four years ago I started a thread called, “Abandoned trails and off-trail hikes near Yosemite Valley” which got very long. It would have been 26 pages, if printed out. It contained links to a lot of off-trail hikes around Yosemite Valley. http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,26491 Two years ago I did an update, which I kept adding to until it eventually accumulated 18 additions anby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I'm sure it's exciting.. but here you go: You head way left (west)... then ziggy across over here and back up ... not too bad... Yikes... that was in 2004 with Younger Old Dood... Sunrise TH to camp on Quarter Domes... then back up and around via High Trail to Dolly Domes... Sunrise HSC (I x-d up Cleavage and up Bug Dome while OD knocked off a bit of trail I had already done) ... and outby chick-on - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks. I was pretty sure saw it before... They've had that chopper for awhile now... took this one from the Lookout June 26th, 2010. Here's another from Watkins last Saturday with Quarter Domes in the b/g: Buena Vista Ridge in the way back there... Pathetic amount of snow...by chick-on - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Some of you may recall several mentions of the memorable Y-shaped Twin Falls on upper Cascade Creek. http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,57245,57272#msg-57272 http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,65293 Here is a photo from Chick-on's report: We had snagged someone's cancellation at the lodge for three nights starting on Wednesday. This was a family room with an extra bed,by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Don't fret. There are plenty of good things to do when you get turned back at the start of the subdome steps. The easiest are the Quarter Domes. http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,29842 You can also try the climbers trail down from the subdome starting place to the face of Half Dome, or go up the Clouds Rest trail for a ways. You can also scramble up Liberty Cap on the way back downby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteAlmostThere Quotechicagocwright Yes someone is eventually probably going to perish attempting Half Dome with the Cables down. But someone is also likely to perish climbing El Capitan, walking at Glacier Point, riding a bike on the bike path, swimming in the pool at Curry, and maybe even eating pizza. But let's not close it down and make it less accessible. Please? How do you know no oby Ohnivy-Drak - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Great plan. Here is a slight variation that takes it slower on your first day. Check out of your hotel in Oakhurst, pick up permit in Wawona, maybe breakfast in Wawona, drive to Tuolomne Meadows, stop to admire the view a few times along the way, you probably won't be starting at the trail head until almost mid day. Day 1: Sunrise TH at Tenaya Lake to one of the Sunrise lakes. 3.5 miles Theby KatyAnderson - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I know you hear this all the time, but it's seriously crazy how much great info and inspiration is housed in this site. Reading through the advice served up for others really helped our planning, but I’d appreciate a sanity check and any thoughts on our 5-day itinerary for May 27-31. We have a wilderness permit for Glacier Point to Illilouette Falls with HD permits (they urged us to get a peby Etrain - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
We snagged a couple of nights at Yosemite Lodge last week, and went for a couple of short hikes. Drove up on Wednesday morning, and were free to hoof it from the lodge at 2pm. My hiking buddy had never been out along Sunnyside Bench, and I hadn't been there for over 25 years, so why not? The place was a great favorite of John Muir, and the drizzly skies didn't encourage our doing anything veryby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
You've seen the photosynths; now for the old-school TR. This time, another classic: up Snow Creek, around to North Dome, across to Yosemite Point, then down the falls trail. After parking at the Lodge area, I took the waiting shuttle bus to the Mirror Lake shuttle stop. It was definitely spring in the valley--very pleasant along Tenaya Creek. The climb up the Snow Creek switchbacks was warmby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Beyond Moraine Dome area... (which is right smack next to the "Helmet Dome/Little Grizzly Falls/Bunnell Pt." picture here btw) you can camp anywhere you like until you get to Merced Lake. At Merced Lake you are suppose to camp at the campground by the HSC. Everywhere else on that route... you can camp where you see fit that abides by the rules on your permit. Lost Valley has suspby chick-on - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
So I have wanted to get up over Tioga Pass to Tuolumne Meadows in the winter for a while now. I put a cache up there and have been looking for the right combination of weather and availability to go with a friend. Last weekend was a strong possibility, but my buddie just couldn't squeeze out the time. What to do? Contact the bird...Chick-on's usually up for a little weekend trip, as if you haven'by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion