By the way, with your Wilderness Permit, you can stay in the Backpackers campground the night before and the night after your backpacking trip. You can ask the rangers about it. I don't know where you live, but you should make sure you are well acclimated to the high altitude before hiking up and up and up. At the very least you will have a hard time breathing and at the worst you will get baby letterknit - General Discussion
Nope we didn't go to Washburn Lake. I think that would have meant losing too much elevation before going up to Vogelsang Pass, and we couldn't add anymore distance to the trip. There is quite a bit of elevation change between Babcock Lake and Merced Lake (Merced is lower) so we didn't go down to Merced. Babock Lake is very beautiful and not very crowded (although we missed the trail to Babcocby letterknit - General Discussion
Do you know what "small hikes" you'll be doing yet? Sentinel Dome off Glacier Point Road is a good one to get acclimated to the high altitude. Excellent views, not real long or difficult. You'll be driving right past it on your visit to Glacier Point (you ARE going to Glacier Point, right?) And if you can't go to the top of Half Dome you could hike to North Dome in order to see Half Dby letterknit - General Discussion
You might want to start a new topic, this one is starting to go all over the map!by letterknit - General Discussion
I did the loop around Vogelsang last August. However, I started/finished my trip at Tuolumne Meadows. But if you want to see some pictures of what the loop around Vogelsang is like you can see my pictures on Flickr. The bottom 3 sets in this collection would apply to different areas you're hiking (Vogelsang, Yosemite in Spring, and Summer Backpacking '05). Hiking to Volgesang Pass from the Vaby letterknit - General Discussion
Are you coming back out the same way? Where is your end point?by letterknit - General Discussion
You can get the permit the morning before your hike starts. Sometimes when you go to get your permit the morning of or the afternoon before, they are all sold out (especially for the popular spots like Little Yosemite Valley). People line up early when it's busy. You can also stand in line before it opens, but have a group of 10 people ahead of you who snatch up the last of the Little Yosemiteby letterknit - General Discussion
The website says Glacier Point Road is open May 5th: "The Glacier Point Road will open on May 5, 2007 at noon, conditions permitting (a few inches of snow fell on May 4)." http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tioga.htmby letterknit - General Discussion
Even when it was sunny and warm, I got cold going up the Mist Trail in my synthetic t-shirt and capris. In the spring time there is a lot of water and it's windy with all that water whooshing over the cliff. So I guess if it's a chilly day, you might want to stay kind of dry by wearing rain pants or pants that dry quickly in addition to your rain coat. And put 'em on before the water starts raby letterknit - General Discussion
In case you want to go on a spring backpacking trip, the Sierra Club has a backpacking trip to Rancheria Falls coming up. You don't have to be a Sierra Club member (but why wouldn't you be?). I'm not sure if there are still spots left (I myself am not going) May 19 · Sat through May 20 · Sun · Backpacking Section Rancheria Falls, Yosemite NP 1CT Backpack. Rancheria Falls bursting with spriby letterknit - General Discussion
Tuolumne Meadows conditions update for more info http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tm.htmby letterknit - General Discussion
The views from north dome are cool, good choice!by letterknit - General Discussion
wow, an animated REI graphic ad. high tech.by letterknit - General Discussion
Best features for me: 1. comfortable hip belt 2. doesn't hit your head when you look up or go uphill when you have it packed full. 3. comfortable on the countours of your back/lumbar area 4. accessible one-handed water bottle pockets (or camelback) 5. removable lid/waist pack/day pack? 6. good foam in the shoulderpads/hipbelt So for some of those reasons, you should really try backpacks out inby letterknit - General Discussion
eeek, you don't think it's possible to do that second map route in 7 days? How many miles is it r.moore? I don't know if you'll be crossing Illouette Creek, but there's only one bridge... I can't tell from your map if that's your route or not. If you're not planning on crossing at the bridge, it can be tricky. I have no idea how the water levels are this year since there hasn't been much snoby letterknit - General Discussion
Don't feel like you have to go crazy with the raingear... if it's going to be sunny and hot, you can just get wet (in your synthetic clothing, of course), then dry out and rest at the top of the falls. You might also drink more than 2 liters of water, so you could bring some iodine or chlorine tablets to treat your water. I'll second the trekking poles recommendation! A lot easier on your kneeby letterknit - General Discussion
I'm glad to hear that camping at a campground is perfectly acceptable. Thanks for making the calls Mr. What2Do! I suppose bringing a camping air mattress is a good idea in case sites are rocky. Good luck on your Half Dome hike! Wear sturdy shoes! (I recommend hiking boots or firm-soled hiking shoes because it's rocky at times). I also recommend long pants because of all the dirt and dustby letterknit - General Discussion
I'm not much help because I've never gone that route. However, I thought I might put some resources here that might help you or others out there. I think you did the right thing by calling the Wilderness Center in the Valley, they should have the best information about residual snow, water crossings, etc. If you need to talk to a person and get good information, you should call the Wilderness Cby letterknit - General Discussion
Which point is the start? And what time of year is your trip? Post Edited (05-02-07 09:57)by letterknit - General Discussion
I doubt you'll get kicked out for camping at a campground. Nevertheless, let us know what you find out!by letterknit - General Discussion
My Lonely Planet "Hiking in the Sierra Nevada" Book says the Tenaya Lake (Sunrise Lakes Trailhead) to Cloud's Rest is as follows: Duration: 6-7 hours Distance: 14.4 miles (RT) Difficulty: Moderate-Hard 5270 feet of total elevation change 2205 ft. ascent plus 430 ft. descent on the way to the summit. In comparison, the trail to the top of Yosemite Falls trail is 6.8 miles (RT) with a rby letterknit - General Discussion
I think the cancellation policy is 7 days...by letterknit - General Discussion
My non-official understanding of campsites anywhere is that you can pitch a tent on an RV site, but you can't park an RV on a tent site. They just tell you "RV" so you know if you can park an RV there or not. I'm guessing the standard sites probably don't fit an RV? Is there a phone number you can call? Maybe (209)372-0200. Just know that if you camp in an area with RVs, you mayby letterknit - General Discussion
To preface, I love this forum Are there any plans to upgrade the forum? I've been hanging around on a Death Valley forum http://www.death-valley.net/forum/index.php and I really like the setup. The different categories are interesting. Also, when I check the box that says "email me responses" it actually works. For some reason, on this forum, it doesn't work. I also like how onby letterknit - General Discussion
hahaha! wow! that zoom really helped. it only zoomed one time on my computer, still couldn't read anything.by letterknit - General Discussion
Thanks Penny. I live in Oakland and my family lives in Chicago, so I take my photos & add the captions to help them feel like they're along for the journey. I'm glad they're benefiting other people, too!by letterknit - General Discussion
There is a kiosk in front of the Camp 4 parking lot, at the entrance to the campground, where you register to camp in Camp 4 (you can see it in my pictures that I linked to above). This probably isn't very helpful, but you can camp in the woods along Rancheria Creek wherever you want. I think I remember crossing the creek/small falls and then camping somewhere on the right. When you go into thby letterknit - General Discussion
I agree, hiking to Lake Vernon and back with one overnight is too far. I did that hike a few years ago and we stayed TWO places before we got to Lake Vernon. We stayed near Rancheria Falls one night (buggy in June/July - bring mosquito headnets) and after the second day hiking uphill (it's a long switchbacked ways up as Mike said above) we stayed above Lake Vernon. This was a good choice becauby letterknit - General Discussion
<Here is some more info on campgrounds (and a buncha other stuff): http://yosemitefun.com/Yosemite_National_Park_camping.htm> Post Edited (04-24-07 08:57)by letterknit - General Discussion
Hey OCcamper.. feel free to ask more questions if you like, we're happy to help you with your trip. Check this site out for campsite availability: http://www.yosemitesites.com/ Click on Valley Floor & Proximity links Are you going on a weekend or weekday? Most people aren't willing to drive down the dirt road (and RVs can't make it) to Tamarack Flat and Yosemite Creek, so you might be abby letterknit - General Discussion