Did Lyell about 20 years ago or so...group of 8, one ice ax, no crampons, via the Lyell/McClure col. Lots of backpacking experience but not so much true climbing experience in the group. The ice ax came in handy cutting steps in the glacier in one spot above the bergschrund, but we probably would have been fine without it. I would bring the ice ax just in case, and always some basic emergency geby Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Rabid dog or no..it don't get much better! Thanks for sharing!by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Expect crowds...make it fun for the kids or else they won't want be excited to go back...and you want them to want to go back...good kid stuff...indian caves (sorry not pc - but that's the old name for the rock piles below Washington Column)...getting soaked by waterfall spray at either Bridalveil or Yosemite Falls (bring a towel the water is cold!)...any of the kid related ranger programs...hangby Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
You will love it! And an advantage is not having to worry about afternoon thunderstorms. Be prepared....be careful....and if you are there at full moon its very cool to watch the moon set in the west and then turn around and watch the sun rise in the east!by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Here is the old chick-on report...as usual its very comprehensive and should give you all that you need to know. Chick-on Basketby Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Awesome trip plan! My only comment is that Lake Catherine is rather inhospitable...lots of medium to large talus all the way down to the "shore". There are a couple of small flat spots between the talus as I recall if you really feel a need to camp there. I have camped in the past both at the west end of Thousand Island as well as maybe a quarter of the way up towards Catherine along aby Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotecalicokat what about water for North Dome??? Snow Creek will be your best bet. It will almost certainly have water.by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I may be doing this in a month or so. Steve's narrative was great, but obviously done in the summer. Any advice for this time of year? Were you wading through any cold streams? Or were they all iced over? I am trying to figure out what to bring other than the usual hiking gear for the weather at the time!by Bearproof - General Discussion
Just checked his tweets...he was at Tuolumne Jan 25-28 or so. Dr Colin Skinner Tweetby Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Awesome place, Zion. Yosemite in sandstone, imo. Angels Landing (aka Half Dome-like hike and exposures with half the hiking distances), Hidden Canyon and Subway are all favorites. Drive out to the east entrance for some nice change of scenery...we saw some California Condors there a couple of years ago. And the Narrows, of course, although probably not doable this time of year? Anyway, have fun!by Bearproof - General Discussion
Quoteplawrence Still, I'll speculate by the look of the slide that at least a temporary workaround should be in place by summer. Perhaps the workaround will be the Old Big Oak Flat Road!by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks for the post! We were planning to head up that route as well on Saturday for a couple of nights out, but the Wilderness office told me that it was "summer rules" as far as camping out (i.e. no camping at Glacier Point and I didn't feel like stealth camping), so we went to the north rim for a couple of nights. Gonna plan on following in your footsteps up this route sometime this sby Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quote If conditions change that precipitate the reopening of the Tioga Road, the park will issue a subsequent news release. I would hope that the subsequent news release is sometime in June. And btw it was snowing yesterday morning at Yosemite Point. Proof: OK, its not much, but at this point, I will take what I can get. It was from the fog in the valley rising up and then falling as "by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
That bird is a (summit) block-head!by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotemadmxe Wow, now that is a memory. Thanks for sharing it. Beats the hell out of Little League eh. Well we had a lot of that as well.by Bearproof - Photography advice, critiques and tutorials
Very cool, thanks for posting! If I had any ice-skating ability I would give it a try!by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotemadmxe Can you finish the story of the one with the boys? What did they do and did the bear keep advancing toward them? That bear looks kind of serious about something. Actually there is the start of the story that I have to tell first..it was my first backpacking trip with my kids, ages 10 and 8 at the time. After much research, trying to find something that would be in Yosemite, far enouby Bearproof - Photography advice, critiques and tutorials
I don't have any snow conditions update. On my trip, I had planned, on my drive to the starting point in the valley, to take a side trip up the Tioga Road to do some scouting, but the road was closed at the time. You might do that if the road is open...stop at Olmstead point and take a quick hike down to the trail in the trees and check out the conditions. Quotejishaq Did you end up taking Yosby Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I just came down from Little Yosemite Valley last Wednesday. From Happy Isles to the first bridge, about a mile, no problem. From there I was not on the Mist Trail itself (which I was surpised to see was still open as mentioned by Basilbop) but was on the JMT up to Clark point, then off the JMT and down to the bridge above Vernal Falls, and then the north side of the river up to the top of Nevadaby Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteChick-On Um... ah... um... ah... wondering why u take a fuax toe of my food boxie? Didn't see yours there necessarily...it struck me that there were a lot of round pegs in a rectangular hole. I was wondering what a better rodent-proof personal storage thing there might be out there that would be more rectangular so as to use the bear box space better. Ideas?by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I drove up Monday for a quick trip to the highcountry. The weather reports looked stable, the big winds were over with and it had been a while since it had snowed, and, well, why not? I grabbed a wilderness permit and headed up Indian Canyon at 1PM, looking, mostly in vain, for the abandoned trail recently posted by Basilbop. Moments of joy were few...a brief glimpse here and there of old trail wby Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I came down from Sunrise Lakes/HTC through LYV yesterday. Didn't have snowshoes and you certainly don't need them for LYV. If anything, I would bring a yaktrax kind of thing for icy conditions. I had them (never used them) but the trail does get a little icy here and there...mostly in the forested areas where the old snow was packed down on the trail and then turned to ice. If you are looking forby Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteplawrence But what's so artificial of that photograph? I don't think it was photoshopped. I think it was just taken straight-up from this location: I think the reference to something artificial may have been with reference the bronze statue?? But for the record, yes, that was a straight on shot.by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Here is one from back in May...you know, when it starts getting warm and the wildflowers are blooming!by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteChick-on Anyone out there finds the pipe... please post... thx It is still there! Here is what it looked like last Thursday: I have it at 37.75079 latitude, -119.51276 longitude, which puts it slightly north and east of where it shows on the USGS topo. Looking at the location on USGS I wonder about the accuracy of the reading (I admit that it was late on a big day and the tree coverby Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I was at Sawmill Walk-in last weekend and the campground hostess said that they had just extended her stay there to the weekend of October 9. She had previously thought that she would be closing down this weekend.by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Brocken Spectre while setting up camp near Dewey Point, Feb 2009:by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I did that trip many years ago...gotta do it again, its a good one! I had been married for a year or two, took my wife as well as my parents and younger siblings, so it was a group of 8 or so, ages probably 13 to 45. It was pre-gps obviously...I propbably had a topo map and maybe some kind of guidebook. I don't recall the routefinding from Young Lakes being difficult at all, and we all made it toby Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I have posted this one before...but it's a favorite, so here it is again. My first backpacking trip with my boys..August 1999 at Glen Aulin backpacker's camp:by Bearproof - Photography advice, critiques and tutorials
You will have some dark night skies and a nice crescent moon setting in the west in the evening, so wherever you are, think about doing some night stuff! From the Whites about a month ago: Have fun!by Bearproof - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion