Our favorite time to hike the Four Mile Trail is when the Glacier Point road is closed, so my wife and I decided to do this hike last Sunday. Despite the road being closed, a few dozen people or so took advantage of the mild November day and walked up to GP and back down. Most of the day was clear and sunny with just a slight breeze, although fog-like clouds rolled into the valley in the afternby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotewherever ... the dashed line just below (north) of them look like they were inked in very approximately. It may just be that this portion of the trail wasn't viewable in the stereo photos that they used to trace the trail onto the map... The "lower" traverse section of the Four Mile Trail can be seen easily from the current blasted-out section, and the USGS route looks about rigby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I did this hike last weekend... Water was not a problem at all. The last water heading towards Clouds Rest was the stream that's roughly halfway between the Sunrise Lakes and Forsyth trail junctions. This is the only significant creek crossing south of the Sunrise Lakes junction. I carried about 1.5L from here to the summit, which was more than enough for me. IMHO, there was no need to carrby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
This sounds like the equestrian "bypass". The junction (from the north) has a trail sign--in fact, it's maybe 50' to the right of the sign in the top photo above. Note that this trail drops 400' before it climbs back up the south side of Clouds Rest. The exposure looks much worse than it is--the ridge is fairly broad, and while there are a few narrow sections, they can be bypassed onby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
At the end of the long swithcback to the east (approx. 5200'), you can continue towards the creek over granite slabs and get a peek at Snow Creek falls. It's not a great view, but it's the most convenient access from the trail. The broad, flat, open area at elevation 6700', just off the trail before the junction and footbridge, has nice views of Half Dome and Tenaya Canyon.by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Clouds Rest from the Sunrise trailhead at Tenaya Lake is about 7 miles each way--this is the shortest way in. I think most people probably would take 3-4 hours each way, plus you'll want sufficient time to spend on the summit. I would also schedule time for a side-trip to lower Sunrise Lake.by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-on Whoa! Cool. Thanks for those. Def. got to go see those. (I take it that is the section just above switcher 5/6) Nice photos of the sections below Union too. In that realm... here is the trail spied from the rock JUST east of the railing: The arrows point to "obvious" trail... har har.. the dotted line is the way down from Union Pt. comfort station area. Andby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-on There was nothing that looked like trail west of Union. (you should go there and spy Agassiz though) I took a quick peek here--lots of shrubbery (ick) and it seems that the trail would have gone past where the microwave reflector thingie is, and they chopped down a lot of trees in this area (for the reflector?), so there's probably not much left here... The last seven or so phby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
This weekend, a favorite late-season hike: Clouds Rest from Tenaya Lake. For the first time that I can remember, it was a completely dry-shoes/no-snow hike. On the way up, I passed a group returning from catching sunrise on the summit (cold, but nice!). I had the summit to myself for about an hour before the other day hikers arrived. I spent most of the time just looking at the mountains allby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-on just east of GP WW trail from 4 mile ... that old section is there at the start... but overgrown (only followed it for about 10 ft) So the trail that is just past the GP WW maintenance trail (which I think was also mentioned in wherever's post last year) is the old 4 MT? Looking at the overlaid maps that makes sense... I think I gave that trail about 10 feet as well--after theby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-on The area south of Sentinel rock is yet another place where the trail has been rerouted... and not for the better. Some great views are missed by that realignment. Are you talking about the Pohono trail? I recall a use/climber trail just north of the Sentinel Creek crossing that stayed much closer to the edge of the valley than the current trail and thus had good views. It'sby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Did you try to follow the old 4MT up from point 6? I'd expect that this becomes the old section of trail that undulates around various rocks and gullies below the current blasted-out traverse section before re-joining the modern alignment at an obvious junction when it re-enters the trees. That portion of trail seems to be mostly intact (at least from the safety of the modern trail), although tby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
There seem to be three "bases" for the route to Sierra Point: the "Rock Piles" sign, the "Bear Encounters" sign and spring, and the place a bit further up where the Vernal trail crosses the bottom of the rocky gully (LeConte?). I believe the original trail started near the "Bear Encounters" sign and headed generally up and left after a few short switchbackby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I think I know the section of trail (near #6) that you are referring to; I assumed it was part of the older, steeper trail that crosses the current trail a few times above Union Point. I'm a bit skeptical of the alignment in the overlay above--the current alignment up the open slope above Union Point follows a generally good route that is sunny, not steep, and is generally free of big rocks, andby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
It should work well for Pseudogallus roseus, but so would a staple gun :-)by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks for the diagram. I gave up (heading up/south) about where the trail first turns east--looks like I still had more bushwhacking to go :-( I'll blame it on having had the wrong daypack--it seemed like every strap and pocket was getting snagged on something every few feet...by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-on Basil, You are welcome. I was thinking it took you a bit of time to even find the beginning of the trail at the bottom. It comes out in the middle of a switcher and there is no indication of trail there. Honestly is wasn't horrendous coming down... but going up would be fun The first time I hiked up the 4MT 20+ years ago, I had the orange USGS topo with both alignments on itby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Kewl, thanks for the postcard! Good sleuthing! Unfortunately, I have to help launch a new website, so not much exploring for awhile :-(. Where did you pick up the old 4 Mile Trail heading down? My guess was that it should start almost at the Union Point railings heading north, but I didn't see anything definitive through all the manzanita.by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Hi, Chick-On! The first step is admitting you have a problem... as for treatment, I understand that hiking or backpacking in the Sierra wilderness is very theraputic :-)by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Here's the rock I believe to be Agassiz Column: Although it's hard to tell, in the second picture, the Union Point railing is (barely) visible between the two tall trees. Here's another view (or another rock...), further up the trail, from the side: This one I'm more certain about--note the "dimple" in the center of the rock above and on the right side in the followingby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The creek just north of the turnoff had a trickle, as did the lower part of the stream that the trail ascends. The upper crossing was all but dry. Also, there were a few pools of water just north of the saddle.by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Hmm, interesting... I poked around the Four Mile Trail a bit recently, and I recall seeing old sections of trail crossing the current switchbacks between Union Point and the traverse to Glacier Point. There may have been an earlier alignment further to the north (as indicated on the map above), but there's also a set of abandoned switchbacks that more closely follow the modern alignment. Onby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The northern segment was faint for maybe the first few hundred yards, but once the gully starts getting steep, the switchbacks begin, and the rock work is still in good condition (the segment in the picture above was among the worst...) A few places are getting overgrown with small trees. In a way, it's too bad: yes, it's an abandoned trail, but it's overall in much better shape than many Yby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
This weekend we repeated a favorite trip: an overnighter to the small tarns on the northeast rib of Tuolumne Peak. Since chick-on had previously confirmed the existence of the hypothesized northern segment of the May Lake "Mystery Trail", we decided to start from May Lake instead of the usual Murphy Creek. (For those who don't follow this site, the "May Lake Mystery Trail&quoby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
For the long weekend my wife and I did a hike that I've wanted to do for a few years. The previous attempt ended about 100 steps from the trailhead due to a pre-existing injury; this year was more successful. There is a lot of beautiful country around Lyell Fork that appears to get very little use, especially compared to the JMT highway. On our trip we saw only one person (and two stashed backpby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Very nice, as always... the Big Sam area is one of my favorite places in the Emigrant.by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Yep, it's still there, although I've seen pictures that indicate someone tried to take an axe to it (?!)by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I have read in a few places that Moose Lake got its name because (to some) it looks like a moose on the maps... I don't see it.by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
A bit of a repeat from last year's trip, but Moose Lake makes for a wonderful overnight destination and is worth a return. According to the wilderness permit office on Tuesday, the latest report on Friday the week prior was that there were a few spots around Moose Lake clear of snow, and at the visitor center at Lodgepole the board claimed 20% coverage between Pear and Moose. In fact, snow waby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Very nice! Since you are a dome-lover, I figured it was only a matter of time until you did Tehipite... I'm definitely adding it to my ever-growing list... Thanks as always!by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion