This weekend, something with a bit less mileage... The goal was to check out Lake 8752, which for no good reason intrigued me. My wife and another couple (who met on Forrester Pass...) signed up for the adventure. We headed from White Wolf towards Ten Lakes, leaving the trail at the high point between the Yosemite Creek/Middle Tuolumne drainage. From here, we headed north on easy cross-counby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The JMT between Reds Meadow and Thousand Island Lake has two fairly significant ups and downs: one each for Shadow and Garnet Lake. The most gradual route is the river trail from Agnew Meadow, but it's also the least scenic. The portion of the JMT south of Shadow Lake isn't as scenic as the northern part, so I'd bypass it via the river trail using one of the cut-overs at Shadow or Garnet. Anby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The route to Obelisk directly from Merced Lake isn't too bad... (I'd post pictures, but they are mostly underexposed slides--bad meter...) There is (or was) a log jam just upstream from their water intake that allows for crossing the river, then it's maybe 45-degree granite slabs to treeline, and easy going past there. I've been told by camp workers that people trying to get to Obelisk often aby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The place where we thought we crossed an old trail (and it could have been a game trail, or a climber's route, or...) was near the saddle to the east of Quartzite Peak. This looks to be south of where the historical maps show the trail as having been. There were also signs of a path/trail descending the Obelisk outlet into Grey Peak fork. In the wooded slot to the west of where Grey Peak forkby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
It can be dangerous in the water out there even for those who are experienced... be careful! http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/08/3824305/expert-kayaker-dies-while-paddling.html FWIW, in "normal" years Cherry is run around July 4 weekend. When I was there July 4 this year, we spoke with someone who has kayaked the river in the past and said there was maybe 10x more water than in norby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Great pictures! Thanks for sharing, as always! Quick question: while in the area, did you happen to notice any signs of the old cavalry route that (supposedly) traversed around Mt. Clark to the north? I've read that people have stumbled upon old blazes while climbing Clark from the west, and I think my wife and I found a segment of it while climbing to Obelisk Lake from Merced Lake years aby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Yep, another overnight trip to Merced Lake. The great thing about Merced Lake is there are so many wonderful routes to the lake. This weekend, since the camp was open, we focused on routes that avoided the regular stocking and pack-trip trails (that is, dust and horse poop...) This meant going off-trail, and fortunately the Cathedral Range has many great opportunities for such travel despite bby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
As of Sunday afternoon (August 7), the snow coverage from the Vogelsang Lake outlet to the pass was maybe 50-60%. Enough of the trail was visible between the snowfields that navigation wasn't an issue. Mosquito coverage at the camp, on the other hand, was about 350%.by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Although not necessarily a hike, going to Glacier Point during a full-moon night is a fun and memorable experience. It's amazing how much of the park you can see from there by moonlight alone.by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I couldn't get past the fact that between the author and her boyfriend, they had 80 lbs. of gear... ouch! I also hope Survivorman's "trail blazing" ideas (please, no more turned over/stacked rocks..) don't catch on. (They had GPS... waypoints/track log anyone?)by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
CNN article about a trip to the north rim of Yosemite I like this quote: "We reached a point where we had to head vertically from our location. It turns out when blazing the trail, crews began at separate ends and never met." I'm assuming this is the (former) zig-zags on the Old Big Oak Flat road (not trail), which of course weren't the result of poor planning or surveying, as the tby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I didn't see any boy scouts anywhere near Shingle Spring on the Memorial Day trip, but there was a bunch of kids associated with Camp Tawonga on the 4th of July who had probably been at Kibbie Lake, but their packs looked so overloaded they probably had enough food to last a week, and thus wouldn't need to chew on a wire for survival. Odd that the marmots are getting the most votes... since Iby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
It wasn't bad at all as a day hike--we averaged 2 mph, which is certainly not a "set-the-world-on-fire" walking speed. There was ample time for stops, pictures, and just enjoying the canyon, especially as it transitioned from morning to day, then to storm, then to late afternoon and finally night. I think I noticed more things about the canyon--side waterfalls, the differences in theby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
My old Lumix was getting wonky, and the version I replaced it with (DMC-ZS10) has GPS. Turned it on for the GCT dayhike, but it wasn't great at getting a fix from the belt-pouch, and I didn't feel like relocating it to someplace higher with a better view of the sky. The location info it auto-determined was useless ("TUOLUMNE", "STANISLAUS", "MARIPOSA"...) Also, thby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
This forum will become quite boring when Chick-on gets a GPS-enabled camera...by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The first time we did the GCT (admittedly, I think it was our second backpacking trip....) we didn't have many fond memories of it (hot, humid, buggy). We enjoyed much more the "return" part of our loop, especially from the Tuolumne Peak tarns back to White Wolf via Ten Lakes. This time was different--the weather and conditions made it very enjoyable, even if it sounds like we were luby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
A nice day-trip in the Vogelsang area, if you are comfortable with off-trail travel and some talus, is to go to the top of Vogelsang Pass, then climb to the saddle above Hanging Basket lake, then traverse to the top of Parsons Peak. From there, drop to the Ireland Lake outlet, climb to the low ridge between Ireland and Evelyn, and work your way back to Vogelsang using the use-trail that followsby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
In addition, there's a nice site just above Waterwheel (in the trees below the trail, where the river makes a big bend), a few "tight" but usable sites between LeConte and California Falls, one at the brink of California Falls, and several nice ones in Glen Aulin itself (below the HSC/backpacker's camp). Because of the limited topography, rangers seem to allow sites that would normallyby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
So, way back on Memorial Day, when I fired up my truck after my Cherry Creek Canyon trip, the check engine light was on. I ignored it for awhile (in the past it's turned off on its own--it's a Dodge...), but eventually I had a mechanic take a look at it. The problem: something had chewed through a sensor wire: So, I offer a poll, not about some obscure lake in Northern Yosemite, but somethby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Since we're talking about Glen Aulin... there should be potable water spigots available at either the High Sierra Camp or the backpacker's campground (I can't remember about the backpacker's campground at Glen Aulin, but Merced Lake, May Lake, and Sunrise have spigots for the backpackers to use). Also, the Tuolumne River is probably one of the most tested--and pure--sources of water anywhere.by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
This Sunday, for my wife's birthday trip, we day-hiked the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne from White Wolf to Tuolumne Meadows. (The actual "gift" was that I carried most of the gear.) Despite having missed out on most of the trips this year due to injury, and this being only her second trip of the year, she hiked like a champ and finished strong. (Me, I was done by Glen Aulin or so...)by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I've updated the original posting with pictures of the Return/Tuolumne confluence and the odd mud flows below Return Creek...by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
If that's the waterfall above the crossing of Register, it would not have made a good swimming hole when we passed though... although since the water was almost crotch deep, maybe that counts as a swim...?by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
While ascending the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne this Sunday, my wife and I encountered a few "odd" conditions. One was that the Tuolumne was muddy-brown from above Muir Gorge to Return Creek. This isn't something I've seen--or would expect--in Sierra rivers: there usually isn't much topsoil for rain-induced runoff, and what soil there is tends to be light-colored granitic sands, resuby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
It looks like you had decent conditions (given how strange this year has been). Glad you enjoyed the trip, and thanks for posting the pictures!by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I've worked my way down to the ledge right next to the big waterwheel on previous trips (not enough time on my recent day trip, nor will there be time this Sunday...). It really is impressive to be right next to (or, rather, almost under) the waterwheel, and you really get a sense for how big--and loud--the waterwheel is. Highly recommended for those who are comfortable scrambling on steep granby basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteryanmj great info, my parents were up there a few years ago and thy were collecting "artifacts" from the hotel site, ... That would probably have been illegal, given the historical significance of the Casa Nevada.by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
As always, thanks for sharing this trip! I especially like the views of the upper part of the GCT from Falls Ridge.by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
As a rule of thumb, the output of the panels will drop by about 1% per year, so the break-even time is probably greater than 36 years.by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Great pictures, thanks for sharing! Hopefully, I'll be doing this trip (with wife and friend) this weekend. Looks like the water will still be spectacular. (Actually, our crazy plan is to walk from White Wolf to the Pothole Dome parking lot as a big day trip on Sunday...)by basilbop - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion