I also thought the crowds Saturday were summer-like, both in the Valley and on the Mist trail. There were fewer people Sunday, though still quite a few. The shuttle buses were running every 10 minutes, despite the signs indicating a 20 minute frequency, and had plenty of riders. I was wondering if having a good weather weekend after a big rain put water in the various falls brought more peopleby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
One weekend after a big rainfall my plan had been to camp at Rancheria Falls. However, with the trail to Wapama Falls closed due to rockfall...I needed a plan B. So, I hiked up the Mist Trail, then up the JMT most of the way to Nevada Falls, then up the Panorama Trail and the Mono Meadow trail to Illilouette Creek. There were a lot of people out Saturday - lots of day hikers, and a lot of peopby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Thanks for posting these. I've never been to Tahiti, nice to see there's awesome stuff to see other than the beach.by ttilley - General Discussion
QuoteChick-On w/r to LNT ... some bozo put up a stack o rocks IN Fletcher o... also boated Babcock (sorry blops) (ok, not sorry) At Badger (Ansel Adams) someone had constructed a giant stack of rocks marking an illegal campsite (way too close to water, giant obelisk is gone now).by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I camped at Boothe Lake this Saturday, then on Sunday went cross-country to the peaklet above Boothe before returning. The hike to the peaklet allows a nice contrast between these late-summer pictures and the late spring snow pictures I took from the same spot four years ago. Of course, Sonora Pass was closed Wednesday evening/Thursday morning, with CalTrans posting snow pictures from the passby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Thanks. Dwarf Bilberry makes for some nice shots, this is from the Grouse Lakes area in Tahoe National Forest:by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Now shows as reopened.by ttilley - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
As of 7:35 this morning, after seeing something on Facebook from last night. I assume this won't last too long given the warmer weather expected today. QuoteCalTrans SR 108 IS CLOSED FROM 26.4 MI EAST OF STRAWBERRY (TUOLUMNE CO) TO 11.8 MI WEST OF THE JCT OF US 395 (MONO CO) /SONORA PASS/ - DUE TO AN INCOMING STORM - MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO USE AN ALTERNATE ROUTEby ttilley - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotebasilbop Another favorite was something along the lines of: "as always, the panting Sierra hiker is rewarded with ever-improving views." Hiking up the Spooky Meadow trail almost a month ago I encountered two hikers who exclaimed "the Sierras don't mess around, do they". Anyway, I asked where they were from...the answer was Kansas City, their first trip to CA. They haby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
QuoteBearproof Quotechick-on ALL maps have some errors... nothing is perfect... and obviously the signs are incorrect in many locations... but having a general idea of how far something is ... is better than having no idea at all... But that's me. Two Tenths count as a general idea? 0.2 leagues? 0.2 Astronomical Units?by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
What's your snow camping experience? Here is the Yosemite Valley Climate Averages, note that precipitation is dramatically picking up in November, and that snow starts falling in the valley. Yosemite Valley's elevation is about 4,000 ft., backpacking trips would be higher. Sometime during November it's possible that the Tioga and Glacier Point roads may close for the winter, this varies froby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Regarding Wapama Falls' lack of water...there was water flowing in Falls Creek when I hiked from Dorothy south to Wilma at the end of August, does it just evaporate in Vernon and not flow out, or is there some porous ground it peters out in downstream from Vernon?by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
It didn't look all that spooky... I actually found the hike out to be a much longer day, starting from Davis Lake. There's a lot of steep up-and-down hiking around Gem Lake, and Monday (8/29) was very hot. That climb is about 2900 ft., but there's a lot of shade available in the morning to rest in and cool off.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Just before hiking from Leavitt Meadow into northern Yosemite I took a two-night trip from the Rush Creek trailhead, hiking the first day up the Spooky Meadow trail, past the Clark Lakes, and down to Badger Lake. The second day I hiked past Thousand Island lake, over Island Pass, and over to lower Davis Lake. The third day I hiked back to the trailhead. The final day was extremely hot - aboutby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I didn't go fishing, but I saw others out fishing. Bonnie looked pretty as well. I could see a fun trip of a few days just hanging around those various lakes and doing short day hikes in the surrounding country.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quotechick-on (fwiw... Leavitt Meadows, Leavitt Lake, and Sonora Pass... are self-reg ... you should be able to get a permit at Leavitt Meadows TH... ) I should have looked in the permit box...the Hoover Wilderness Reservation Form directions say Leavitt Meadow is one of the trailheads under trailhead quota (bullet 3, page 2), but then it also says that permits for Leavitt Lake, Sonora Pass,by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
On the Tuesday before Labor Day I started a 52 mile hike from Leavitt Meadows, going to Fremont Lake, then up to Dorothy inside Yosemite, then to Wilma. From Wilma I had a short day hiking to Tilden. The next day, Saturday...the plan had been to make another relatively short day hiking cross-country past Mary, over the col to Tower Lake, then camp there. However, the winds were howling Saturday aby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Lassen Food Storage Public Notice. That URL includes the approved canister list. It also indicates that "An exception to the above requirements is granted for winter beginning December 1st and ending April 15th.".by ttilley - General Discussion
Regarding Ackerson Meadow...awesome. Regarding Yosemite West...my guess is it didn't happen, when I drove by there on July 1 there was construction occurring by the relevant intersection with the Wawona Road.by ttilley - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I'm not sure how the "or under direct voice control" part would be enforced unless the dog were completely free-range. It makes sense that Desolation could be the unusual case here, it's a relatively small, very heavily used Wilderness Area in a popular region. I think it gets more regular patrols as well.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quotebalzaccom Just about everywhere that dogs are allowed in the wilderness they are required to be on a leash. I'd always understood the USFS rule to be a lot looser, "on a leash or voice control". I looked at Inyo NF's pages and found nothing, but Google turns this up from Klamath NF: QuoteKlamath NF Dogs • Dogs can cause problems with wildlife, pack-and-saddle stock and othby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quoteplawrence Quotettilley I actually don't understand why there's a light at 108/120 and O'Byrnes Ferry Rd., while there isn't a light at 108/120. The Yosemite Junction intersection would have seemed more in need of a light, not only for safety, but to alleviate the backup on 120 westbound. Heh. I must travel back from Yosemite to the Bay Area at less popular times since I've never reallyby ttilley - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks for the report and pictures! (by the way, the pictures on your google-blog are working now). I've thought about hiking in that area, even considered it last year when I ended up hiking Lassen...in March...without snowshoes due to the absurdly weak snow year. I'll have to give the area some more thought.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
QuoteOhnivy-Drak That is one of the more dangerous intersections, if not the most. When making that left, there is a designated merging lane for you to use. The driver probably saw things were clear coming out of 108/Sonora, but the cars on the eastbound direction must have arrived quicker than anticipated. Hoping for the best for the children. The all-important seat belts might turn out to bby ttilley - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I did the same thing with my Sky Lakes post, uploaded the photos into an album, then while viewing each picture in the album did a right-click Copy Image URL from within Firefox, and pasted that URL into the post.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
The pictures aren't loading from my Mac at home either. The same is true of the pictures on your Glen Aulin Passthrough hike blog.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I'll take a look at home...the images aren't loading on my PC at work.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Last weekend, after seeing a play in Ashland, I went on a one-night backpack in Oregon's Sky Lakes Wilderness. I've posted about this wilderness area before, when I hiked into the Seven Lakes Basin. This trip was into the Sky Lakes Basin. I started from the Cold Spring trailhead, located here, about 10 miles north of Oregon highway 140. The linked topo map shows the last 0.5 mile as an unimproby ttilley - General Discussion
Nice pictures and report! I notice the "Entering Kalawao County" sign picture along the beach, after you've encountered some sandy areas. Does this mean that one can hike to the beach without a permit, but not continue on to Kalaupapa? It seems confusing because that's what the pictured signs appear to say, while the NPS Trail Safety Brochure states "Hiking the pali trail withouby ttilley - General Discussion
At least that should knock down the mosquitoes.by ttilley - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion