Now that I think about it... going down the cables in the snow would be pretty dangerous. There's a good likelihood of either the cables freezing to the granite or being buried under enough snow that you couldn't lift them up. In which case you better start digging and hope you find something you can rappel from...by AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I did it in November one time. There wasn't any snow, which I agree would be no fun on the way down the cables. But we got to the end of the technical climbing just as the sun was setting... being in the middle of a sea of granite when it lit up bright orange from the sunset was definitely worth the long hike down in the dark.by AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Looked at all of your galleries. Thanks, I enjoyed the pics.by AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I can't complain too loudly ... a week ago in LYV I didn't camp in the campground (there was 8" of snow with 3" of water underneath). But we did make sure to leave no trace, nobody will ever know we camped where we did. We certainly did not build a fire ring. The best you can do is disassemble illegal ones when you see them and scatter the rocks widely. As long as the lands are public tby AndrewF - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-on Have fun. Was gonna see if you wanted to go on this one... but there was just too much uncertainty in the amount of goodness... esp. with plan of head up Johnson Creek... thought the better of it. Turns out we really should have started Friday like originally planned... o well.. Good luck this weekend. Had thoughts of heading up tmr... but those are now squashed with the weby AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Woah... that looks awesome. Especially pic #2 of the teacups. Going to LYV this weekend, your pics have me stoked.by AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Wow, yeah, it looks dry in that shot. Top of Watkins was 100% coverage and slow going even with the shoes. Definitely no problem entertaining ourselves at the cabin. We brought bacon, pancakes, cookies, lots of good food. What kind of sleeping bag do you bring in winter? I've got a 20 degree down quilt that I put a 20F synthetic quilt over for winter, but together they're pretty huge and bulkyby AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Ha! You should've thrown away the key.by AndrewF - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Merry Christmas! I figured you were out there somewhere. It was my first Christmas in Yosemite, I think we'll make it a tradition. Snow Creek was about 50% coverage once you got a few minutes back from the rim. Once heading up the hill towards Watkins it was more like 100% coverage but less than a foot and well consolidated. By the time we got to Olmstead I was post-holing thru powder even witby AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
The route up Pywiack is one of the easier technical climbs in Tuolumne... The 5.7 is just a short section of steep-ish glacier polish. Pretty sure you could get up it with a belay. I'd be happy to climb it with you if we ever end up in Tuolumne together. I've climbed it like four times now, it's a fun half day outing.by AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
The wife and I hiked up there once to go look at the base of Lost Arrow Spire, but we lost the trail about halfway across the bench. We ended up on some sketchy loose dirt and leaves right above a big drop and turned around without making it all the way across. We went back recently but climbed up via the 5.4 climbing route to the right of the falls which was a much nicer way to get up there. Theby AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I've been on top of Pywiack. Climbed it via the route "Zee Tree" which is 5.6 or 5.7, it climbs the broad slabby right side of the face visible from the road (past "zee" lone tree, more of a bush, on the face.) it's super nice on top - like a miniature Zen garden with a bunch of rounded boulders, small patches of grass and flowers, and sculpted whitebarks. Getting off the topby AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Honestly have no idea how I got there that fast but I pulled out of my driveway at 5:38 and was showing my Parks Pass a little after 9:00. Wait, I just realized I can't do math... 3 hours 45 minutes to the TH... not 2 hours 45 min. Nevermind...by AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I've never been to Wawona... or the south entrance for that matter... Went up to Merced Lake. I was originally gonna take Monday off and go over Red Peak Pass, but I was lazy on Saturday and only made it about 8-10 miles in. I camped by the Bunnell footbridge. I tried to make up some distance on Sunday morning but only got to Merced Lake at 11AM with another 18 miles and 4000 ft to get to Ottoby AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Meadow below Shepherd Crest - Oct 2012by AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
From nearby...by AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Wish I had some photos to post from this last weekend, but I got halfway up the Mist Trail and turned on my camera to take a pic... "No memory card" North Ridge of North Peakby AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
My take: That rock was put there 10,000 years ago by the glacier that carved out the SW face of Conness. It's part of the terminal moraine damming Roosevelt Lake. The lichen grows on that side of the boulder because it's south facing and gets lots of sun exposure in addition to rainfall. You can see lichen facing the same way on the other rocks in the photo. The lichen started growing on theby AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Yep. We brought two 200 foot ropes and tied them together. This allowed us to rappel 200 feet on two strands of rope, then pull the ropes down at the end. Installing bolts is done with a hand drill and a hammer like steelcup mentioned, though it's generally only done by experts on the first ascent/descent of a route. The rest of us get to piggyback on their hard work and use the bolts that areby AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
From Kuna Crest: On the glacier:by AndrewF - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Nice. I get tunnel vision when planning trips sometimes, trying to get from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible to see whatever piqued my interest at point A to begin with. And I end up missing opportunities like that. I scour your TRs for fresh ideas like that... much appreciated.by AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Yeah... my criteria are pretty arbitrary. The original plan was to head all the way up to below Merced Peak, go over that shoulder I asked you about, then take Buena Vista Crest back. But with all the snow and a late start we decided to cut it short. I'll definitely go back and do the original itinerary to see Buena Vista crest so I'll tag the true headwaters eventually. I also cheated a littby AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quotechick-on Super dooper tanx to Z Perret-bop for meeting me Sat. at Emigrant Pass where we headed back to Yose Border for more enjoyable views: Ok... took me way too long to figure this one out... Dorothy Lake? How long were you out there? Came in via Brown Bear Pass or Leavitt Meadows? As usual... cool idea to head into upper Kendrick.by AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
We didn't do the jumps. The water was pretty murky so we couldn't tell how deep it was or if it was safe to jump. In fact even when I was in the pools I couldn't tell how deep they were... all I know is I didn't touch bottom when I slid into the water. Fortunately there were little ledges to stand on just above the water so getting the ropes down from the rappels was straightforward.by AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Thanks for moving it to the right forum chick-on. Didn't realize that there was a new forum here. Also a bonus TR that I posted on BPL from Chain Lakes, that I didn't have time to re-post here last week: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=83243 Also, the fall colors were great in the valley this weekend. Lots of yellow everywhby AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
On Saturday my wife and I did the Middle Earth canyoneering route, which starts at the base of Upper Yosemite Falls and descends the gorge between the Upper & Lower Falls, punctuated by a 400' rappel down Lower Yosemite Falls. Overall it entailed 10 rappels and three swims. We climbed the Sunnyside Bench Regular Route (5.4, three pitches) then scrambled up a few hundred yards of class 2-3by AndrewF - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Thanks, really enjoyed the pics. I hope I'm still backpacking when I'm 68. If it makes you feel any better, my 28 year old ankles and knees were sore after going down Horse Creek Pass! By the way, I can't tell 100% for sure from the pics but it looks like you guys missed the easy way down at the top of Horse Creek Pass. I went left the first time I went over it and ended up on some loose crapby AndrewF - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The wide ones are panos. Amazingly, they were taken on a cell phone - a Galaxy S4.by AndrewF - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Like markskor said that's a golden. The trout in that canyon are different than any other goldens I've caught though... much brighter red and gold coloring. They are very beautiful. We threw 'em all back. The main mine/mill in the bottom of the canyon is private property and has a caretaker living there. We checked out the Brownstone mine though up the hill on the side of the trail. The woodeby AndrewF - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
4 day fishing trip with a buddy of mine. Went up over the pass and stayed at Elba Lake on the first night. Visited all the lakes over there then dropped down for the second night into French Canyon. Then we visited Royce Lakes 2-5 and dropped down for the third night into Granite Park. What a beautiful area. Granite Park was my favorite part. My usual modus operandi is to cover lots of ground toby AndrewF - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion