I see I've struck a nerve. I have much less backpacking experience than many of you. I only go a couple of times a year. But I'm still generally a purist, except for the items that I mentioned in my post. I think that people who bury TP have inflated expectations of how quickly it decays. We've had this conversation with my cousin several times. (She's backpacked a couple of times, but notby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Thanks for sharing; interesting to compare notes. (I did a similar route two weeks earlier, for those who haven't seen.) How long did it take you to get from Nelson Lake to Lake 9637? Chick-on posted a nice illustration in my thread showing the descent to Emeric Lake; sounds like you took a route similar to his. I agree that Evelyn Lake is not a great spot for camping. Looks like a mosquito haby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I want to get some people's opinion about certain aspects of Leave No Trace. Here's a link to Yosemite Wilderness regulations for reference. I mostly follow the rules, but re-reading them now I see some that I don't follow so closely. "Choose a previously impacted campsite... I guess I don't really follow this rule. I agree that if you find a previously impacted site, it's better to campby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
"Wary eenteresting." So you've actually done what I wanted to do. (I don't actually regret turning around, because otherwise we wouldn't have made it to Reymann. And this discussion is moot in any case because my companion balked before reaching the top of the saddle.) Looks like I was on the right route, though; rgliebe made it sound complicated and I wasn't sure if I'd found it or notby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Nice. "Don't Be a Smart Pass" is the direct route from Roosevelt to Upper McCabe? Looks pretty hairy on the topo map, especially with all of the snow. That bridge will take a few years to replace, I reckon. It washed off of the piers and got caught in the trees?by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Thanks, Chick-on. I did see your photos from July, but I didn't pay much attention because I didn't yet know that I would visit many of those same places. It looks like our route is a variation on a theme popular with the regulars on this forum, but otherwise pretty undiscovered. I had a view similar to that photo (and on the morning of day 3 there was hardly any smoke). But I was at the lowesby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Yeah, I budget double time for cross-country. But it's totally worth it.by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
If you're trying to picture the location, have you checked out my CalTopo link?by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
This is a writeup, not a photo gallery. EDIT: Pictures are now on Dropbox! I'm going to make up names for some features that don't already have them. These names will always appear in "quotes", unless they are standard systematic names like 'Lake 9637'. Overview Route We had a permit for 5 nights, entering at Nelson Lake. The plan was to cross-country to Emeric Lake, loop down Fby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I was in the Cathedral Range last week. The smoke seemed to be mostly south of the Merced River, but it did move around a lot whenever the wind shifted. Saturday afternoon I got my first good look at Mount Lyell, but it was mostly obscured by what looked like L.A. smog. Sunday morning -- mostly clear. I could smell the smoke from time to time, but it wasn't bad. I think it's easier to recommenby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
The tradeoffs that you list are legitimate, but there are some other forces at work in the gear market. First of all, many manufacturers adopt a "CYA" approach. For any sufficiently complicated item of gear, such as a pack, there are some designs that would work great in the field but require a lot of experience or some item-specific know-how. If a significant minority of customers can'by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I've been getting more skeptical about store-bought gear. Would welcome any advice from people who have developed their own. Please keep this discussion to items that are readily available or can be made with minimal skill. For instance, you may have sewed your own backpack, but no matter how good it is I'm not going to attempt it. I'll start. On my latest trip (report coming soon), I got pretby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I don't have a link to an online source. I do have a copy of Ray Jardine's Beyond Backpacking (an old edition; the new edition may have a different title). He rarely cites any source other than his own experience. But he has a lot of that: at the time of publication, he had hiked something like 15,000 or 20,000 miles. One of his points that made a lot of sense to me is that spring water comesby iivvgg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Where do you get this info?by iivvgg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Yikes! That video made me queasy sitting on my couch.by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I was just replying to your concern about fitting 5 people in a shuttle... I haven't actually done this myself. I think the shuttle of interest is indeed the Glacier Point tour.by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Thank you again. My topo map is in the mail, and I will note this on the map when it arrives.by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
EDIT: Sorry, having technical difficultiesby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
EDIT: See below insteadby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I finally figured out how to use CalTopo. Here's my proposed route. @ags: Thanks for the tip. I also had a sense that this lake wasn't quite a scenic attraction. But the saddle looks pretty nice, and the seasonal stream nearby should be flowing.by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
If there are five of you, one person can drop off the car and come back on the shuttle, sans pack, while the other four climb up the trail 200 feet and take a nap.by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Wow, thank you for the detailed description. It's crystal-clear after reaching the top of the cliff. But before that is a little confusing. By the topo map, there looks like one good route: hug the base of the cliffs and always stay above the 9400' contour until due north of Lake 9637, then make a beeline for the lake. The steepest ascent this way is 300 feet high at most. And the satellite viewby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Background I have a permit for the Illilouette -- Red Peak Pass -- Merced River loop, departing on the 18th. But we're worried about the heat in the Illilouette and Merced canyons, so we're trying to escape to higher elevation. I've set my sights on the Cathedral Range, particularly the Nelson Lake trailhead. Amazingly, it's a Cathedral Range trailhead that's available pretty much any day. But Iby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I've done this loop as part of two different hikes. Grand Canyon It's been a while since I was here, so I don't remember much. We did find a rattlesnake in our camp. Not far below Register Creek there is a large, deep pool in the river, below a natural waterslide. We took great advantage of this setup and found it very refreshing. The water will be higher for you, so use your own judgment.by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
"flip back over to the JMT on the southern side of the Merced to avoid crowds headed up the mist trail" Correct me if I'm wrong, folks, but I think something got overlooked here. @Schmeid is talking about the pack-animals-only trail. There is only one trail up to the footbridge over the Merced. It is pretty wide, though.by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
That's not an elephant, that's a rhino!by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I thought some people here might appreciate this one. Google Photosby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
It's hard to find a bad trail in Yosemite, at least in the eastern half of the park. Plans A, B, C, D, E and F isn't a bad idea. Or just grab whatever permit is available. I agree with @Bilko about going in September. Kids will be back in school, so less crowding. And with the heavy snow this year, there should still be plenty of water in the creeks and green grass in the meadows.by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Thanks! I hadn't seen either of these sites before. I really like CalTopo, but I've found two bugs in the trail data just along the Merced River. There's a "low" trail at the bottom of the valley and a "high" trail on the south-facing slope. About a five-mile chunk of the "high" trail around Washburn Lake is missing. And the "low" trail is frustratinglyby iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Thanks for the tips, both. @rgliebe: When you mention the three sites, I suppose there are other possible sites as well, without fire rings. Right? @chick-on: I'm not sure whether your map links refer to the notes above or below. Can you edit and clarify?by iivvgg - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra