By the way, these low temperatures in that forecast (low 30s, 29) aren't even out of line for, say, early July or late August - nights have just been absurdly warm so far this year in the Sierra. Those highs are more like late September.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Late September can often be nice but isn't guaranteed to be so. I have a 40, 20, and a 0 degree bag - I expect the 20 to be required. Ursa Minor: newer bags are now often given two temperature ratings, the higher one tends to be the one for women, the lower one for men, though the actual distinction is warmer versus colder sleepers.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
On the issue of campfires, I, too, have come to the view that it'd be preferable if they were categorically disallowed in the Sierra. I haven't made a wilderness campfire in many years but didn't entirely hold this view, but honestly...the number of obviously illegal campfire rings is insane. From my most recent trip at Peeler Lake where all campfires are illegal, I found 3 (or so) already desby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Yes, Don't Be a Smart Pass is located here, as the direct route between Roosevelt and Upper McCabe. I had Stabilicers on, I probably didn't need them but having them on certainly allowed me to descend faster with more safety. As the snow was top to bottom (pic below) one wouldn't want to fall, but the snow was reasonably solid but not hard ice. Poles should be considered required - on my otherby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Regarding "previously impacted campsite", the rangers at Tuolumne Meadows have sometimes put that as "durable surface". So, snow, sand, rock are the most "durable" as impact on the surrounding environment is minimal, meadows would of course be least "durable".by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Nice. I've only been to Pear, and ridges overlooking Moose, in winter (staying at the hut). I have been to watchtower in fall, the views are awesome.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I think they are standing very close to where, in my picture, the creek is cutting into the snow.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
This was originally meant to be a five night loop down Matterhorn Canyon, past Benson, then back up towards Peeler. Unfortunately, on my first night out I smacked my sandal-clad toe into a pointy piece of granite. I was able to tape up the damage OK, but it felt weird going over Mule Pass so I decided to cut the trip short, come back over and camp at Peeler, then leave. It still feels weird, butby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Interesting, thanks. I've camped at 4th of July, twice as snow camping and once otherwise, and that's a deep canyon below that lake.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Early last week I went backpacking to Young Lakes, then went cross-country to Roosevelt, over "Don't Be a Smart Pass" to Upper McCabe, then to Lower McCabe where I picked up the trail and hiked to Glen Aulin, then back to Tuolumne Meadows. The sky conditions weren't the best for photography, too much incoming moisture, periodic smoke (the smoke was very bad Monday), but I did get somby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
There's still snow higher up (pics and report later), Mule Pass above Twin Lakes had plenty of snow, and (another trip) Don't Be a Smart Pass was, with the exception of one small patch, completely snow-covered on the north side and had snow patches near the top on the south side. There's less terrain at those altitudes, though, so I guess less overall snow volume to fill mainstem rivers. The fby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Is it possible your Sierra nausea issues are associated with heat exhaustion? You're presumably used to hot weather in Georgia (per your nym), but at altitude and with dry air there will be a bigger difference between "the temperature" (which of course means in the shade) and how it feels in the sun. From Chick-On's comment on my "Granite Lake/Emigrant Wilderness" post it appeby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
There are use trails to Nelson, roughly. Two areas that get a bit tricky... 1) As you cilmb above the meadow east of Elizabeth towards the pass the use trails tend to break into many use trails, just keep the ultimate destination in mind. 2) From the pass down into Echo Creek there's a very well-defined use trail. This, too, tends to break up a bit as you near Nelson. You should be ableby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
DaveF is correct, the "Five Lakes" I camped at are not the same "Five Lakes" along the PCT between Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley. Those "Five Lakes" - camping is not allowed within 600 feet. The "Five Lakes" where I camped are north of I-80, and several miles west of the PCT.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Pacific Crest Trail Association blog post mourning the deaths of Ms. Wang, and Rika Morita, whose body was recently found in the South Fork Kings.by ttilley - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
My Subaru Forester thought it was fine...more seriously, I saw 2 wheel drive cars up there. If you have super low clearance you won't make it, if you have a standard car you'll want to be used to such roads (angling the car just right at trickier points), otherwise it's fine. It's seen some damage from the winter, but it's the "you'll drive slower" sort of damage, not the "you madeby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Last weekend I hiked to the "Five Lakes Basin" from Grouse Ridge trailhead, off of Bowman Lake Road north of CA-20 in Tahoe NF. This is a trip I took four years ago in October, I decided to revisit at a time when I could go swimming. This is a lower altitude area, the trailhead is around 7,500 ft., the Five Lakes around 7,000. On the way I hiked to Glacier Lake, around 7,500', which stiby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quoteags I have plans to be in this same area next weekend. Can you elaborate a bit on the "conditions beyond Burst Rock"? I planned to enter at Gianelli, head over Burst Rock (never been there, has been on my to-do list for a long time) to Y-Meadow, then cross country around Granite, Toejam, and Leopold Lakes. Is the road to Gianelli TH open? Is there still snow (reported or seen byby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I backpacked to Granite Lake, in the Emigrant Wilderness, this weekend. I've been there once before, hiking from the Gianelli trailhead. This time, due to reported conditions beyond Burst Rock I hiked from Crabtree. A wilderness ranger had been to Granite a few days ago and found it iced-over. I found it mostly iced-out, with a raft of ice covering less than 5% of the lake on Saturday, and mucby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Yeah, we had that discussion here.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
The area just before the twin bridges over the Tuolumne may also be flooded, meaning scrambling along the steep slope above (remembering from a June, 2011 trip).by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Nice. It looks like you had plenty of snow on both south- and north-facing exposures. In the lower-elevation Desolation Wilderness the north-facing stuff was loaded with snow, with south-facing slopes mostly clear, so I hiked up a little snow but mostly rock/dirt to the top of Phipps Peak and took pictures of the completely buried Dicks Pass/Lake area.by ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
When I started hiking at the Bayview Trailhead (Desolation Wilderness) Saturday morning there was an area volunteer describing conditions, including the fact that El Dorado SAR had gone out twice Thursday to rescue people who went the wrong way on the snow and ended up in the Cascade Falls drainage. Going out Saturday, and coming back Monday, one could see the well-trod incorrect track in theby ttilley - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
My original plan was to hike a loop from Middle Velma to either Clyde or Aloha, then over Dicks Pass to Dicks Lake as a three night trip. The large amount of snow led me to change the trip to a two-night trip at Middle Velma with a hike up Phipps Peak. I had seen pictures of Middle Velma from two weeks ago showing it still iced-in. It's now completely iced-out. From Phipps I could see that Uppby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
The tree that's flat on the ground, extending from the lower-right to the middle-left of the photo, is on top of the prominently mis-positioned tree. So, I'll go with this. The mis-positioned tree broke off mid-trunk and fell. Later, another tree fell at a different angle, pushing the broken-off-trunk rightward in the photo as the second tree broke the trunk of the first tree.by ttilley - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I've only camped at LYV during relatively lower-usage periods (mid-October - still lots of people, late March - a few folks on the snow but buried food lockers). There's no issue reaching LYV, the Merced is well-bridged and there's no unbridged crossings that should cause any problems. If you have a canister then bring it with you to Yosemite - the worst thing that can happen is you talk withby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Well, a bit long to be a caption... QuoteRobert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing thereby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
QuoteHow do you know where you can setup your tent? Will there be spots available? Are there individual tent/camp "locations" or is it just setup your tent wherever within the bounds of the campground? It's the latter, within minimum impact guidelines. By this I mean... Generally in the backcountry one looks for previously impacted sites, away from others, etc. Little Yosemite is aby ttilley - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Isn't that early? Last year with less snow they had it closed over Memorial Day weekend - I think one of the Mammoth ski runs near the bottom of lift 12 goes over the top of the road. Edit: Actually, it's three years early! QuoteThe Road to Reds Meadow, Devils Postpile, & Agnew Meadows will open on 5/23/14 at 3 p.m.by ttilley - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteThough I haven't encountered an illegal snowmobiler... I have, at Showers Lake (Meiss Country). It's not designated wilderness, but the area north of the ridge on the north side of Carson Pass is closed to snowmobiles.by ttilley - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion