We were camping in Little Yosemite Valley the day this occurred and the ranger warned us that it had happened. I have to say, I was shocked later that evening when we were discussing Half Dome with the people camping next to us (we were planning to go up HD the next day; they had been up that day) and a grown man told me that "the Park Service wouldn't let you do Half Dome if it wasn't peby happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotetomdisco Another critical factor is having the lightest weight shoes that will still get the job done for you. Even though your shoes are not on your back, they still represent a major part of your body's lifting effort. I wholeheartedly agree with this. We just switched to wearing trail runners this year and we are both so much more comfortable. Our feet never bothered us on this (orby happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Yes, you're right. I tend to err on the side of caution, so threw in some extra snacks at the last minute, which was not necessary. But, it's definitely better to be safe than sorry.by happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Hi Paris, To answer your questions (I don't have my maps with me, so these are estimates of mileage based on what I remember): We spent nights 1 and 7 at the backpackers' camp in Yosemite Valley. TM to GA - 6 miles GA to the bridge over Return Creek and back - I think this is about 8 miles GA to TM to Lower Cathedral Lake - somewhere around 10 miles Lower Cathedral to where we campedby happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
That's how the ranger explained it to us. She told us we'd need to have our wilderness permits with us at HD in case the person checking tickets gave us any hassle, but we were there early enough (9:00ish) that no one was checking anyway. They were there checking when we finally left the area.by happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
You can check nps.gov/yose for the exact rules on Half Dome Permits, but the basic rule is that if you're backpacking a route that can reasonably lead you to Half Dome, you can get a permit. They give out the 400 (or whatever it is) to day hikers, but plan on an extra 100 for backpackers. All you need to do is ask at the Wilderness Center when you pick up your backcountry permit and they'll givby happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
It was amazing! I'm so grateful to everyone here for the advice. We ended up backing out of starting at White Wolf (after hearing reports of tons of water from the rangers, which turned out not to be true), and instead got a permit starting at TM to Glen Aulin. Stayed at GA the first night, day hiked to the footbridge past waterwheel the next day (all the falls were incredible and huge!) aby happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
We were warned by the rangers that the Tuolumne was over the banks and 4 feet deep in places, so we ended up changing plans and just hiking from TM to Glen Aulin and down to the footbridge past waterwheel and back before continuing on our trip. But we ran into several groups who came from White Wolf and said it was passable no big deal. There was a good log over Delaney, Dingley was only ankleby happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
We were also up at Cathedral last weekend. We camped at Lower Cathedral on Sunday the 17th. Had no trouble following the trail up to either lake and we had never been there before. Getting across the meadow at the lower lake without walking in waist-deep water was a bit tricky, but we would have walked through the water if needed. We had a windy night on the 17th so no mosquitoes at all. Theby happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks, Chick-on. I guess I'm a worrier. And scared of snow (that whole "devil you don't know is worse than the devil you do" issue). So we'd follow the trail to Cathedral Lakes, and then just past the smaller lake, we split off to the east and follow the creek? Yes, I think I can manage that. It looks like it's not very far before we re-join the trail anyway. I just didnby happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I've been following several threads on this board (y'all are so helpful!) about the areas we were planning to be in for our backpacking trip, but I'm still a bit nervous about what conditions to expect. We live in middle Tennessee and this will be our first trip to Yosemite. We've been backpacking for a few years now and spend most of our time in the Smoky Mountains and similar environment.by happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I have a permit starting at White Wolf and ending at Happy Isles. When the ranger questioned how I planned to get to Happy Isles, I told him we were planning to cross the road by Tenaya Lake and head to Sunrise or go through TM to Cathedral Lakes. He said either was fine, just that we had to cross the road and keep going - we weren't allowed to stop anywhere or resupply at TM. It seems like aby happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Hi elicali, Sorry I have no help for you, but I'm interested in knowing trail/water conditions too. We'll be doing that trip (the other direction - WW to TM) a few days after you. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the White Wolf backpackers campground will open by then, since we were planning to stay there the night before our trip. If it's not open, I guess we have to stay at the Pinby happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks! I was hoping for some information on this too. We have a permit leaving from White Wolf on July 15 and are planning on heading through the GCT to Glen Aulin. (From there is still up in the air, as we were planning to continue on to Cathedral Lakes, Clouds Rest and then Half Dome on our way back to the valley. I understand that the second half of the trip is still very frozen and underby happykamper - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion