Great pictures, thanks for sharing!! Hope you liked that camp spot i suggested overlooking Bunnel!!!by OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Day 3 advice: Don't go all the way down to Echo Valley and camp... instead, stay on the high trail and camp on the flat granite that overlooks Bunnell Point above Little Yosemite Valley. Water should be still available in that small tarn near the trail. Echo Valley is wet and will have lots of mosquitoes. This being a heavy snow year, will very likely have snow on the northern approach to Clouby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Some thoughts: Yosemite is can't miss but suffers from: 1. PIA permitting, 2. have to plan around inevitable traffic in the Valley. 3. Massive crowds within day hiking distance from either TM or the Valley. 1. Red Peak Pass loop is awesome. Note: the climb through the Illilouette is dusty and exposed, and you may have some late summer water availability issues up till Ottoway Lakes. The Clarkby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
1. There is a daily bus with multiple daily departures that start from Yosemite Lodge. Reserve/pay for one-way tickets in advance, especially for the early morning (8:00) departure. You have 24 hours to cancel for a full refund. Note: if the buses are full sometimes they will add another bus, so keep checking. 2. Yes, you can park at Glacier Point, but then you get to hike back up there. Also, wby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Definitely sounds like your son has done his homework on skis... with that added info, I think a 163 would be a much better length than 170 especially because of his weight. As a reference, I am older and heavier, and have a 175cm pair with similar dimensions and characteristics. But those longer skis only behave on groomers at high speeds. They are a modern day equivalent to 200cm straight skisby OL - General Discussion
There are lots of variations to consider... how many days per year expected to ski? Age? Experience? Preferred terrain (groomed, moguls)? Season preference (winter, spring, etc, budget? How fast like to ski? What technique does he ski? For example a step-turner on an advanced slope is still an intermediate. A parallel skier who carves on intermediate slopes is probably advanced. You also shouby OL - General Discussion
From our experience with younger kids, If 120 is open, a day trip up to Tuolumne Meadows... try going up Pothole Dome. It's not very high, nor difficult. A 6yr old can do it easily; he can imagine himself "rock climbing". (my son imagined it that way when he was 4). Then walk along the JMT towards the "twin bridges" in Lyell Canyon. Explore the river... Bring bikes if you cby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
What a great report! It is amazing how quickly the snow melted.... here is a picture of the back side of Red Peak Pass from 2 weeks prior (never had a chance for a TR)... note the glissade paths straight down on both sides of the large rock outcropping...by OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
We ran into some folks who were in Glen Aulin just before the holiday weekend. They said "because of computer glitch" there were no reservations booked, and the camp was empty. They scored a ridiculously low walkup rate for being the only guests in camp. You might try calling them (if you can get through) to see if you got selected.by OL - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
If approaching Cloud's Rest from the north (Tenaya Lake), two weeks ago there was up to 3-4 feet of snow in drifts, with no visible trail markings other than tree slashes. Much of that may have melted out already, but expect some route finding due to lingering snow in the trees on the final approach, and some snow on the spine leading to the summit. Coming from the south (Valley) the trail will bby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Nevada Falls last Thursday before the weather got warmer. Mist Trail was relatively damp. By Sunday the river was flowing more and the Mist Trail became a soaking.by OL - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I had thought about continuing up canyon along the Merced, but the weather conditions, and the 50% forecasts for the next day had me change my mind about going too deep into the backcountry. One of my bailout options, hike out to TM and hitching back, seemed dicey if a storm approached, since Rt 120 was closed when I started out. Then I remembered reading about Quarter Domes from one of your triby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I put them on about a mile before the Florence Creek crossing (beyond Merced Lake). The snow was more consolidated on the Cloud's Rest approach and I didn't use them there. I did use my spikes on the final approach though, the layer of snow and hail made the surface pretty slippery, and a fall on the ridge would not be very happy.by OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Originally planned to go up with my son over the holiday weekend, but scheduling conflicts ended up making it a solo affair. Left the Bay Area early Thursday morning and made it to the valley Wilderness Center near opening and managed to get one of the last permits out of the valley, albeit to Illillouette. My ambitious route was to try and do a loop up to Vogelsang and back. The weather, despby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Depending upon when you go, the Tuolumne Meadows shuttle may still be running. You can park in Tuolumne Meadows, and take the shuttle to the May Lake trailhead. You can either return through Glen Aulin, or do a route which takes you from May Lake, down Murphy Creek up Sunrise and exiting at Cathedral Lakes. Check with the rangers on the permit since you are crossing 120 (the road). The last routeby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Here are some ideas to consider... (depends upon how much of tour guide you feel up to doing too!) - Start in Yosemite Valley, and do the JMT (along with Half Dome) until Red's. Return via the YARTS bus to the Valley. If you have time, do a day hike/drive to Glacier Point and explore the area. - Take the evening YARTs bus up to Tuolumne, stay overnight at the backpacker camp, and head out inby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
We were in that area over Memorial Day weekend although a little higher up. Lots of snow on northfacing slopes above 8,000'. FYI, Emigrant Lake (el 8,800') was still half frozen The trail to Upper Emigrant Lake / Blackbird lake was completely covered by snowby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I suppose it is relative, but I don't think the cables are too heavy. I am figuring about 15-16mm thick. You tend to think about steepness and footing rather than the weight of the cables. You'll feel tired because of the approach hike and from the altitude. With the cables down, there are only a couple of good places with footing to rest. If you know how to use a harness/prussik, then you probabby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Cool video. We just had trail runners; mine were regular, my son's had Vibram soles. My feet slipped a little next to the cables but not more than expected. Away from the cables our footing was fine. On another fun note, over the weekend we saw my old mentor who first took me up to Half Dome years ago. He made his first ascent in 1961 wearing special "Danish climbing shoes" and continueby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
With enough winds, the kleimheist had good bite with both cord and webbing, and it was easy to slide up the cable. I tied a web sling to the harness, and clipped the cord/webbing to the sling. With the cables up and the sheer mass of bodies on the wall, you won't slip far (since the 2x4s are every 10 ft or so), but with the cables down and no boards, there are few natural stopping (or resting) poby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Yes, I brought the rope because I remembered the middle section was slick when I did it years ago. At that time I free climbed the crack to the left of the cable and felt a lot safer. I think my son could have tied onto the right cable and been ok, but his feet were slipping even to the side of the cables. Roped in, with a better grip on the rock, he flew up the crack. (it took me longer to set uby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
The picture is looking out Tenaya Canyon. The near ridge to the right is Cloud's Rest, with the Watkins Pinnacles and Mt Watkins across it. In the distance you can see Tenaya and Cathedral Peaks. There's snow up there, but not much.by OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
We used regular climbing harnesses, and prussik loops (friction knot) to tie onto the cable. As we climbed, we pushed the loop up the cable. Whenever my son went through a transition point, he tied on a second prussik before untying the first one (so he was always connected). The rock along the cable path is really slick, so I anchored in above the large crack and using a traditional rope for proby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
My teenager and I went up on Sunday night for a trip up Half Dome, Cloud's Rest and through Echo Valley. We were hoping for the good weather from the weekend, but the forecast was iffy for what we were planning, so we put our contingency plan on our permit when we started out on Monday morning. Both Vernal and Nevada falls were flowing well, but well below peak flows from previous years (a monby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
The previous posters have great advice about shakeout trips and itineraries. For equipment, the lighter you go, the more expensive so consider the tradeoffs. Is $200 worth saving an extra pound of tent weight? (or sleeping bag). Need extra room in the sleeping bag? A thicker pad for comfort? Is a small tent ok, or is more space needed if you need to wait out a storm? Sometimes you won't know whatby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Depends upon the time of the year you are planning to go and how fit/strong you are. (ie assume you have to carry a toddler at least 50% of the time). Try going to see Lower Yosemite Falls to see if the kid is ok with getting wet w/cold water before considering the Mist Trail. Going up will be safer than going down (ie suggest returning via the JMT/Horse trail). My boy was also 3 the first timby OL - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I would suggest your option one... leave all your cars near Dog Lake and take the shuttle to the May Lake trailhead off Tioga Road. The additional mileage from the Tioga Road shuttle stop to May Lake is only 1.5 miles vs starting at the parking lot. Since you have a group (and mentioned "herding cats" doing the car shuttle won't save you much time before going to May Lake.by OL - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks for the shoutout.... glad you had a good time! You were more ambitious than the original suggestion; (Cathedral Lakes instead of Sunrise Lakes) but from your thoughts on Long Meadow (the meadow between Sunrise HSC and Cathedral) and Cathedral Lakes it seems to have been worth it! Sorry to hear about about your altitude troubles; you definitely had signs of AMS and I was glad to read that yby OL - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
We did a loop from Tenaya / Sunrise / Cathedral last year at exactly the same time (8/8). No water from Tenaya Lake to Sunrise lakes. (all the creeks in between were dry). No water flowing between the middle and upper Sunrise Lakes (we climbed up the dry creekbed). Sunrise HSC water was supplied by mule (for guests only). The water spigots above the two pit toilets were removed and the faucets seby OL - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Here's an interesting route to consider: Backpack from Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows via Cloud's Rest and Sunrise Lakes, and return to the valley on the YARTS bus. - On Monday, try to get a first come first serve permit for Tuesday from Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley or the through-permit. If you can get a Half Dome permit, great! Explore the valley, do part of the 4 mile hike, eby OL - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion