> the unnamed pass between Roosevelt and Upper McCabe High Sierra Peaks, Passes, and Trails calls this the "Don't be a Smart Pass" - Class 2 Loose talus, interspersed with patches of snow... I'm not kidding... The pass from Middle McCabe to Roosevelt didn't have any snow to speak of so... maybe you'll be able to make a snow cone on the Smart Pass... Enjoyby bill-e-g - General Discussion
Interesting... 2 Weeks ago I did this 3-dayer: Glen-Aulin/Cold Canyon/Wildcat Pt./Mattie Lake/Cold Mountain/Virginia Lake /Lower McCabe/Middle McCabe/pass/Roosevelt Lake/Youngs/Out Lower Virginia Canyon/Matterhorn called to me from Virginia Lake and I seriously considered dropping down and hiking out/up Matterhorn Canyon. You are talking Hiking down Matterhorn Canyon and down Return Creek.by bill-e-g - General Discussion
Ok. Thanks for all the info on the Benchmarks and markers! It gives me another reason to go back to some places where I missed them! (looked for about 10 minutes on Cold Mountain a few weeks ago.... turns out I was on the wrong Cold Mountain... (it's on the one about 1/2 mile S)) On the Topo!4.0 program I have a number on peaks are simply marked by a triangle. The boundry markers were plaby bill-e-g - General Discussion
A number of peaks have registers on them. Tuolumne, Matterhorn, Volunteer, Forsyth... >My wife and I hunt for survey markers and lately we've been specializing >in Yosemite survey markers. ... Been taking pictures of these for years now. I tried searching the USGS to try to find where they all are but could never find anything. I'd assume there is a map somewhere with them allby bill-e-g - General Discussion
> Is that you crossing Tamarack Creek with full gear? Yikes! Good on ya. Yup. That is Mike. (He makes me go across first to test the "waters" ) The other log crossing pict is the Piute Creek in beautiful Pleasant Valley.by bill-e-g - General Discussion
Dana is my arch nemesis... puked on the way back to SJ... so can't recommend that one ... Just kidding... Dana is pretty cool... 0 to 13K to 0 not so good for me though... There is not a huge amout of water flowing thru Glen Aulin so I would also save that one for earlier in the year... Instead of Mt. Lewis I'd recommend hitting Mono Pass, Parker Pass, Parker Pass Lake, Helen Lake, and Spby bill-e-g - General Discussion
Nice. Didn't mention that on account most people don't stray far off of the trail. Glad you enjoyed it. Hetch Hetchy Dome is pretty interesting... there is a bunch of wire/cables and some HUGE Eye-Hooks on the top of it... talked to the Ranger after getting back and he said that they actually had a cable strung across HH from HH Dome to Kolana Rock during WWII. I think he said anti-aircrby bill-e-g - General Discussion
This is in regards to the Smith Peak Hike: I refrained from mentioning this before because I wasn't sure. But I notice on the Trail Description / Quota page http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/trailheads.htm they have quota for Base Line Camp Road. If you can drive all the way to the boundry of the park this would save you over 800 ft. of climb and close to 4 miles of trail. On a map I haveby bill-e-g - General Discussion
Any update? I'm assuming the squashed this pretty quick. Planning on going near this area this weekend...by bill-e-g - General Discussion
No problem at all. From the Ranger Station/Entrance you have Lookout Point and Cottonwood Meadows to check out... those are both very nice IMO. There is also an interesting water tank just before Cottonwood Meadow. The other trail has an interesting pond with loads of lillies and you hike along Cottonwood creek for a bit which is nice. Mind you, both of the hikes are in the woods alot. (you pby bill-e-g - General Discussion
I would bet that you'll be able to park there. If not I believe there may be parking a little up the road on the other side. If you don't feel comfortable with parking your car there then I would just say "ok, not to be...". And then proceed to dayhike to Wapama Falls, then head back to the Entrance Station and dayhike to Lookout Point. Just take it in stride...by bill-e-g - General Discussion
Saturday 8/16 6pm and 10pm Discovery and Discovery HD (at least that is what it says at the moment on DirecTV listing)by bill-e-g - General Discussion
The Trailhead is approx 2 miles from the Dam. It is very very clear, a Brown sign with Smith Meadow on it. There is enough room for only a few cars on the right hand side of the road. As I mentioned above it's a bummer you cannot see Wapama or Kolana Rock from this locale.... you can however see all the way to the Muir Gorge. I can put a picture if you really want... At this time of year it mby bill-e-g - General Discussion
Yes, on second thought... you are right... they should say please USE it. Obviously they need to start checking that people have bear cannisters in their packs when they run across them on the trail. A ranger has only check once that I had a bear canister... and that was at the trailhead. Also have heard people blatantly lie in front of me getting a permit... tsk tskby bill-e-g - General Discussion
>Backcountry: >"Please use a canister when backpacking" Um... HELLO! Please? They are required for ALL of the park this year. They should not have to say please.by bill-e-g - General Discussion
If I had to pick 1 dayhike in the Hetch Hetchy area it would hands-down be Smith Peak from the Smith Meadow trailhead. Yes, it is ALOT of elevation gain but the reward is spectacular. (3750, 13 miles total).. and very very steep from Smith Meadow. Smith Meadow is very beautiful too... Guess the only bummer is that you cannot see Wapama Falls or Kolana Rock... you can see Rancheria thouby bill-e-g - General Discussion
It is only around 2 miles to Rainbow View from the Valley Floor. On the map you have above it is west of the switchbacks and between the two V streams. The second stream to the left of the switchbacks is Fireplace Creek. If you have not checked out Google Earth you should ... I use it alot to scope out xcountry routes for feasibility (or just dream). You can plainly see the old rd. and getby bill-e-g - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Sorry, I corrected the post. My brain farted and I wrote old tioga instead of old big oak flat. And Mike, what are you doing next to a computer? You are suppose to be in the mountains training. Post Edited (08-02-08 17:51)by bill-e-g - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The trail/road is obvious except in the location I pointed out... i.e. the major rockslide area where the road switchbacked. It switchbacks and then goes into a wooded area which is not obvious. Just look for paint marks... We did the trail May 20 a few years ago... kinda forgot about it. It's a gem though. Great views of Sliver Strand Falls, Ribbon Falls, Bridalveil, El Cap... And you gby bill-e-g - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Since I assume you want to hike it from the valley the trail starts up a little east of El Cap. near Ribbon Creek. If you look on a USGS map the only place which is iffy is around the 4800ft point where on the USGS map the trail disappears. It is at this location that the old big oak flat road made a couple of switchbacks which have been wiped out by rock falls. Some of the rocks haby bill-e-g - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Might want to check out the Conness Glacier from Saddlebag Lake. 2 1/2 Miles-ish 1 way. Or if you are lazy you can take the boat to the other side of the lake. If the Glacier bores you you can check out the many lakes in the area. Here is the view from the Yosemite border above Steelhead and Cascade Lakes. If you do go check out the glaciers be careful. I inevitably get lectured about theby bill-e-g - General Discussion
Indian Canyon Rockslides to Rainbow View Tenaya Canyon For sure Rockslides to Rainbow View meets your criteria. The other two... that's up to you to decide.by bill-e-g - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Found these searching around. For those who really enjoy maps check them out. There are a number of trails which no longer exist. (one is across falls creek near Hetch Hetchy Dome) (another is UP table mountain) copy the link and then scroll down to yosemite. You may have to install some plugin to see the maps. If anyone has found any other maps please let me know. I'd like to see morby bill-e-g - General Discussion
Just for fun: Spent 3 nights around 10K July18,19,20. 35 deg bag. Woke up sweating the first night. Second night had heavy duty fleece top on. No bag used on torso. Third night. light weight long johns and top. Bag as blanket. Never zipped the bag up. Wife used 15 deg bag and was happy. I would have been sweating BIG TIME all 3 nights. Like I said, just for fun. Do what you are comfortby bill-e-g - General Discussion
For Easy to Moderate: Crane Flat: Tuolumne Grove Tuolumne: Glen Aulin & Pothole Dome Upper Pines: Mist Trail to Emerald Pool & Bridalveil Falls If you have never been .. then these are must IMO... Spectacular. Mirror Meadow used to be a Lake (swam in it the very first time ever went to Yosemite)... You should hike to it also and see it... Also, if you have never been then you HAVEby bill-e-g - General Discussion
It's been talked about before in this forum: http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?f=1&i=2743&t=2743 and even more here: http://www.yosemite.ca.us/forum/viewtopic.php?t=124&sid=eab4ccc1a1788fe09c04184a14055824 It's on my list of things to do... or ways to die....by bill-e-g - General Discussion
20's some nights... ok.. fine... but not commonplace... Use my 35F bag last year (yes, I have too much gear) from Tuolumne Meadows to Kings Canyon... in Sept... much higher elevation than his trip route... and never slept in a tent.. Just think his MONSTER > 3 pounder synthetic is way overkill. Bring some fleece and put that on and sleep in it if need be since going to want to have itby bill-e-g - General Discussion
The 32F bag should be just fine. I only use less than that in late fall and early spring. If I used a 15 now I'd end up sweating during the night, pulling my socks off, etc. So... at the end of the day it depends if you are a warm or cold sleeper... and what other close you bring along... This time of year we actually use a 45degree bag and just bring a fleece pants and jacket along. Haveby bill-e-g - General Discussion
At 5'7" I'm wondering why you'd need anything more than a BB gun. Ba....urrrnnned!!!!!!!!!!!!!by bill-e-g - General Discussion