QITNL, what's snow coverage like? Floatation necessary? I'm thinking about playing in the TM or Tioga Pass areas this weekend, trying to decide what to bring.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Good choice. That ridge was dicey enough for me with a few patches of snow early last year. I wouldn't have wanted to tackle it with the amount of snow that's on it now.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I really need to stop taking red eye flights. So many great views to be had during the day!by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Really awesome photos, thanks for sharing them. My favorite is the third from bottom. So many great things visible: Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, Tenaya Canyon + Lake, Cathedral Peak, TM, Young Lakes, and I think the summit of Conness in the lower right.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I like the hike up to Leavitt Peak from the pass proper. Nice view from the top. Closer to Pinecrest, Sword and Lost lakes are both nice. They were super crowded when I visited though.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Nope, I didn't run across any boundary markers on Excelsior, but I didn't spend much time poking around up there. The back side of North towards Upper McCabe looked nice. I'll have to find some time to go back and play in that area.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I'd say about 1/3 of the aspens between Conway Summit and Virginia Lakes were beginning to show hints of color. I'm hoping we'll have a longer fall color season this year.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Haha yep that's what happens with a bad camera and a very sunny day.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotehotrod4x5 You summited North Peak? Is that technical route? Not the route I took. From upper Conness Lake it's just a slog up a scree slope to gain the ridge. From the ridge it's a walk up.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Got a chance to do two dayhikes this weekend. Here are some photos. Apologies for the poor quality; they were taken with a phone camera. Mount Dana above Saddlebag Lake Mount Conness North Ridge. Check out the distant (and blurry) Half Dome. The route up North Peak. Saddlebag, Greenstone, and Conness Lakes Lundy Canyon and Mono Lake from the summit of Excelsior High Peakby edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I climbed North Peak this weekend and passed by (above) this tarn. Your route sounds good for getting there. Alternatively, there is a small use trail that branches off from the north shore of the lake, not far above the outlet. It climbs one of the rock gullies and traverses to close to the tarn. Here's a view of it from slightly different perspective IMG_20120915_100117 by edg13, on Fby edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteplawrence And also thank you very much for the detailed directions to Conness Lakes from Saddlebag Lake. Much appreciated. +1 I'm thinking about climbing North Peak in the next week or two and the route description and photos are very helpful.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
It's similar in style to that photo from the plateau up to the summit, though not with the same amount of exposure. Hands aren't really necessary to climb most of it, just for extra balance and support around the exposed areas. I would call it class 2. I had no idea there was once a maintained trail up Conness; very cool!by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Here's what I would consider the hairiest part:by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
This is the only photo I have of the ridge connecting the summit with the plateau. I'll see if my buddy took any photos along the ridge. It's not as bad as it looks; all class 1/2. There are only two places that felt 'airy' to me.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteOhnivy-Drak Very cool. Did you also head over to North Peak? I hear looking down towards the east, the drop-off, is incredible. Nope, Conness's north ridge down to the saddle with North Peak is a bit more exposed and technical than what I'm ready to climb at this point. Judging by the register though, it is a very popular traverse.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I hiked up Conness on Saturday via Alpine Lake and the east ridge. There was no snow until the bowl at about 11,700 below the east ridge. This was easily avoidable by contouring around to the east up a shoulder to gain the ridge. There was also a short stretch of snow right before the short scramble up to the summit plateau. Looking back down the east ridge from near the summit plateau.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Looks like fun . Thanks for the video. What did you film this with?by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotebasilbop Just off the trail south of Clouds Rest, I saw some strange metal ring... an old iron-age Chick-on trap? Ring used to lower rocks into place while building the park? Haha I think you're on to something! Thanks for the TR.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Went through Pate last September and didn't see any. Guess I was just unlucky (or unobservant).by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I've never seen one in Yosemite either, but I've seen a bunch in the Bay Area hills/Diablo range. The closest encounter I've had was a Grand Canyon Pink rattlesnake not far from Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon. I was listening to music while hiking at the time and was rudely, though thankfully, interrupted by the rattling. To borrow eek's expression, I too "teleported".by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks for the beta, much appreciated!by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteapeman45 Thanks! This warm weather should help too! Please post an update after your trip. I want to climb Gibbs or Conness in the next few weeks and would love some updated info on conditions. Thanks!by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotettilley Quoteedg As would I! I'm hoping to replace/supplement my old MSR Miniworks with the Steripen Adventurer Opti to save on weight, but I've seen a lot of people also suggesting the Sawyer. I didn't buy the SteriPen until the Opti came out because I'd seen complaints that it wasn't working with water that had few suspended particulates, such as fresh snowmelt in the Sierra. For the Opby edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
As would I! I'm hoping to replace/supplement my old MSR Miniworks with the Steripen Adventurer Opti to save on weight, but I've seen a lot of people also suggesting the Sawyer.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoterob If you plan to hike over Kearsarge I would suggest leaving a package in the bear box at the Onion Valley parking lot, which is totally permissable. Just write your info, like when your plan to pick it up on the box. I asked this exact question to a Inyo NF ranger and was told that the TH bear boxes are not intended to be used as food caches for JMT thru hikers and that food may be reby edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I hadn't really considered a non-HI start, but I guess that's a good back up plan. I'll be starting midweek, so hopefully showing up to the permit office the day before at 11AM should be good enough. AlmostThere: thanks for the info about the damage around Red's, I'll keep an eye on that as the date gets closer. 10,000 downed trees was the estimate.. that mby edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Hi folks. There's a high likelihood I'll be hiking the JMT this July, heading southbound from Happy Isles to Mt. Whitney. I figured I see if anyone here has any suggestions to make this trip the best it can be. I don't have a permit reservation. How hard will it be to get a walk up permit for Sunrise/Merced Lk pass thru? It looks like there are only 4 available FCFS. How early should Iby edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-on You know what? It's actually kind of a pain in the rump. So I'll take back what I said. Prob. the easiest is to just do a screen capture draw with paint and throw it up on Picasa. To get a track like I showed you have to draw the track, save the gpx file, host the gpx file on something like google sites, then point to that file via gmap4. If you look at the help you can findby edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I'll second the Eneloop battery suggestion. Really awesome batteries that will save you money in the long run. I use them in my Vista HCx (Garmin's previous generation) and they work great.by edg - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion