Re: 2 day backpack trip

i plan on starting at tenaya lake or tuolumne lake and backpacking down to the valley. I am going to do in 2 days so i would like for someone to give me some goods ideas where to camp in the middle. I though about sunrise camp, but its not really in the middle. Also what would be the shortest distance. it will be my first trip

If you start at Tenaya Lake towards Sunrise Lakes turn right at the junction at the top of the uphill part. (This will be a bit of a slog for a first time backpack.) Take the trail to Clouds Rest. When you get to the junction that goes to Clouds Rest decide whether or not you want to go over Clouds Rest or take the trail to Sunrise Creek. I would hope you do Clouds Rest. If the sky is clear and no there is no threat of weather you should not pass up the opportunity to do Clouds Rest. (When you are at Olmsted Point you can mutter that you have been up on Clouds Rest and people will look at you in awe.) When you come down from Clouds Rest or if you have taken the John Muir Trail when you get to the junction that is close to the trail to Half Dome you will find some good sites near Sunrise Creek. On day two you just head on down the John Muir Trail to Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls and the valley.

I hope this makes sense to you. If not don't hesitate to ask for clarification.

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Old Dude

bbk302 wrote:

> i plan on starting at tenaya lake or tuolumne lake and
> backpacking down to the valley. I am going to do in 2 days so i
> would like for someone to give me some goods ideas where to
> camp in the middle. I though about sunrise camp, but its not
> really in the middle. Also what would be the shortest distance.
> it will be my first trip

Clarification. Does this mean two nights or just one night? Two nights (two campsites) might give you a bit of flexibility.

I did a three night trip last June with two nights at the junction between Clouds Rest Trail and the John Muir Trail, then one night at Little Yosemite Valley. I did Half Dome after the first night followed by Clouds Rest after the second night. Then I hightailed it to LYV for the third night and back to the Valley floor the next morning.

Clouds Rest would be fine, although there's a lot more elevation gain on that with more switchbacks. If you've got a trail map, you'll see that there are two ways down to the Half Dome Trail from Tenaya Lake. The West spur can take you past Clouds Rest. You can go or skip Clouds Rest, as there's a bypass just to the East of the path to the Clouds Rest summit. The East spur goes past Sunrise Creek and becomes the John Muir Trail. It's a bit flatter on the East end. The Junction between Clouds Rest and John Muir trails is a fine place to camp with several good locations. There's lots of water sources there.

If you're willing to do this as two nights, you might split it into one night somewhere on the John Muir Trail followed by a night in Little Yosemite Valley. You can't stay your first night at LYV unless you've got a Happy Isles or Glacier Point permit that allows you there on your first night. I think there are some Happy Isles permits that are only for pass-throughs beyond LYV.

Of course get a good map. I recommend the National Geographic Traill Illustrated map for Yosemite. The following link should let you have a look of closeups of the map.

http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/product/375/329/246.html

just 1 night

If it's one night then you'll probably want to try Tenaya Lake, through Clouds Rest, and camp the one night around the junction of the Clouds Rest and John Muir trails. The first day would be around 9 miles.

From that point you could go down the John Muir Trail back to the Valley. There are various ways down which might range from 7-10 miles. Someone recommended the Mist Trail to save a little distance. I've heard some not recommend it with a heavy pack, but I used poles to stabilize myself and it wasn't all that wet when I went last June.

Have you considered how you're going to get there? The Tioga Road hikers shuttle would work if it's operating. You could leave your car in the Valley (get a permit) and hike back. It would drop you off at Tenaya Lake around 11:30 AM (that's what I remember). Another option would be to drive to Tenaya Lake and get a ride (possibly the hikers shuttle) back to your car. A few of my fellow passengers were picking up their cars along Tioga Road.

Regarding the Mist Trail last June, keep in mind that last year was one of the driest years for the Sierras in recent memory, Tioga pass opened on Mother's day weekend.

Just saying I wouldn't count on the same conditions on Mist Trail this year in June.

Was up in the valley last weekend (May 10/11) and the all the falls were much more impressive than last May. Our hike Wapama Falls (Hetch Hetchy) was the best in years. Tueeulala falls even had water.bbk302 wrote: