Re: Tuolumne River Trip conditions?

Hello All,

I've got a trip next week going from Tuolumne meadows down the Tuolumne River to Pate Valley e.t.c.

Just have a couple of questions about most recent conditions at Tuolumne itself like snow level? and creek crossings/flooding down to Pate Valley?

I saw someone recently had posted similar questions and was heading out there on 6/2. Please pass along any observations...

One other question. Is it O.K. to pick up my Tuolumne meadows entry permit at the Big Oak Flat Wildernes permit office on my way in.....?
Logistically that would be easier for me than T.M.

Thanks in advance
-PR

PRelHacko wrote:

> One other question. Is it O.K. to pick up my Tuolumne meadows
> entry permit at the Big Oak Flat Wildernes permit office on my
> way in.....?
> Logistically that would be easier for me than T.M.

Sure. If you've reserved your wilderness permit, you're allowed to pick it up at any permit station.

If you're looking for a first-come, first-served permit - then the rules are different. Each trailhead is assigned a preferred permit issuing station, which has priority to issue permits for that starting trailhead. I'm told that means one station gets exclusive issuing rights for an hour or two, after which any permit station can issue any permit for that day or the next. Some people have inquired about going to a less busy permit station (like Big Oak Flat) in hopes of securing a Happy Isles-Little Yosemite Valley permit. That wouldn't work, because the Valley Wilderness Office gets first dibs, and all 12 FCFS permits for the next day will probably be gone by the time another permit station would be allowed to issue permits for that trailhead. The strangest request I heard of was someone who wanted to get the permit for HI-LYV on the starting day.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildpermits.htm

Quote

First-Come, First-Served Permits
Permits are also available at any permit issuing station starting one day prior to the beginning of your hike. All wilderness permits must be picked up in person by a member of the hiking group. Priority for permits for a particular trailhead is given to the closest permit issuing station, though it is possible to obtain a permit for any trailhead at any permit issuing station. This mainly affects the most popular trailheads that fill up quickly each morning, such as Little Yosemite Valley trailheads, Lyell Canyon, Cathedral Lakes, among others. (View a list of trailheads showing which which permit station has priority over each.)