Trip ideas - 6 to 7 days in Yosemite this August
Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 8:51 pm
Hello all,
We're planning our second trip to the Sierra (we're from the East Coast) and could use some help. Last year, we did the High Sierra Trail to Mount Whitney and had a great time, so we'd like to come back this year. We're thinking of checking out Yosemite and are trying to plan a route. We would like to see Yosemite Valley at the beginning and/or end of our trip, but we'd like to spend most of our time in the backcountry.
Here's our info:
Backpacking experience - high level 2 (we backpack frequently but only started a couple of years ago; always on trail; almost all in the mid-Atlantic)
Desired terrain - class 1 (all on trail, though we are looking for a physical challenge; elevation gain/loss is good, though something manageable is preferred. I'm late-20s, my husband is 30, and we're both in good shape and plan to hike/backpack as much as possible before our trip to train.)
Interests - mountain scenery, lakes, forests, photography; we do not fish and don't have a dog
Length of trip/miles per day - We're looking for 6 to 7 hiking days, though that's flexible. We plan to allot almost two weeks for the trip in total, including flying to/from San Francisco, travel to/from Yosemite, some time before we hike in the Yosemite front country, and a visit with friends in San Francisco after we hike. While hiking, we like to average about 10 miles a day, though we have no problem doing 15 or so as necessary. For a trip of this duration we don't need any layover days. As noted earlier, we like physically challenging trips and would like to have some climbs, though we're not masochists.
Type of trip - we can do either a loop or point-to-point, as long as transit's available to get to/from San Francisco.
A few additional notes: as we're from the East Coast, we do not usually hike at altitude. We took a day in Sequoia before starting the High Sierra Trail last year, and neither of us had any problems with altitude - fingers crossed for a repeat. Also, I am working on my fear of heights ... some of the dicier ledge sections on the High Sierra Trail really got to me last year. I don't mind having some sections with exposure, but I'd rather not cling to cliffsides for the whole trip. This also means Half Dome and Clouds Rest are NOT on our list.
Here are the possibilities we're considering now:
(1) Starting at Tuolumne and day hiking Mt. Dana before we start. Heading down to Vogelsang, then Merced Lake, then through Little Yosemite Valley to end in (Big?) Yosemite Valley. This is a very rough sketch based on suggestions I saw on a previous post on this topic, so if this sounds like a good idea, feel free to suggest more specifics. Or feel free to suggest a better/alternate route that starts in Tuolumne and ends in Yosemite Valley; I think transit is available to make that possible.
(2) Starting in Yosemite Valley. Bus up to Glacier Point; hike Illilouette Creek towards Merced Pass, then do a loop (direction not determined) past Fernandez Pass, Post Peak Pass, Isberg Pass, Red Peak, then back up Illilouette to Glacier Point. This appears to be tougher/more remote than my other possibility; correct?
(3)???
Final note: We are thinking early August this year. We did late August last year, and with the very dry season, we ran right into fire season. It looks like it may be even worse this year ... . Late July might actually be better than August - what do you think? Though we are almost too late to get permits for late July, depending on the trailhead, at this point.
All suggestions/criticisms/jokes at our expense are very welcome! Thanks so much for providing such a great center for information about hiking in the Sierra!
We're planning our second trip to the Sierra (we're from the East Coast) and could use some help. Last year, we did the High Sierra Trail to Mount Whitney and had a great time, so we'd like to come back this year. We're thinking of checking out Yosemite and are trying to plan a route. We would like to see Yosemite Valley at the beginning and/or end of our trip, but we'd like to spend most of our time in the backcountry.
Here's our info:
Backpacking experience - high level 2 (we backpack frequently but only started a couple of years ago; always on trail; almost all in the mid-Atlantic)
Desired terrain - class 1 (all on trail, though we are looking for a physical challenge; elevation gain/loss is good, though something manageable is preferred. I'm late-20s, my husband is 30, and we're both in good shape and plan to hike/backpack as much as possible before our trip to train.)
Interests - mountain scenery, lakes, forests, photography; we do not fish and don't have a dog
Length of trip/miles per day - We're looking for 6 to 7 hiking days, though that's flexible. We plan to allot almost two weeks for the trip in total, including flying to/from San Francisco, travel to/from Yosemite, some time before we hike in the Yosemite front country, and a visit with friends in San Francisco after we hike. While hiking, we like to average about 10 miles a day, though we have no problem doing 15 or so as necessary. For a trip of this duration we don't need any layover days. As noted earlier, we like physically challenging trips and would like to have some climbs, though we're not masochists.
Type of trip - we can do either a loop or point-to-point, as long as transit's available to get to/from San Francisco.
A few additional notes: as we're from the East Coast, we do not usually hike at altitude. We took a day in Sequoia before starting the High Sierra Trail last year, and neither of us had any problems with altitude - fingers crossed for a repeat. Also, I am working on my fear of heights ... some of the dicier ledge sections on the High Sierra Trail really got to me last year. I don't mind having some sections with exposure, but I'd rather not cling to cliffsides for the whole trip. This also means Half Dome and Clouds Rest are NOT on our list.
Here are the possibilities we're considering now:
(1) Starting at Tuolumne and day hiking Mt. Dana before we start. Heading down to Vogelsang, then Merced Lake, then through Little Yosemite Valley to end in (Big?) Yosemite Valley. This is a very rough sketch based on suggestions I saw on a previous post on this topic, so if this sounds like a good idea, feel free to suggest more specifics. Or feel free to suggest a better/alternate route that starts in Tuolumne and ends in Yosemite Valley; I think transit is available to make that possible.
(2) Starting in Yosemite Valley. Bus up to Glacier Point; hike Illilouette Creek towards Merced Pass, then do a loop (direction not determined) past Fernandez Pass, Post Peak Pass, Isberg Pass, Red Peak, then back up Illilouette to Glacier Point. This appears to be tougher/more remote than my other possibility; correct?
(3)???
Final note: We are thinking early August this year. We did late August last year, and with the very dry season, we ran right into fire season. It looks like it may be even worse this year ... . Late July might actually be better than August - what do you think? Though we are almost too late to get permits for late July, depending on the trailhead, at this point.
All suggestions/criticisms/jokes at our expense are very welcome! Thanks so much for providing such a great center for information about hiking in the Sierra!