You're looking at some really busy popular places. There are camping restrictions in many of them... Knowing the fire restrictions and not succumbing to the lure of illegal fire rings will help. Proper food storage also essential. Rangers travel those trails all the time looking for reasons to write tickets.
A fire last year burned sections around CR and LYV - there are some un-scenic areas there.
Remember that a fallback (and a gorgeous, never disappointing, easy option) is Twenty Lakes Basin out of Saddlebag. Get the permit at the Tuolumne Wilderness office, no quota, rent a bear can - it's national forest but above treeline so no place to hang things properly - and wander the lakes basin, avoiding Conness Lakes and other no-camping areas to set up a tent. No fires, superlative scenery.
Honeymooning in Yosemite
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Re: Honeymooning in Yosemite
I just wanted to follow up and thank everyone for the input. We had a great time backpacking on my now wife's first multi-night trip. We stayed flexible and got to see some amazing places. She's already looking forward to the next one. The itinerary went like this:
Entry: Cathedral lakes trail to lower Cathedral Lake. We left the car down in the valley and took the free coach up to the ranger station. Hiked to the lake and spent an entire 24 hours soaking in the area.
Day 2: Cathedral to Upper Sunrise Lake. We hiked later in the day and had the whole place to ourselves. Swam, had a fire, and caught a few brookies for dinner. They were hiding out in deeper water due to the heat. Though I admittedly wasn't too excited about this location, it turned out to be really nice.
Day 3: Sunrise Lake to Clouds Rest. Rained on the way up. Soaked in the views from the summit in complete solitude, then went down and found a great spot in the trees overlooking Tenaya Canyon.
Day 4: Clouds Rest to Washburn Lake. 11+ miles, but mostly downhill or moderate incline. The sky opened up and dumped rain and hail in the afternoon. Rain Continued into the night. We were alone again at Washburn, but the weather tested our resolve. Luckily, I am resistant to cold, and had hot chocolate, soup, and spicy chili to smooth things over with the wife. The next morning I caught rainbows and brookies (first 4 casts, first 4 fish). Even the wife caught one on her first cast.
Day 5: Washburn Lake to, well a few miles down the Merced River. We planned to hike closer to Little Yosemite in order to hike Half Dome the next day. But, as soon as the clouds came back, we pitched the tent by the river to wait it out. We waited... all day. It turned out to be a good time, stuck in the tent together.
Day 6: Downstream of Merced Lake to Happy Isles. Our last day we followed the Merced down to the Valley. Walking past Half Dome, we were thinking it would have been fun (we had permits), but had come to grips with the fact that the weather chose our final itinerary. She wants to come back and, instead of following the conga line up the cables, climb Snake Dike (score!)
Where are the pictures? Well, I managed to loose my camera somewhere between Yosemite and the end of our trip. Huge bummer,but more reason to go back.
Entry: Cathedral lakes trail to lower Cathedral Lake. We left the car down in the valley and took the free coach up to the ranger station. Hiked to the lake and spent an entire 24 hours soaking in the area.
Day 2: Cathedral to Upper Sunrise Lake. We hiked later in the day and had the whole place to ourselves. Swam, had a fire, and caught a few brookies for dinner. They were hiding out in deeper water due to the heat. Though I admittedly wasn't too excited about this location, it turned out to be really nice.
Day 3: Sunrise Lake to Clouds Rest. Rained on the way up. Soaked in the views from the summit in complete solitude, then went down and found a great spot in the trees overlooking Tenaya Canyon.
Day 4: Clouds Rest to Washburn Lake. 11+ miles, but mostly downhill or moderate incline. The sky opened up and dumped rain and hail in the afternoon. Rain Continued into the night. We were alone again at Washburn, but the weather tested our resolve. Luckily, I am resistant to cold, and had hot chocolate, soup, and spicy chili to smooth things over with the wife. The next morning I caught rainbows and brookies (first 4 casts, first 4 fish). Even the wife caught one on her first cast.
Day 5: Washburn Lake to, well a few miles down the Merced River. We planned to hike closer to Little Yosemite in order to hike Half Dome the next day. But, as soon as the clouds came back, we pitched the tent by the river to wait it out. We waited... all day. It turned out to be a good time, stuck in the tent together.
Day 6: Downstream of Merced Lake to Happy Isles. Our last day we followed the Merced down to the Valley. Walking past Half Dome, we were thinking it would have been fun (we had permits), but had come to grips with the fact that the weather chose our final itinerary. She wants to come back and, instead of following the conga line up the cables, climb Snake Dike (score!)
Where are the pictures? Well, I managed to loose my camera somewhere between Yosemite and the end of our trip. Huge bummer,but more reason to go back.
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