Early Season Yosemite Logistics

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Wandering Daisy
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Early Season Yosemite Logistics

Post by Wandering Daisy »

I love Yosemite Valley in the early season! It took a few trips to figure out the one-way roads, permits and complicated logistics. As my climbing faded, backpacking became my “ticket” to guaranteed “night before/night after” camping at the Backpacker’s (Group) Campground. Occasionally I scored a campsite at Camp 4 (same price, but becomes nearly impossible once climbing starts in earnest). In my opinion, the Valley is more spectacular than the backcountry in early season. But a backpack or two on the rims adds views looking down as well as up at iconic Yosemite Valley features. Peak water flow on the Merced River is spectacular all the way up to Merced Lake.


When combining backpacking and sight-seeing, arrive early morning, pick up a permit, tour the valley all day, park in the backpacker’s parking lot and walk to the Backpacker’s CG. A short first day (contingent on the “4-mile” rule) adds uncrowded early morning hours in the valley. Similarly, a short last day provides even more time in the valley. Traffic and parking are always issues in Yosemite. There is no parking near the Backpacker’s CG. Parking in Curry Village is technically illegal but I have done this, as have others. A specific backpacker’s parking lot is a bit further up the road.

To avoid Valley traffic, I often loop from Glacier Point, treating the Valley as an intermediate campsite. In this case you must get a second permit if continuing on a second overnight. I can drive, pick up a same day no-show permit at 11AM, arrive at Glacier Point by 1PM, avoiding the Valley traffic and make it to Little Yosemite Valley (crowded, annoying, but convenient). If driving time is longer, or you prefer to avoid LYV, you are often stuck in traffic, but a LYV “pass through” permit is easier to get. When Glacier Point Road is closed, I start at Tunnel View; going up Pohono Trail is not popular and also easier to get. Early season trips from Hetch Hetchy are also an option, as well as Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne once Tioga Pass is plowed. I have exclusively used “walk-in” permits. Reservations may be required this year, which may limit the ability to change routes due to unexpected snow conditions.

For an enjoyable trip, allow plenty of time for the logistics, be patient in traffic (views are spectacular even if you are creeping along), realize that Yosemite Valley is not a wilderness, and embrace sharing the trail with others until you get beyond the rim. Even when the Valley is full of people, you can step off the trails to bushwhack and wade along the banks of the Merced River. Don’t forget there is a wonderful 12-mile Valley Floor trail! As long as roads are open, Valley flooding is actually great for reflection photographs and the waterfalls are at their best. Thankfully the trails listed below have bridges across the large streams. Turn back if conditions become dangerous.

You can “mix and match” the trails shown below;

1) Pohono: South Rim, Glacier Point to Tunnel View
2) Panorama: Glacier Point to the JMT near the top of Nevada Falls
3) Four Mile: South Rim at Glacier Point to Valley
4) Mist: Vernal Falls bridge to top of Nevada Falls
5) JMT Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley and up Sunrise Creek
6) Merced Lake: LYV up the Merced River to Merced Lake
7) Unnamed Cross Trail: connects Echo Merced trail to JMT at Echo Valley
8) Yosemite Falls: North Rim at top of Yosemite Falls to the Valley
9) Snow Creek: Valley to the head of Snow Creek
10) North Rim: connects Snow Creek Trail to Yosemite Falls Trail via North Dome
11) Valley Loop: north and south trails the length of Yosemite Valley
12) The Old Glacier Point Road: Bridalveil Falls parking to the Pohono Trail
13) Off-shoot trails to Half Dome, Clouds Rest, top of El Capitan
14) North Rim Trail from Big Oak Road (need two cars- too far to walk, no public transportation)


My early season trips are shown below. Percent average April 1 snow and opening date of the Glacier Point Road are shown in parentheses. Post-2008 you can look up my old trips reports for details.

2001 (67%snow, GP 5/15)
Early May. Mist trail to LYV, climb Half Dome w/o cables, Panorama trail to Glacier Point, Four Mile Trail to Valley (unknown to us, officially closed due to being blocked by steep snow- we managed).
2001_MidMay_top Half Dome_edited-1.jpg



2002 (95%snow, GP 5/17)
3/30-31 Yosemite Falls to the top of El Capitan, climb Eagle Peak on return.
2002_Eagle Peak_edited-1.jpg



2003 (65%snow, GP 5/30)
6/6-6/8 Tuolumne Meadow to White Wolf, walked the road to Tioga Road, hitched to car.
2003_6-7_GCT (3).jpg



2006 (129%snow, GP 5/25)
6/4-6/8 Hetch Hetchy to Pleasant Valley, via Rancheria Falls, climb Piute Mtn.
2006_6-6_Wampma Falls.JPG
2006_6-8_PiuteMt.JPG



2007 (46%snow, GP 5/4)
4/30-5/3 Pohono Trail from Tunnel View to Glacier Point (road closed), Panorama Trail to stealth camp near Quarter Dome, Mist Trail to Valley. Valley Trail and Old Glacier Point Road back to Tunnel View.
2007_5-1_Crocker Pt.jpg



2008 (99%snow, GP 5/2)

4/20-21 Snow Creek overnight, climb Mt. Watkins.

5/31-6/1 (Corrected) This was done from Tioga Road. Tenaya Lake to Clouds Rest, climb Half Dome, Mist Trail to Valley (permit now required when cables up). Get new permit, Snow Creek, camp near buttress, continue to East Mt. Watkins buttress (great viewpoint!), camp along route, snow covered trail to Olmsted Point, hitch to car.
2008_4-20_Snow Cr Buttress.jpg
2008_6-2_TenayaCany.JPG




2009 (92%snow, GP 5/5)
6/4 Yosemite Falls and valley day hikes, from Camp 4. If only doing day-hikes you cannot use the Backpacker’s CG.
2009_6-4_top YosFals.jpg
2009_6-4_YosFalls.jpg
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Last edited by Wandering Daisy on Tue Mar 30, 2021 7:18 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: Early Season Yosemite Logistics

Post by Wandering Daisy »

2010 (107%snow, GP 5/29)
6/5-8 Mist Trail to LYV, Merced River trail to Merced Lake, return to LYV, Panorama trail to Glacier Point, Four Mile Trail to Valley.
2010_6-7_Merced waterwheels.jpg
2010_6-7_NevadaFalls.jpg
2010_6-10_Valley.jpg



2011 (178%snow, GP 5/27)
5/30-31 day hikes in Yosemite Valley, dispersed camped just outside the park.
6/17-19 Snow Creek Trail, North Rim trails to North Dome, Yosemite Point, Yosemite Falls Trail, Valley day hikes.
2011_5-30_Valley.jpg
2011_6-18_North Dome Arch.jpg



2012 (43%snow, GP 4/20)
4/23-24 JMT to top of Nevada Falls, Panorama Trail to Glacier Point, backed off Pohono Trail due to snow, stealth camp below Glacier Point, return to Nevada Falls, Mist Trail to Valley. Sometimes plans just do not work out!
6/5-9 (first day Tioga Road opened, White Wolf closed), Lukens Lake-White Wolf-Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne-Poly Dome Lakes-Ten Lakes-Lukens Lake.
2012_4-23_HalfDome_sunset.jpg
2012_6-6_RegisterCr_crossing.jpg
2012_6-9_Ten Lks.jpg


2013 (52%snow, GP 5/5/3)
4/29-30 Day hikes (camp at Camp4): Dewy Point from Tunnel View, cross-country along the banks of the Merced River through Valley, day-hike to base of Upper Yosemite Falls.
2013_4-29_Stanford Point.jpg
2013_5-1_Upper YosFalls.jpg
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Re: Early Season Yosemite Logistics

Post by Wandering Daisy »

2014 (33%snow, GP 4/14)

5/13-16 Panorama Trail from Glacier Point, pass through LYV to Merced Lake, cross trail to Clouds Rest junction, climb Clouds Rest, Mist Trail to Valley. Photograph in Valley next day.
2014_5-15_NevadaFalls2.jpg
2014_5-15_CloudsRest view.jpg



2016 (89%snow, GP 4/19)

5/12-14 Panorama Trail from Glacier Point to LYV, Mist trail to Valley, new permit for North Rim Traverse, camp near Snow Creek bridge, North Rim to Yosemite Falls Trail to Camp 4. Photograph Valley in morning, Four Mile Trail to car in afternoon
2016_5-13_Vernal_rainbow.jpg
2016_5-14_Upper Valley.jpg
2016_5-14_YosemiteFalls2.jpg
2016_5-16_Valley (2).jpg
2016_5-16_FourMileTr.jpg
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Re: Early Season Yosemite Logistics

Post by Wandering Daisy »

2017 (177%snow, GP 5/11)


5/22-23 Snow Creek Trail, solid snow to East Mt Watkins buttress (camp)
5-31-6/4 Panorama Trail from Glacier Point to LYV, day hike to Merced Lake, Mist Trail to Valley, day hike Yosemite Falls, afternoon hike down Valley, next day Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point to pick up car.
2017_5-22_EWatkins_Camp2.jpg
2017_5-31_GlacierPoint.jpg
2017_6-1_Merced River.jpg
2017_6-1_rattlesnake.jpg




2018 (67%snow, GP 4/28)


5/31-6/3 Grand Canyon Tuolumne, in-and-out from Tuolumne Meadows due to Pate Valley Bridge damage
2018_6-2_Waterwheel Falls3.jpg
2018_6-1_above PateV.jpg




2019 (176%snow, GP5/10)


6/4-9 Panorama Trail from Glacier Point to LYV, side trip to base of Half Dome, JMT, cross trail to Echo Valley, camp above Bunnell Cascades, Mist Trail to Valley. New permit, South Valley trail to Bridalveil Falls parking, Old Glacier Point Road to Pohono Trail, camp, continue to Glacier Point to car.

2019_6-5_above EchoV.jpg
2019_6-6_MercedRalt.jpg
2019_6-7_ElCap_viewMercedR.jpg
2019_6-7_Cathedral Rock.jpg
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Re: Early Season Yosemite Logistics

Post by LMBSGV »

I loved looking at your photos and thinking of all your marvelous trips and my possibilities for future trips. I've done Waterwheel twice, Eagle Peak (it snowed the last day) and North Dome. This year, I have a south rim Pohono Trail permit reserved for the lunar eclipse in May with conflicting feelings about the opening date for the Glacier Point Road. (When I got the permit, they still had the road being closed this year until they rescheduled it for next year.) If the road is still closed than there will be no day hikers, but I'll have to do the climb out of the Valley. If the road is open, they'll be day hikers, but I can switch the permit to one of the Glacier Point trailheads and avoid the climb, which at my age is definitely an advantage. But, right now, I'm still hoping the road won't be open since I prefer solitude.
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Re: Early Season Yosemite Logistics

Post by markskor »

Nice work above...Lots of memories there...Really like exploring the North Rim.
- A creature of habit, my usual first of the season "warm up" hike has been Porcupine Flat down the Snow Creek switches...try to do this first thing after the road opens as I dislike walkng up out of the Valley - with first hike legs. Another variant was to do PF to the north rim and down Yosemite Creek. Both excellent short overnight trips well documented by WD's picture essay above.
- Waterwheel Falls will be at its highest point right now, but due to a low snowfall year, probably not a grand year, especially a few months from now.
- During "High Water", the Yosemite Valley backpacker camp entrance (from Stables), the entrance can become cut off by a rising Tenaya Creek...You come in instead from the Ahwahnee but stop... (when/if the buses run.)
- The Mist Trail's rainbows are best early season.
- The last few seasons, my early season trips have coincided with the Solstice...AKA Naked Hiking Day. Think about it if you are out June 21.
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Re: Early Season Yosemite Logistics

Post by thegib »

I liked lots of those shots, but especially the b & w. Thanks.
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Re: Early Season Yosemite Logistics

Post by Wandering Daisy »

Only in the years with significantly more snow than average is Glacier Point Road closed at the end of May. I would expect the road to be open during the lunar eclipse this year.

Going up Pohono Trail is actually not that bad. Just take it slow- it is not too steep. Glacier Point parking can be a mess when the road opens unless you get there very early. Sometimes you have to wait in line for an hour. If they do not run the shuttle bus from down-road parking this year I think it could be very crowded.
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Re: Early Season Yosemite Logistics

Post by bwd »

Great photos. This has me excited about a potential trip over Memorial Day weekend [https://caltopo.com/m/NC37]. I made some wild guesses about what would be manageable at that point [based largely on my memory of what Memorial Day weekend looked like snow-wise from when I used to live at 9k in CO] and am now really hoping that my guesses aren't wildly off!
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Re: Early Season Yosemite Logistics

Post by Wandering Daisy »

Crossing the outlet of Tenaya Lake is very difficult at peak flows. Not sure that would go. But if not, just go back down the way you came. If Tioga Road is open (possible this year) you could perhaps hitch back to the valley if unable to get across the outlet.

Sorry I did not correctly describe the June 2008 trip. Your trip plan jogged my memory! It is now corrected. Here is the way it really went. I met a friend at Lee Vining and just then a big storm came in and Tioga Road was temporarily closed. We waited around, climbing Glass Peak on the east side, day-hiked from Virginia Lake and did some rock climbing. After a couple of days, the road opened. We were barely able to cross Tenaya Lake outlet, and wallowed in the fresh snow on the north facing slope. But once on the ridge of Clouds Rest it became easier. Then just patchy snow back to the Valley, climbing Half Dome on the way. Then we went up Snow Creek, camping on the Buttress. Next day walked up past Watkins, took a trail (almost solid snow) up to Tioga Road at Olmstead Point and hitched back to the cars. That was a 99% snow year. This year is likely to be more like 50-60%.
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