High Sierra Topix

I'm hiking the JMT north to south, starting July 14, and my schedule includes a day in the Yosemite Valley before I start. I'm thinking I'd like to do a day hike that day to see some scenery (and possibly to pick up a tiny bit more altitude acclimatization to ease the transition as I head up to Tuolumne).

The three hikes I'm considering are:

- Glacier Point (possibly continuing up to Sentinel Dome -- is it worth bagging?)
- Pohono Trail up to around Dewey Point
- Tenaya Lake and Tuolumne Meadows Trail up to the valley rim

I've already done the Yosemite Falls trail, so I don't want to do it again on this trip.

By the criteria in the "rules for requesting trip advice" sticky, I guess I'm a level 3-4, want a class 1 day hike, and am mainly interested in scenery.

Thanks!

-Ben

Depending on the heat, you may not want to do a difficult day-hike and instead rest up for the JMT! A really fun option is to rent a bicycle and tour the valley on bike, eat ice cream, see a movie in the air-conditioned theater, drink a beer and dangle your feet in the Merced. If you want to do something rigorous you will want to start very early AM. The south side is cooler - Four-Mile Trail is pretty. I really think the north-side hike to Yosemite Point is fantastic, but it is facing the sun so an early start is really important. You can cool off in the mist of Yosemite Falls. The north-side Snow Creek trail switchbacks offer a great view of Half Dome, but are brutally hot. If you do Pohono, do the upper part - from Glacier Point to Taft Point. If you are a real glutton for punishment, do the North Rim Traverse (20 miles, 6,000 feet gain) up Yosemite Falls and down Snow Creek trail. Personally I think you would be better off taking it easy before the JMT rather than trying to "train" for it.

Thanks, Wandering Daisy -- that's very helpful! I'm not trying to train for the JMT the day before -- just want to see some scenery while I have the day free. I find the overly developed valley floor to be kind of depressing. I think I'll do the hike up to Glacier Point, maybe bag Sentinel Dome while I'm up there.