TR: Indian Ridge/North Dome May 26-28
Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 8:19 pm
When we got up to the permit station at Big Oak Flat at 11am on Saturday morning, there was a long line of people all asking the same question: where can we go as an alternative to our pre-booked Tioga Rd permit? By the time we got to the front of the line (out on the cold patio) it was pretty clear there were no decent options for our group of three (myself, my 6 yr old son and his 8 yr old friend), given our constraints of no big climbs and preferably only about 3 miles in from the road (the reason we'd chosen the Porcupine Creek trailhead in the first place). So we settled for a permit for 1 night going in Sunday, with a view to spending Saturday afternoon at Hetch Hetchy and camping in the backpackers campground there (my previous experience with a Memorial Day in Yosemite Valley had convinced me to avoid that at all costs). We had a leisurely lunch at Evergreen Lodge and headed over the Hetch Hetchy entrance at just after 1 o'clock. I told the ranger we'd be staying at the backpackers campground, jokingly saying "unless the Tioga Road is open" and her colleague said "well I just heard that they opened it 10 minutes ago".
A quick about turn had us heading up into the cloud and snow, and I was feeling less and less convinced that this was a good move, especially when it started snowing heavily on us while I was getting the backpacks sorted out. Nevertheless, at just after 3pm we headed out into the snow, which was about 4-6 inches deep in places, with roughly 100-200 yards visibility.
We met a few people coming back from short day hikes who wondered why we were heading out in the late afternoon, but in the end it turned out very well and the clouds started to ease a bit. The path was also easy to follow, with many footprints in the snow. We camped on top of Indian Ridge (just under 3 miles in), just across from where the path goes up to the arch and found two couples there who suggested we join them to share the fire. They had come in on Friday afternoon and spent the entire day in the tent, because it was so cloudy. However, the skies did start to clear a little at dusk and we got a nice sunset.
On Sunday morning we awoke to a hard frost (probably around 24 degrees) but clear, blue skies and still a lot of snow around on the trees. So we headed down to North Dome for a day hike.
After getting back to the campsite around 1pm, we had a lazy afternoon, because my son was running a bit of a fever and I didn't think it would be a great idea to make him walk another 3 miles out. We had pleasant sunny weather (around 60 degrees), with the snow virtually all gone. Despite the hordes of people on the trail only 100 yards away, we weren't disturbed at all and I had time to take a quick look at Indian Arch.
After a very nice sunset, Sunday night wasn't quite as cold, but still frosty, and we packed up quickly and headed out by just after 8am on Monday morning, through a completely transformed forest, with hardly any snow and temperatures that were even warmer - it was almost 60 degrees by 10am. We didn't see any skeeters at all, and it looks like the hard frost may have helped keep them down for a few more days.
Great trip - highly recommended for families, and water wasn't as much of a problem as I anticipated. There is a permanent stream just before the final climb to Indian Ridge plus a seasonal snowmelt trickle on the opposite side of the ridge which proved more accessible (less of a climb back up) when we were there.
A quick about turn had us heading up into the cloud and snow, and I was feeling less and less convinced that this was a good move, especially when it started snowing heavily on us while I was getting the backpacks sorted out. Nevertheless, at just after 3pm we headed out into the snow, which was about 4-6 inches deep in places, with roughly 100-200 yards visibility.
We met a few people coming back from short day hikes who wondered why we were heading out in the late afternoon, but in the end it turned out very well and the clouds started to ease a bit. The path was also easy to follow, with many footprints in the snow. We camped on top of Indian Ridge (just under 3 miles in), just across from where the path goes up to the arch and found two couples there who suggested we join them to share the fire. They had come in on Friday afternoon and spent the entire day in the tent, because it was so cloudy. However, the skies did start to clear a little at dusk and we got a nice sunset.
On Sunday morning we awoke to a hard frost (probably around 24 degrees) but clear, blue skies and still a lot of snow around on the trees. So we headed down to North Dome for a day hike.
After getting back to the campsite around 1pm, we had a lazy afternoon, because my son was running a bit of a fever and I didn't think it would be a great idea to make him walk another 3 miles out. We had pleasant sunny weather (around 60 degrees), with the snow virtually all gone. Despite the hordes of people on the trail only 100 yards away, we weren't disturbed at all and I had time to take a quick look at Indian Arch.
After a very nice sunset, Sunday night wasn't quite as cold, but still frosty, and we packed up quickly and headed out by just after 8am on Monday morning, through a completely transformed forest, with hardly any snow and temperatures that were even warmer - it was almost 60 degrees by 10am. We didn't see any skeeters at all, and it looks like the hard frost may have helped keep them down for a few more days.
Great trip - highly recommended for families, and water wasn't as much of a problem as I anticipated. There is a permanent stream just before the final climb to Indian Ridge plus a seasonal snowmelt trickle on the opposite side of the ridge which proved more accessible (less of a climb back up) when we were there.