High Sierra Topix

Here are the time and miles for the pieces of this trip

Day 1: 6.8 miles, 4.5 hours +1090 feet -2050 feet (this actually is the easiest way to LYV)

Day 2: day-hike to Merced Lake 15 miles, 9.2 hours 1700 feet gain and loss

Day 3: 4 miles descending to Happy Isles, 2.8 hours - 2250 feet
3.5 miles ascending Yosemite Falls, 4.0 hours, +3300 feet

Day 4: back down Yosemite Falls trail 3.5 miles, 2.7 hours, -3300 feet
day-hike part of Valley loop trail 6.3 miles, mostly flat

Day 5: Four Mile trail to Glacier Point
2.3 mile detour to start of trail, 4.6 miles up trail, total 6.9 miles, 4.5 hours +3410 feet

This trip is just one example of how to combine backpacking, day hiking, and time in Yosemite Valley. Unfortunately, they do not allow you to get a "pass through" permit from one side of the Valley to the other, so I had to get a second permit to go up to Yosemite Falls, even though I did not spend a night in the Valley. They wrote a note that I was allowed to carry overnight gear up to Glacier Point to return to my car without a new permit. Someone asked about training hiking in Yosemite Valley with overnight gear. Try to talk to the rangers and get a written note.

Great hiking trips! I really admire the first two photos you took of the burn zone. The second with the vertical trees is very artful Daisy, almost an abstract.
Your rattlesnake photo is also well-composed- are you fearless? We found one with a blue-bellied lizard sticking out of its mouth, and photo'd that macabre scene, but not as clear as your shot. Nicely done.

WD, thanks for the trip report and photos. You said that the water flows on the Merced seemed lower than your June 2010 trip. I'm wondering if the highest flow is yet to come. It's been a cool May overall, and there is an awful lot of snow blanketing the upper Merced watershed in the satellite photos.
-Phil

Love your pictures and report. Thanks for sharing.

Harlen, I lived in Wyoming for more than 20 years and rattlesnakes were very common. I nearly stepped on that poor snake. He really was small compared to other larger ones I have seen in this area of Yosemite. Every time I have gone up that trail I have seen rattlesnakes. There must be a fairly stable population of them there. Rattlesnakes really do not want to strike you; they just want to warn you. I did use the zoom feature on my camera- I was actually about 4 feet away when I took that photo.

Wildhiker- hard to say about the Merced River levels. Daily fluctuations make one day's observations somewhat meaningless. Lines of debris and still wet ground indicated that the river had been higher recently. The day I did that hike was the day after an unusually cool few days. The melt this year seems to be going steady and moderate. If it warms up significantly in the higher elevations, you may be right about peak flows yet to come. Sunday morning water level was higher- I have never seen the water as high at Swinging Bridge, which is downstream of the Merced gage at Pohono (CDEC gage), after both Tenaya Creek and Yosemite Creek have entered the Merced. Teneya is pretty high right now. We could be in for a long, steady, high flow melt which means crossings will be difficult for a long time.

I am really curious if the bridges in the Grand Canyon of the Tuolume will be washed out this year. Has anyone been up that yet?

Wow, nice pictures and a very interesting adventure. Thanks.

Every time I have gone up that trail I have seen rattlesnakes. There must be a fairly stable population of them there. Wandering Daisy

Have you considered the possibility that the rattlesnakes are following you? Yikes!

Simply breathtaking. Enjoyed greatly! Thanks.