High Sierra Topix

Hi.
I have a permit for August to start a multi-day hike from Glacier Point down to Illilouette Basin and eventually via Red Peak Pass, Merced Lake and finishing at Happy Isles. I'm guessing I can leave our car somewhere in the Valley. I'm guessing we can do about 9 miles per day so 5 days total. Is this reasonable for anyone who may have done this incomplete loop before?

I believe we can use the backpacker's campground one day prior and one day after the hike without a reservation. Is this correct?

I know there's a tour bus that takes you from the Valley to Glacier Point. Isn't cheap. Are there others that might take one to Glacier Point for cheaper?
Thanks in advance.

Just hike the 4 mile trail. It adds... 5 miles plus a bus ride from Happy Isles to the 4 mile TH.

You could probably do it a hitch hike from Wawona Dr, but it would almost certainly be faster just to hike.

Could also just not do a loop. Spend your time in the Clark Range, and then just go back to Glacier Point. Little Yosemite Valley & the Merced Lake area is nice enough, but isn't must-see scenery in the opinion of most. Knocking around the Peak Fork of the Merced at lakes like Red Devil & Edna should provide plenty of side questing. Day hike the Mist trail some other time when it has more water than August.

As to whether that loop is too long for you, well you know your own fitness best.

I am thinking of doing this same hike August of 2026. I have not heard of the 4 mile TH. Is this a trail from the valley that takes you to Glacier Point? Been watching the available permits at Happy Isles to Illilouette. It doesn't seem to be a problem reserving a permit for a solo hiker.

Stick out your , flash a and show a little!

Serious though. Hitching is legal in California. No shortage of cars going from the Valley to Glacier point.

I always just hike the 4-mile trail. I usually haul my pack up because in high use season getting back through the traffic to backpacker's campground or Curry Village is so slow. It is a beautiful trail; I consider it a part of the total trip. Get an early start to beat the heat.

Have you thought about simply starting from the Valley? LYV permits may be hard to get, but a "pass-through" is often available.

I find it interesting that there are only 5 permits per day from Happy Isles to Illilouette Basin and a whopping 50 permits per day from Glacier Point (30) and Mono Meadows (20). The three trails all come together at the Illiouette Basin where you have to camp your first night.

Is this a trail from the valley that takes you to Glacier Point?

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/ ... etrail.htm

bald tires wrote: ↑Sun Apr 13, 2025 7:12 am I find it interesting that there are only 5 permits per day from Happy Isles to Illilouette Basin and a whopping 50 permits per day from Glacier Point (30) and Mono Meadows (20). The three trails all come together at the Illiouette Basin where you have to camp your first night.

It’s about parking and hiker traffic, not where you camp.

I wonder about that. There is no parking at the Mono Meadows TH and seems to be limited parking at Glacier Point. I know that you can park overnight at Glacier point for the duration of your trip. Even if only half of the permittees park a car at Glacier Point that would quickly add up to over a 100 cars or more per night. I don't buy the hiker traffic either. It is only 2.8 miles up the trail from Happy Isles to the junction to the trail to Illilouette. So adding another 5 to 10 permits to Happy Isles and decreasing the permits from Glacier Point isn't going to make any impact on the number of people hiking out of Happy Isles. Could there be a need to get more people to take the bus to Glacier Point be the real reason behind the difference in the permit allocations? I don't know. I haven't driven into Yosemite in decades and don't plan to in the future. I always take Amtrak to Merced and Yarts into the park. Easier for me to hike out of Happy Isles.

It may have a lot to do with keeping cars out of the valley. They could be using the amount of in-valley parking as the limit on how many cars they let in at the entrances. This also keeps backpackers on less used trails.