JMT alternatives near Clouds Rest

[slickhorn]

Hello all,

I'm doing a leisurely JMT hike this year in mid August. We missed thru permits from Happy Isles, so our current permit is HI to Illilouettte valley. Here are a couple of questions I have:

Where can we camp night 1? We think night 2 will be the JMT/Clouds Rest trail junction, unless we can get the permit changed day of the hike.

Should we consider Granite Pt instead of Happy Isles to start out hike? Panorama trail sounds great.

What is the best route for us to take into TM from Clouds Rest? We're not married to returning straight away to the JMT.

We'd like to spend 2 nights between Clouds Rest and 1000 Island Lake. Any suggestions on camps or routes? Ideally, we'd like to keep Tuolomne Meadows to a lunch stop and not end up there for the night. Thinking Sunrise lakes then the Irene lake trail junction along the Lyell fork. Is that reasonable?

Thanks very much!
-b

[AlmostThere]

You have a permit for Ilillouette. If you don't camp there, and you are caught, you will be fined and potentially walked out of the wilderness. That depends on the ranger's discretion. So your first night's camp, unless you decide to press your luck, will be in the Ilillouette drainage. Beyond your starting trailhead and first night on the trail, pretty much anything goes. You should have a Happy Isles- Sunrise passthrough for a first night near Clouds Rest.

If you get another permit from Glacier Point then your first night will be either Ilillouette or Little Yosemite Valley. This would mean you won't have to backtrack as you will with the above scenario.

There are some good spots near the Ireland Lake trail junction on the Lyell fork, but you will be fighting some pretty heavy condensation. If we ever do that leg of the JMT again I will push for heading out of the valley toward Donahue and camping higher, somewhere close to the headwaters. Donahue is a long slog up to the pass.

BTW, you are describing a hike that is not in my definition of leisurely. Getting to Thousand Island from Lyell took us two days. And we were camped further in than Ireland junction.

[slickhorn]

that's some good advice. The more I look at mileages and the fact that we will lose a day to deal with getting a 2nd tier permit that requires us to go the wrong way ... I'm considering changing this up altogether.

Anyone have any feedback on doing the Merced lakes -> Evelyn lake route to get to TM from YV?

I assume that's a less brutal alternative than the additional climbing of Clouds Rest.

I don't think we can get to Yosemite early enough to change our permit, and if we could but failed, we'd have nowhere to stay our second night in the valley.

[sierranomad]

Anyone have any feedback on doing the Merced lakes -> Evelyn lake route to get to TM from YV?

I assume that's a less brutal alternative than the additional climbing of Clouds Rest.

Merced/Vogelsang/Evelyn is my favorite link between TM & YV. But I've always done it starting at TM, and everytime I am thankful that I didn't start at YV. I think "brutal" would be a pretty good word for it.

[bbmq]

I agree, the elevation gain from LYV to Vogelsang Pass is greater than that of Clouds Rest>Sunrise>TM, I think Vogelsang Pass is about 10,500 and Clouds Rest and Cathedral Pass are a little under 10,000. Clouds Rest is a must to do if you haven't been there before but I agree with sierranomad, the Merced>Vogelsang>Lyell is quite a nice hike. Then from Lyell you could head to Thousand Isle and on to Mammoth Lakes and take a shuttle back after an overnight stay (campground or hotel).

[centurycyclist]

you probably got most of the info that you needed, but let me add " what goes up, must come down"---I have hiked Happy Isles to Merced Lake HSC in one day, then on to Vogelsang the next over the pass. No small feat. Then, there is a climb out of Vogelsang towards Ireland Lake but then it goes DOWN-DOWN-DOWN to Lyell Canyon. As we went UP-UP-UP from Lyell to Vogelsang. You need to assess your fitness and the fitness of those you are traveling with. and the mental perseverance. Unless those you are with are NOT in shape for this serious climbing, I would not walk away from anything you a describing. That being said, 18 miles is a long day on foot for the best of the best. Have a great hike!