Trailhead quota and itinerary advice

[gudecheese]

I am currently planning a 2-3 week car camping trip for a group of three 25 year olds (in good shape) and could really use some help figuring out what to do for our first time in Yosemite.

We will be arriving early Monday June 22 (score a site at Camp 4) and have anywhere from 3-6 days to spend in the park. I think for our first day there we will do the 4-mile to panorama hike, and then Upper Yosemite Falls on the second.

After that I would like to do a one night backpack:
- If possible I would like to start from the Cathedral Lakes trailhead, camp near the sunrise lakes, do Clouds Rest and end in the valley. We don't have permits and would have to rely on a walk up, but I'm not very sure how the trailhead quotas work. If there is no space available, (last few pages of the link). would walk up permits still be given?
- Is it too ambitious to complete Cathedral Lakes - Yosemite Valley in 2 days/1 night? It would be at the end of our trip and we might be pretty tired by then. If thats the case we could start at Sunrise Lakes (walk up permit permitting).
- Another option would be to hike to Young Lakes (reservations are still available). I was thinking about starting from Glen Aulin and exiting via Dog Lake. Not sure if this would be worth it due to our car, would it be better to hike out the way we went in? Also I saw that Tuolumne recently got a bunch of snow. Will snow/mud still be a factor when we visit? We will be traveling with a first time backpacker and I'm not sure how she would fair in those conditions.
- Any other suggestions for a one night backpack are welcome

Here is our entire itinerary if you're curious. This is the first time I have planned or taken part in a trip of this length. I have spent a lot of time researching but have been overwhelmed by all the things to do. Feel free to critique our plans (either in Yosemite or elsewhere.) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[balzaccom]

There are two quotas for most trailheads. One is for reserved spots, the other is for walk-ins. So there are almost always a few spots for each trailhead beyond the reserved quota.

Yes, you can hike from Cathedral Lakes to the Valley in two days---if you are young, get off to an early start each day, and keep moving. It's mainly all downhill, so that part is also easier, at least at your age. But as you note, there are other great hikes in Yosemite . Young Lakes is one. Ten Lakes Basin is another. If you are willing to do some cross country, there are more. And there are NO quotas for Twenty Lakes Basin, east of Tioga Pass, and that is lovely country as well.

Why Camp 4? Yeah, it has a grand old story...but remember a couple of things: With a backpacking permit, you can camp one night before your trip, and one night after your trip, in the backpacker's campgrounds in either Yosemite Valley or Tuolumne Meadows. If you're hiking out of Cathedral Lakes, you might be able to score a campsite at Porcupine Flat or even Tuolumne Meadows if you get there early in the morning. As with the trailhead quotas, there are always a few sites that are available first come, first serve. Camp 4 is the least attractive campground in the park, in my opinion....

[gudecheese]

Thanks for your reply!

I chose camp 4 since we have no reservations and that is the only campsite available on a first come basis (would need it for our first night).

Would you recommend making a reservation for one of the other trails over Cathedral Lakes -> Valley? It would make our lives easier (dont have to worry about finding a walk up campsite or wilderness permit) but Clouds Rest seems like such an iconic place and I don't know when I'll be back.


Edit:
In another forum it was recommended that we skip the Upper Yosemite Falls (lack of water in late June and in their opinion it wouldn't be worth the switchbacks). Do you agree? In that case we could probably backpack for 2 nights, or still backpack one night and do a day hike to ten or twenty lakes basin.

[balzaccom]

I am a little confused. If you take a trail in Yosemite with the intention of backpacking, you need a permit to do that. Doesn't matter which trail. I would make a reservation for a trail that would work for you, simply because there are three of you, and the more people the more difficult to get the permit you want. If you HAVE a permit, you can still go in and see if they will change it for a different trailhead...

But the reserved permit guarantees that you can camp at one of the backpacking campgrounds the day before and the day after your trip.

My favorite day hikes in Yosemite are Clouds Rest, North Dome, Dewey Point via Sentinel Dome and Taft Point, Gaylor Lakes, Pothole Dome, Wawona, Lembert Dome, more or less in that order. They are all wonderful. If you've NEVER been to the Valley, then you should hike up to Vernal and Nevada Falls, just because. But it will be packed with people, and the falls this year will be less spectacular than usual. Give yourself time to relax and enjoy the park experience...walk out into the meadows on the Valley floor, drive up and explore Tuolumne Meadows...

If you have to, camp at Hodgdon Meadows, Porcupine Flat...anywhere that is within an hour of the trails you want to hike. The valley is spectacular, but it's not the only place to stay, and it is certainly more urban than the rest of the park.

Check out our website for all of the hikes you can do in Yosemite....and see how many you can check off!

[AlmostThere]

If you check recreation.gov once a week for a while, I bet someone will cancel one of those campsites in the Pines. I have gotten a campsite the week prior by just checking - since ID is required, the only way to recoup money is to cancel the reservation - no trading or selling sites is possible any more. So they let it go and it appears on the website to be snagged by the next hopeful camper.

Then you could base camp and day hike yourself silly. Clouds is a long hike from Happy Isles, but, with a car you can drive up and do it from Sunrise trailhead. It's a great day hike. You could spend a day hiking around the valley, up to the falls, and generally bask in the beauty of the valley. You can go up and hike to North Dome (a more moderate day hike) and visit the Indian Arch. You can go out to Tuolumne Meadows and day hike around. Visit May Lake too, or Gaylor Lakes. You could probably spend four weeks day hiking around and not see everything.... the only place you won't be able to see would be the Mariposa Grove of sequoias. It's closed for a couple of years, unless you want to hike in from Wawona or all the way up from Fish Camp.

And yeah, you can get a permit and backpack. But a lot of the really big icons of the park are not backpack-able.

I would go up Monday early and get a campsite in Tuolumne Meadows, myself. 50% of those sites are for walk ins. The weekenders would be moving out so even if you got there early and got put on a waiting list, you'd get something. I got waitlisted Friday morning and by 2 pm we were setting up in a site. Lots of good day hikes out of TM, and you can easily drive down to the valley to do the rest.

[gudecheese]

Man I really wish I had come across your website sooner. So much great info on there.

This is my new plan:
- Make a Tuesday reservation for Young Lakes
- Arrive at the Valley backpackers camp late Sunday night/early Monday morning (Would this be allowed? It would be the day before our reservation but we would be sleeping here for 2 nights)
- Monday: day hike 4 mile trail to Panorama, sleep in the same backpackers camp
- Tuesday: Drive to Young Lakes, backpack
- Wednesday night: TM backpackers camp
- Thursday: Day hike to Clouds Rest
- Drive out for flight

I saw that you guys prefer Dog Lake to Glen Aulin as the start for Young Lakes. Any reason in particular? I was thinking about starting from Glen Aulin and exiting via Dog Lake (I think we could shuttle from our car to the trailhead?)

Edit:
AlmostThere: Sorry I didnt see your post, I was typing mine up. I am really overwhelmed by all the options haha. What do you think of my new plan? I would like some seclusion (hence the backpacking) but at the same time I would like to get the most out of my visit to the park.

[AlmostThere]

you're not going to be able to stay in the backpacker camp multiple nights. The Valley Camp is very heavily policed, and unless you are there the night before or the night after your permit, you'll be tossed out on your ear.

[gudecheese]

Fair enough. I had thought that since we will technically arrive the day before our reservation we could get away with it, but it does feel like cheating the system. Your suggestion is looking like the new frontrunner, thanks.