White wolf and vogelsang

[tmrettig]

Hi there!

From the White Wolf Campground, how close is the first backcountry site hiking toward Harden Lake/Grand Canyon of Tuolumne?
Are there water sources nearby?

From Tuolumne to Vogelsang, how dry has it gotten? Are there water sources nearby?

Has anyone been to Merced Lake recently? Is it full?

Thanks!
-Tracy

[balzaccom]

You can camp at Harden Lake--although it's only a little more than 3 miles from the campground (which I think is closed this year.) If you are headed down into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, the next spot with water is where the trail crosses Morrison Creek. Harden Lake dries out a bit over the course of the summer...and consequently shrinks in size.

The trail up to Vogelsang runs roughly along Rafferty Creek, which may not be roaring, but it will have water. You'll have to hike over to it a bit, as the trail runs parallel, but not directly next to the creek. There is piped water at Vogelsang HSC...and streams and lakes nearby.

If the Merced River is running at all ( and it is) Merced Lake will be full. The river runs right through it, and has to fill the lake to overflowing before it can continue down to Nevada and Vernal Falls.

[Phil]

Hi again,

The majority of the trail to Harden lake is a dirt road, and you'll parallel the creek for almost the entire length of it. You won't run dry unless you're guzzling vast quantities between White Wolf and Harden Lake. Harden lake is also not exactly "backcountry". You'll definitely see more day hikers than backpackers that just happen to be passing through to somewhere else. The campground at White Wolf is open, it's the tent cabins and store that are closed this year for renovations. If you're headed down to Pate Valley, better camping is either Pate Valley itself (lots of bears!), or if you want a shorter distance on day 1, along with a great view down the valley to Hetch Hetchy, as well as a reliable water source, the top of Morrison Creek where it opens up past the boggy area is a good bet. You'll know it when you see it. There is a nice site to the right, adjacent to the creek, but if you hike over to the left and just over the rise, you'll see a bunch of roomy ledges that are fantastic spots.

I haven't been up to Vogelsang this year, but Rafferty should have at least some water flowing. Merced Lake/River will be just fine. As an alternate route, getting to Vogelsang via Lyell Canyon and Ireland Creek is very scenic and has better water and camp sites at the bottom of Ireland Creek about 6-ish miles out from Tuolumne Meadows, assuming you can get a permit.

[balzaccom]

The campground at White Wolf is open, it's the tent cabins and store that are closed this year for renovations.

Thanks for the correction, Phil!

[tmrettig]

Thanks all!

I goofed, taking your suggestions to my topo, I realized I read the wrong lake. I'll be hiking from White Wolf toward Luden Lake, eastward. Does anyone have any suggestions that direction? That's where our trailhead entry permit is for. We are taking the free hiker shuttle there at 5pm, so a short hike in would be necessary.

-Tracy

[Phil]

No worries. Unfortunately, I don't believe you can camp at Lukens Lake...within 1 mile of the road...too close. Also, mostly tons of day hikers coming in from White Wolf. It's obviously you're entry trail head is White Wolf, but I'm not clear on what your permitted exit point is. That would help. You're either going down Yosemite Creek, or you're headed east towards the 10 Lakes Trail. Makes a big difference in planning and advice for it, but if you're coming in at 5pm (from the Valley?...you'll make your trail head, assuming the shuttle is running on time, about 6:30-ish), you might want to consider staying at the backpackers' camp at White Wolf on night 1, then head out in the morning. A slight change in your permit will be necessary for the dates to be right, but neither of your two trail options are usually fully impacted in my experience, and there's always doing it as a walk-in within 24 hours of your departure.

[tmrettig]

So Phil, I could only get a backcountry permit for WW campground, not sure which direction I need to hike in. The shuttle arrives at WW at 5. I assume I need to stay 4 miles in. The next morning, we are hiking BACK out to the shuttle to drive up to Tuolumne to stay at the backpacker's camp, then off to Vogelsang, then Merced Lake, then the Valley.

WW was the only overnight permit available for the night I needed to start. I didn't want to risk a walk-up permit, but will ask for one when we arrive for entering at Glen Aulin or Tuolumne instead.

-Tracy

[Phil]

Hi Tracy,

Besides stating your entry point (White Wolf), you have to know where you're planning on exiting and which trail you're going to take for the permit to be issued. It's required. I haven't done a permit by reservation (only walk-up) in many years, so you'll have to tell me what's on your confirmation form. It's got to be there somewhere. Traveling from Berkeley, you can pick up your actual permit at the permit office at Big Oak Flat right when you enter the park gate. You should also be able to sort out any changes from there at the same time. You can go at least 3 different directions from WW, and the problem is, if you're not on your designated trail and a wilderness ranger stops you and asks to see your permit, you're almost definitely going to be cited and forced to leave. If you're just planning to overnight it at the backpacker's camp at WW, and only really have the permit in order to facilitate travel dates, I wouldn't worry about it. You only have to worry about hiking in with your gear a few hundred feet from the bus stop in order to get to the camp. Please see what you can find so that I can help get you tuned in. If I know where you're allowed to go under your permit, I can hopefully tell you how to do it best.

Also, very importantly, double check the hiker's shuttle schedule!!! I've got the most current copy of the complete schedule in front of me (05/22/15- 09/20/15), and that 3:40 bus out of the Valley that arrives at WW at 5:05 is cancelled for the season. I also just called the Wilderness Center up in Tuolumne, and they told me that the last daily shuttle out of the Valley leaves the visitor center there at 1:40, arriving at WW at a few minutes past 3 pm.

[tmrettig]

The first night of my permit is for Monday at WW, exiting on Friday through LYV. We are planning on walking back out of WW on Tuesday morning and taking the shuttle to Tuolumne to continue our hike.

[tmrettig]

Unfortunate about the later shuttle being canceled:( But glad you alerted me to it! My older schedule still had it.

[Phil]

Okay, but you have to get to LYV from White Wolf, and it sounds like Monday night is just a stopover for an actual entry point of Vogelsang via Rafferty Creek in order to make that happen. Without hiking the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne through Glen Aulin, there's no way to get there in a logical, non-insanely circuitous manner in the time you have on your permit. By taking the shuttle, you've technically left and essentially abandoned one trail head at White Wolf and entered another (Vogelsang/Rafferty Creek)for the day after your night at the Tuolumne Meadows backpacker's camp. That should be two permits unless you've got some sort of pass-through, which I can't imagine how it would be structured officially when you haven't gone from Point A-B on foot.

Best bet, IMO, is to stay at the White Wolf backpacker's camp, acclimatize to the altitude a little and enjoy a bit of light hiking in the area (Harden Lake, Lukens Lake, maybe to top of Morrison Creek if you're fast, ambitious and don't mind climbing back out in the dark). The hiker's shuttle schedule on Tuesday morning for White Wolf-Tuolumne Meadows is: 9:20am, 10:20am, and 3:05pm, so I suppose that if you were inclined to hike out a bit and stay outside the campgrounds, Harden Lake would, after all here is said and done, be fastest and easiest for you since you can get there in an hour or so.

[tmrettig]

Hmmmmm, you've brought up a few things. Is it not allowed to take a shuttle to jump further up your trail? WW was just the only open permit for 4 people I could reserve for the date I needed. Flying in from out of state and with limited transportation and no option of reserving campground sites, I didn't want to risk the walk-up permits.

Maybe I'll try for a walk-up permit to Glen Aulin from Murphy Creek and continue on the High Sierra Camp Loop or from Tuolumne and backtrack to Tuolumne the next day.

-Tracy

[Phil]

Hi Tracy,

First of all, I would go ahead and get the info you need right from the best source: The direct phone number for the Tuolumne Meadows permitting station is 209-372-0309.

It doesn't matter where you stay the first night in terms of backpacker's camps, but trail heads are technically supposed to be where you begin to walk and keep walking beyond that point, the road and shuttle get into grey areas that you need more info on than I can comfortably give you. Getting it wrong is something that can possibly get you cited, and I'm not okay with that. The ratio of reserved to walk-up permits is 60/40, and popular trails fill up quickly by reservation, and walk-ups sometimes require standing in line at a permitting station while you wait for the sun to rise and the office to open. Vogelsang is one such popular trail head. White Wolf has 4 possible routes out of it, and exiting in the Valley isn't really technically considered one of them under a single permit without working out the details first.

If you're dead set on Vogelsang-Merced Lake-Yosemite Valley, see what you can find out and try to make happen with a phone call. Although, since you're in White Wolf anyhow, you do have the spectacular options of tweaking your trip by going down to Pate Valley, through the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne (one of John Muir's favorite places), up to Glen Aulin and out to Tuolumne Meadows, or up into the 10 Lakes Basin and either exiting May Lake, Murphy Creek, or again, head down to Glen Aulin and exit Tuolumne. Reasonably, you'll need about 3 or 4 days for either. Decide what you then want to/can do from there with the time you have left.

[tmrettig]

Thanks Phil!