beerforcat@comcast.net wrote:I was looking at Google earth for a possible backpacking trip in May an saw henness ridge drive. I have not seen any mention of this road in backpacking guides and online backpacking resources. The I was wondering if there is trail head parking on the road(if there is no snow)?
I never backpacked on the road, but skied part of it in Winter. It's a closed dirt road (the part east of Highway 41). There's room for a few cars off the pavement, and there's a paved parking lot a quarter mile north or so at Chinquapin (junction with Glacier Point Road).
The part I skied in Winter was from the top of the ski area (Tempo Dome) down Strawberry Creek ski trail (unmarked, unmaintained), then skied out on the relatively-flat dirt road.
I know some people who backpacked to the end of the road at Deer Camp (Empire Meadow) and continued on to Chilnualna Fall then ended up at Wawona. Personally, I consider it kind of boring--lots of overgrown thick white fir forest. I understand there's some fine sugar pine stands back there, but I haven't seen them first-hand. There may be ruins of the old ranger station at Deer Camp (I'm not sure if it's well-preserved or just a pile of rotting logs).
Other low-country areas to consider are Chilnualna Fall (although it's a bear of a hike--lots of uphill from Wawona), Tuolumne Grove and beyond (may be too close for a backpack), the old, original Big Oak Flat Road staring at Tamarack Campground or Foresta Junction and head to El Capitan (and beyond to Yosemite Fall or return), and Hetch Hetchy area.