Yosemite Forum

Thanks to a phone call from a nice ranger at the SEKI wilderness office:

Got Our Reservations Made...

We have plans for a shorter few trips this summer, but we also have two longer ones in mind.

> One is a hike up into the upper reaches of the Lyell Fork of the Merced River in Yosemite, looking for bighorn sheep (recently introduced in that range) and spending about half the time off trail. The trailhead for that one is the popular Rafferty Creek.

> One is a hike in SEKI into the canyons above the Roaring River--Cloud and Deadman--that I haven't visited since I was there forty years ago. That one uses the also sometimes popular Sugarloaf Trailhead.

We don't plan all of our trips so far in advance, but we did take the time to make reservations for these. And the good news is that we got both trips approved.

Now where else can we go that won't need a reservation? Lots and lots of places.

Don't know either area well but both sound like great trips. Presumably SEKI is much quieter than Yosemite?

Depends on where you go... but anywhere that is not on a through-hike, and two days from the trailhead is going to be quiet.

I'm surprised that you and M haven't done the Lost Coast. Do the north half from Mattole - Black Sand Beach first. It's a unique trip. Three days, but 2 cars or a relatively expensive shuttle are required though.

The south end from Hidden Valley above Shelter Cove - Usal is amazing, but it's a lot of up and down. A lot! The elevation profiles are almost mind-numbing.

Wow, I haven't been to Cloud or Deadman Canyon in 30 years! I remember the first time seeing it from Elizabeth Pass to Coppermine Pass (or Oakland Mine) and thought how beautiful it is. Seeing the Kaweah and Triple Divide range for the first time was breathtaking. Best part of the trip was a 200' butt sliding decent from Coppermine Pass down a snow field in September! Laughed all the way down until the sun cups beat me up too much.

Phil wrote:I'm surprised that you and M haven't done the Lost Coast. Do the north half from Mattole - Black Sand Beach first. It's a unique trip. Three days, but 2 cars or a relatively expensive shuttle are required though.

The south end from Hidden Valley above Shelter Cove - Usal is amazing, but it's a lot of up and down. A lot! The elevation profiles are almost mind-numbing.

We have friends who have done that trail. Best would be in the fall, and I teach in the fall, so it's harder to get away. Spring and summer are too wet and foggy up there. We've done camping on the coast in June. Every morning the dew had soaked everything in camp...

weendoggy wrote:Wow, I haven't been to Cloud or Deadman Canyon in 30 years! I remember the first time seeing it from Elizabeth Pass to Coppermine Pass (or Oakland Mine) and thought how beautiful it is. Seeing the Kaweah and Triple Divide range for the first time was breathtaking. Best part of the trip was a 200' butt sliding decent from Coppermine Pass down a snow field in September! Laughed all the way down until the sun cups beat me up too much.

And I still remember the view up Cloud Canyon to see the Whaleback. Amazing area.