Re: Backpacking in June-July 2017 - how it will be
Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 6:20 am
I wanted to give a quick trip report since I got so much help on this forum.
We had a great trip, but a couple of very, very tricky days. We didn't get half dome permits, bummer. We even tried for the lottery several months ago. In hindsight, I'm not sure I would have been up for it anyway, and my husband has already done it. We were in the backcountry 6 nights and didn't see any bears, then as we drove through the park after the trip, we saw a bear right by the road. Go figure.
We hiked up to clouds rest, no real problems there. As we neared the top, there was a patch of snow and my husband took a picture LOL. We had NO IDEA what was yet to come. As we started down the other side of clouds rest on our way to sunrise creek, we ran across a lot more snow. It was constantly blocking the trail, so we had to go through it or around. We kept losing and finding the trail. Then we got into some boulder fields, and between that and the snow, we got off trail again. Luckily we joined up with another group and found our way out, camping at the sunrise lakes junction (we didn't go to the lakes.)
The snow the next day was unbelievable! As we started down the hill from the junction on our way to Tenaya Lake, we hit major snow. The snow was in 5-10 foot drifts, and the trail was mostly nonexistent. We were told this area is normally switchbacks, but we just followed the footprints, which went all over the place. I was shocked at how many people were coming up the trail in nothing but shorts and sneakers. I was carrying a 30 pound backpack, so I slipped and fell on the snow several times trying to get down the mountain (I did have hiking poles thankfully.) When we got to Tenaya, the trail was flooded and we walked across with water up to my hips. My husband said the water came within an inch of my backpack, so thankfully it didn't get wet. We had packed our Tevas in preparation for this, so our hiking boots stayed dry.
The rest of the trip went fairly smooth. We skipped Polly domes and May lake area completely. I wasn't interested in getting into more snow. The trail down Yosemite falls was extremely difficult. My husband had warned me and boy was he right. I have bad knees anyway, so it was really slow going. That was another trail that absolutely shocked me- so many folks traveling up with either no water or an 8 oz. bottle that was empty. I wonder how many people collapse going up that trail in the heat?
We had a good trip, but I was surprised how much more difficult this trip was compared to the Teton Crest trail in Grand Tetons. The heat in Yosemite was definitely a contributing factor to that. There were more sustained uphill climbs as well, and of course the snow really slowed us down. I ran across an article when we got home, apparently the day after we hiked sunrise creek, a ranger found 3 separate parties that were completely lost. After struggling to get through that snowy section, I can see why. Thanks everyone for the help, you were spot on with your details!
We had a great trip, but a couple of very, very tricky days. We didn't get half dome permits, bummer. We even tried for the lottery several months ago. In hindsight, I'm not sure I would have been up for it anyway, and my husband has already done it. We were in the backcountry 6 nights and didn't see any bears, then as we drove through the park after the trip, we saw a bear right by the road. Go figure.
We hiked up to clouds rest, no real problems there. As we neared the top, there was a patch of snow and my husband took a picture LOL. We had NO IDEA what was yet to come. As we started down the other side of clouds rest on our way to sunrise creek, we ran across a lot more snow. It was constantly blocking the trail, so we had to go through it or around. We kept losing and finding the trail. Then we got into some boulder fields, and between that and the snow, we got off trail again. Luckily we joined up with another group and found our way out, camping at the sunrise lakes junction (we didn't go to the lakes.)
The snow the next day was unbelievable! As we started down the hill from the junction on our way to Tenaya Lake, we hit major snow. The snow was in 5-10 foot drifts, and the trail was mostly nonexistent. We were told this area is normally switchbacks, but we just followed the footprints, which went all over the place. I was shocked at how many people were coming up the trail in nothing but shorts and sneakers. I was carrying a 30 pound backpack, so I slipped and fell on the snow several times trying to get down the mountain (I did have hiking poles thankfully.) When we got to Tenaya, the trail was flooded and we walked across with water up to my hips. My husband said the water came within an inch of my backpack, so thankfully it didn't get wet. We had packed our Tevas in preparation for this, so our hiking boots stayed dry.
The rest of the trip went fairly smooth. We skipped Polly domes and May lake area completely. I wasn't interested in getting into more snow. The trail down Yosemite falls was extremely difficult. My husband had warned me and boy was he right. I have bad knees anyway, so it was really slow going. That was another trail that absolutely shocked me- so many folks traveling up with either no water or an 8 oz. bottle that was empty. I wonder how many people collapse going up that trail in the heat?
We had a good trip, but I was surprised how much more difficult this trip was compared to the Teton Crest trail in Grand Tetons. The heat in Yosemite was definitely a contributing factor to that. There were more sustained uphill climbs as well, and of course the snow really slowed us down. I ran across an article when we got home, apparently the day after we hiked sunrise creek, a ranger found 3 separate parties that were completely lost. After struggling to get through that snowy section, I can see why. Thanks everyone for the help, you were spot on with your details!