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Benson Lake Loop

PostPosted: Sat May 10, 2008 2:25 pm
by wrazan
Hello,

My brother and I are planning a trip to Yosemite this September. I just wanted to see if anyone had done this hike (from backpacker magazine's website):

Leave the Lembert Dome parking lot at Tuolumne Meadows and hike past Tuolumne Falls to the Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp. Head north up Cold Canyon on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and in and out of various canyons until you come to Benson Lake. For a one-way journey, hike up Rancheria Creek and over the Sierra crest to Mono Village. To return to Tuolumne Meadows, either retrace a couple of miles and descend Rodgers Canyon to the Tuolumne River, or to add a few miles, continue over Seavey Pass and descend Kerrick Canyon, then pass Bear Valley and Table Lake on your way to the Tuolumne River. Hike up the glorious Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River back to Tuolumne Meadows.

or one similar (it doesn't have to be that mile for mile). I'd like to know if it will be super crowded and what the weather, mosquito, etc. conditions will be. We will be there from Sept. 6-13. Any information would be much appreciated,

Thanks!

Re: Benson Lake Loop

PostPosted: Sat May 10, 2008 10:06 pm
by dan
The PCT part in Cold Canyon will have people, but nowhere near the numbers on the JMT between LYV and Tuolumne Meadows, or similar trails between these points. And off the PCT it will be even less crowded. You don't find a lot of people in the Yosemite coutry north of the Tuolumne River and Glen Aulin.

There's lots of peaks and V-shaped canyons here. It's hard to hike in early summer if there's lots of water, because the creeks are too high to cross (shouldn't be the case this year).

There's few or no mosquitos in Sept. (except right next to the creeks and lakes in the evening). After Labor Day, especially, you should have the place to yourself.