Trip Report: Glacier Point Road Trails
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2019 2:11 pmDid a short overnight this weekend. Here's the trail report.
Saturday: Hiked from Glacier Point West down Sentinel Dome Trail/Pohono Trail. Patchy snow but smooth sailing for the first couple miles. Great views of Half Dome and Yosemite falls. Couple dodgy sections along the ridge leading towards Sentinel Dome when the snow pack had covered over the sloping trail. So you had to traverse the snow pack but if you slipped and could not arrest you could slide down the snow pack and off the edge. Once we got past Sentinel Dome area we started hitting more and more snow pack. Dense tree areas, especially northern aspects had heavy snow pack. Drifting snow mounds still several feet deep. Traction devices were a big help. Navigation was difficult with the snow, even if you could stay on the trail there were so many down trees it was like a maze at times. Climbing around or over trees, post-holing, backtracking, and difficulty navigating made for slow progress. Sometimes it would clear up but not usually for long. We planned to head to Dewey Point but moving was slow so we camped just West of the McGurk trail junction. Had a little drizzle of rain but other than that weather was okay Saturday with just some clouds. Temps were mild overnight. Sunday morning decided to hike out McGurk to Glacier Point Road instead of fighting all the way back through the trees and snow. Saw fresh bear tracks about 150 yards from our camp. McGurk also had some deep snow mounds but the trail is wider and easier to follow and less downed trees. The entire meadow section was clear and easy. More snow but just a few downed trees between the meadow and Glacier Point road. Weather turned nasty on Sunday afternoon, thunderstorm moved through and dropped heavy rain in some areas and thick sleet in others. We drove out GP road and sections were covered in ice/sleet. Water was washing out several areas. We made it down and through the tunnel but they had closed the road for upward traffic.
Not the easy June hike I expected when I made the wilderness reservation several months ago but still a great trip with incredible views. Tick up on the exp for snow travel and winter conditions. Back again in a few weeks.
Saturday: Hiked from Glacier Point West down Sentinel Dome Trail/Pohono Trail. Patchy snow but smooth sailing for the first couple miles. Great views of Half Dome and Yosemite falls. Couple dodgy sections along the ridge leading towards Sentinel Dome when the snow pack had covered over the sloping trail. So you had to traverse the snow pack but if you slipped and could not arrest you could slide down the snow pack and off the edge. Once we got past Sentinel Dome area we started hitting more and more snow pack. Dense tree areas, especially northern aspects had heavy snow pack. Drifting snow mounds still several feet deep. Traction devices were a big help. Navigation was difficult with the snow, even if you could stay on the trail there were so many down trees it was like a maze at times. Climbing around or over trees, post-holing, backtracking, and difficulty navigating made for slow progress. Sometimes it would clear up but not usually for long. We planned to head to Dewey Point but moving was slow so we camped just West of the McGurk trail junction. Had a little drizzle of rain but other than that weather was okay Saturday with just some clouds. Temps were mild overnight. Sunday morning decided to hike out McGurk to Glacier Point Road instead of fighting all the way back through the trees and snow. Saw fresh bear tracks about 150 yards from our camp. McGurk also had some deep snow mounds but the trail is wider and easier to follow and less downed trees. The entire meadow section was clear and easy. More snow but just a few downed trees between the meadow and Glacier Point road. Weather turned nasty on Sunday afternoon, thunderstorm moved through and dropped heavy rain in some areas and thick sleet in others. We drove out GP road and sections were covered in ice/sleet. Water was washing out several areas. We made it down and through the tunnel but they had closed the road for upward traffic.
Not the easy June hike I expected when I made the wilderness reservation several months ago but still a great trip with incredible views. Tick up on the exp for snow travel and winter conditions. Back again in a few weeks.