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[Yosemite]

Last minute trip to Yosemite

Hiking, backpacking, running, biking, climbing, rafting, and other human-powered activities in Yosemite National Park

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Re: Last minute trip to Yosemite

Postby Imasphere » Mon Apr 13, 2015 4:23 am

Thanks for the info, Almost There. I made the permit demand yesterday with my three trailhead choices being Murphy Creek (to Polly Dome Lakes), Snow Creek, and Glen Aulin. Still awaiting the confirmation. I'm hoping the buses will be running which would be the best option but since we will now have rental car, it's not that much of a problem anymore. It would just be fun to finish off the hike in the valley so we could take advantage of the Camp Curry showers before the flight home. Once again, thanks to all of you for the info. The Yosemite official site has plenty of information but there are always a few questions that remain unanswered and you guys really helped filling in the blanks. I'll be posting which trailhead I'll be leaving from soon.
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Re: Last minute trip to Yosemite

Postby Imasphere » Tue Apr 14, 2015 3:58 am

I received my permit confirmation. We will be heading off the May Lake trailhead, probably stoppinh at Polly Dome Lakes for the first night. I think that's probably our best option since starting from the valley would have been a killer.
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Re: Last minute trip to Yosemite

Postby Imasphere » Thu Jan 14, 2016 10:37 am

Ok, I've been back from this trip for more than six months now and I know I should have posted much earlier, but I was really busy with work and home renovations all summer and fall. Sorry it took so much time but I want to thank all those who helped me on this forum.

I ended up getting a permit from the May Lake trail head. We started pretty late on the first day, around 2 pm because of traffic on the Tioga Road. We wanted to camp by Polly Dome lakes but never found the trail that leads to it so we ended up pitching our tents close to Murphy Creek. We woke up the next morning with the sound of coyotes howling and headed to Glen Aulin where we stayed at the official backpackers campground. This being early season, there weren' too many people there, just 3 or 4 groups, enough to socialize by the campfire come evening time. The falls there are just amazing and since we got there in the early afternoon, we took a few hours to dayhike down the Tuolomne River and to go for a short dip in the cold river.On day three we headed up to Tuolomne Meadows along beautiful Tuolomne river and then crossed the road and took the long uphill path to Cathedral Lake. What an amazing place. We slept a few hundred feet away from the lake accompanied by only two other tents who were at least half a mile away each. On day four we left the lake and headed up Cathedral Pass. We were planning a short 5 mile day hoping to pitch camp at Sunrise High Sierra camp, but when we got there the mosquitos were so hungry that we decided to move on. We headed up Sunrise mountain and continued on the John Muir Trail through burnt forest. Along the way we met a couple of hikers starting off their John Muir Trail thru hike. One of them told us that we could find good camping spots close to the Sunrise creek once past the burnt forest area. When I first started seeing leafs in the trees I looked up and saw a small mound a couple of hundred feet away from the trail. I told my hiking buddy to wait while I went to see if there were any camping spots there. The mound was home to two beautiful camping spots with a fire ring and a partial view on Half Dome on one side and on Cloud's Rest on the other. We pitched our tents there after a 11 or 12 mile long day with plenty of elevation gain. The camp was so perfect that we decided to base camp there for the next two days. Every evening a couple of female deers would walk right by our tent to feed in the nearby brush, totally ignoring our presence. On day five we took a day trip up Cloud's Rest to admire the most amazing view I had witnessed so far in my life. Day six was devoted to a day hike up Half Dome. I now understand why this peak is so popular. Not only is the view outstanding but the whole climb up the cables makes it such an adventure. On day seven, we headed down to Little Yosemite Valley and set camp up at the backpackers campground. In the afternoon, we day hiked to Nevada and Vernal falls on the Panorama trail. The hike back up Nevada Falls gave me a real sense of admiration for those day hikers who make the entire Half Dome climb from Yosemite Valley in just one day. When we got back to camp, I took a refreshing dip in the Merced river and after a good dinner we headed to the campfire to socialize. Day eight was the walk down the Mist trail to Yosemite Valley where we camped at the backpackers campground and went for a nice Pizza dinner at Curry Village.
The whole trip was outstanding. I only wished I could have had one or two more days in order to make it to Vogelsang and Merced Lake in order to do the entire Sierra Camp loop, but we did not want to hike 15 or 20 mile days. We preferred to take our time in order to admire the scenery.
We liked the hike so much that my hiking buddy and I are planning a thru hike of the John Muir Trail in the summer of 2017.
Thanks again to all the people on this forum who helped make this trip so wonderful.
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