by Phil » Wed Jun 22, 2016 8:01 am
Mosquitoes in most areas will be probably be a 7 out of 10 near water or with wet ground from about 8-10,000 ft this time of year. The North Rim shouldn't be too bad, but you'll still want repellent and a head net. They will swarm you pretty relentlessly, but if you keep moving you'll get at least some relief. I've never gotten more than a few in the tent. They're also big and slow with the altitude, so they're easier to take out.
GCT is likely to have some flooding east of Pate Valley. Haven't heard any reports of any yet, but it's pretty typical this time of year. Those areas are generally easy enough to go around or only slightly through. The ranger you talked to was probably referring to Register Creek. That's the only actual unbridged crossing. It's wider at the trail itself, but it's narrower up canyon. If it's a problem on the trail and you can't go through, just scout around until you find a better place to get across.
Yes, there are lockers at White Wolf across from the store, and at the Luken's Lake pullout along Tioga Rd.
If you leave the wilderness area of the North Rim after two days and drive to Tuolumne, you'll need another permit for the second trip from White Wolf. My suggestion to go up Yosemite Creek avoids that, but it shouldn't be a big deal.
If your entry is Porcupine Creek, North dome isn't really a "side trip", it can be part of your primary route. You'll then head over to El Cap, and be uptrail on Yosemite Creek anyhow, so that was also part of my thinking with suggesting just continuing on to Luken's Lake, etc under the same permit. From El Cap, to get back to the car at Porcupine Creek, you add about 10.5 miles of backtracking, and it's roughly a push to just go ahead and walk up to White Wolf. Depending on how your timing and schedule work out, while having the car at Tuolumne would make it shorter and easier when you exit from Glen Aulin, it might also be easier to drop your food at WW or Luken's Lake on the way into your trip, and then just use the shuttle to get back to the car. Check the schedules for the hiker's bus and YARTS to see if that might work out. Just a thought. I'm not one that likes to throw a few hours of logistics into the middle of trips for second legs if it can be avoided. But that's just my preference, so whatever you think is going to work out best to suit your needs, obviously.