by Phil » Fri Aug 17, 2018 4:29 pm
Alright, let's at least start this...
Day-1: No water over the falls, but you're in the Valley and a big climb is all you've got to work with. Not my favorite. Get to the top, be happy that you did. Rest up, get used to some altitude (slowly), save something for later. Get as far as you can along the Creek, (at least at or just beyond Eagle Peak junction, camp wherever you feel like it in a lovely creekside site). Yay!
Day-2: You have a long day today. Don't make it any longer than it needs to be by bothering with that Lukens Lake Trail. Just go right on up Yosemite Creek and across the road to the Ten Lakes Trail. If you do happen to burn out, follow the suggestions I posted previously for alternate sites with water. If you want a really nice overnight side-trip with usually less people, right when you get to Half Moon Meadow, head slightly SE across the meadow itself and climb the steep slope up to Lower Grant Lake (+/- 1/2 mile, to the right of the slabs, and you'll stop out on the trail itself, then go right), then do the easy mile long trail back up to Ten Lakes Pass the next morning. If not, go up and over the pass and into the basin. When you get to Lake #2 there, go left to find sites above that lake or go over the rise and to Lake #1 for hopefully more privacy and great views.
Day-3: Depending on how you feel from the previous 2 days, and how you fare when going way down the switchbacks to south fork of Cathedral Creek, then way up the switchbacks to Tuolumne Peak, you have three choices. For distance and enough gas in the tank, go ahead and hit Polly Dome Lakes. If you want to just get up and over, there are two tarns on the opposite side of the pass that are beautiful, but they also tend to get crowded. If you get there, go to the uppermost of the two. If you don't have it in you to make Polly Dome, and don't want to risk the tarns on the other side being crowded and getting a lousy site, or if you hit the wall on the way up, there are two tarns on the west side of the pass that offer the best chance at seclusion, as well as subliminal views. I don't tell many people about them, and if he chimes in, Wandering Jim will testify, and if I'm on that trail and not trying to just make distance, that's where I'll always go because they're so nice. You'll see the first one on the left side of the trail, go past it, see the other that was largely a secret until now. You'll see them on your sat images, but probably not on your map.
Day-4 This day is kind of tricky logistically. You're going towards Glen Aulin, but you don't necessarily want to stay at Glen Aulin. Have a fair amount of water when you start your day. It's a mostly forested trail, but the next water will be Cathedral Creek (probably...hopefully...likely to have enough to pump from). Further along, you'll pass by McGee Lake, or whatever's left of it in Sept. In order to avoid coming into the restricted camping area around Glen Aulin and inevitably then staying there, find a site at McGee if it has water in it (it'll be low, but it should). Wherever you came from that morning, be it the other side of Tuolumne Peak or Polly Dome Lakes, this is easy, and honestly, I seriously doubt that you can or will want to go up to Young Lakes. Save that for tomorrow.
Day-5: Young Lakes. Amazing how that works, isn't it? Most sites at the lower lake back in the trees, some sites at the smaller middle lake, a few tighter but incredible sites at the upper.
Day-6: Leave Young Lakes and head down to Tuolumne via the Dog Lake Trail. Take the time to go to the lake for lunch. Get down to Tuolumne Meadows and evaluate how you're feeling. If you're beat, hit the close by permit office and grab a Rafferty Creek/Vogelsang --> Happy Isles (LYV) permit for the next day if one is available, then rest up at the backpacker's camp for the night and drink beer and eat ice cream. If you can't get a second permit, get back on the trail and climb. Have 2L of water each. When you get up to Tuolumne Pass, skip going up to the backpackers area of Vogelsang HSC. Instead, go right over to Boothe Lake.
I'm done for now, but it's not over yet.
*And wait a minute. To clarify, do you have 7 days or 9 available? If it's 9, take them. If it's 7, we need to eliminate some things, and I need to know right away, before I go on. AT is also absolutely right (thanks AT!!), but I'm figuring that your hearts and transportation planning are already set on YNP, so we're going to make this the best we can with what we have. You'll see plenty of people, but you also won't regret any of it.