by Phil » Sun Mar 08, 2020 8:44 pm
The North Rim is the standard, safe, generally doable in May trip. You would have a nice time and encounter little-no snow on the trails, with no sketchy creek crossings. But, there's a chance that finding much isolation could be problem...not the typical summer throngs, but it's just that that's where everyone is likely to be at that time.
Another trip that might also work as an in-and-out would be to go up from Happy Isles and head toward Illilouette Creek. If you cut up from the JMT, pick up the lower portion of the Panorama Trail and follow the Illilouette drainage, you're not going to have the crossings down lower, and you can find lots of beautiful creekside sites along most of the way. You'll also find your incredible views. Depending on snowpack, the few crossings you do encounter much higher up if you keep going should hopefully be not too bad, and you can easily cut bait and hold or drop back down if you hit either snow or something you're not comfortable with, without losing anything in the overall quality and point of the hike. Conditions dependent, you could conceivably even make it up as far as the Merced Pass Lakes and/or maybe even Lower Ottoway Lake. The altitudes aren't particularly high (lower Merced Pass +/-8800 - lower Ottoway ~9600). Definitely be a unique hike that's outside of the norm, but doable until it's your call that it isn't.