Hello,
I am in the process of planning my summer backpacking trip. I have received some great info on this forum with planning a couple of past trips. I want to get to Merced Lake. I was late getting into the permits, but was recently able to secure a permit for Mono Meadow. I will be hiking with my 11 & 13 year old boys so their load and daily mileage (5-7 miles, although I am thinking they might be able to do more now that they are getting bigger and stronger) is still somewhat limited. We can just manage 4 nights worth of food, but if we get to Merced Lake I am thinking I can order us a dinner/breakfast there which would get us a 5th night.
I was thinking first night camping somewhere along Ilillouette Creek (but I am not familiar with this area), 2nd night at LYV, 3rd and 4th night at Merced, 5th night back at LYV and down to the valley the next day. The problem I am having with this plan is the 3rd day is too many miles for us from LYV to Merced and it is uphill. I am wondering if I can get far enough the first day to hike past LYV the second day, putting us in position to reach Merced the 3rd day. Another option would be to break up the 3rd day, but I would really like a layover day at Merced. I am thinking we can make the hike from Merced back to LYV on the 5th day because it is downhill. Any thoughts on this plan?
Also, If I were to try and get a walk-up permit for the same destination and the same kind of mileage, any suggestions on that?
Thanks for any input. Last year I got some good advice on our Vogelsang Loop Trip and two years ago we did Cathedral Trailhead to the valley and I also got some good advice on this forum.
Jason