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Brianmtattoo wrote:Hey everyone,
Our wilderness permits are from
6/14 to 6/18 with the trail head (happy isles > sunrise/Merced lake. We would like to try to see glacier point, mirror lake, sentinel dome, half dome (proposing) , clouds rest, the falls, and hike the panorama trail. I'm not sure what's all doable in the time were there, or the best way to plan our days there , to try to make the most out of it so all the help is appreciated!
Brianmtattoo wrote:Monday, enter park and hike to sunrise. Set up camp (is it literally anywhere or designated spots? I'd assume relax the rest of the day? Unless you have other ideas.
Brianmtattoo wrote:Wed. Break camp, hike along panorama until? Then set camp.
Brianmtattoo wrote:Thursday- break camp , hit glacier point, mirror lake , sentinel dome, then 4 mile trail down to car to leave?
Brianmtattoo wrote:
Monday, enter park amd hike to sunrise. Set up camp (is it literally anywhere or designated spots? I'd assume relax the rest of the day? Unless you have other ideas.
Tuesday- half dome /clouds rest ?
Wed. Break camp, hike along panorama until? Then set camp.
Thursday- break camp , hit glacier point, mirror lake , sentinel dome, then 4 mile trail down to car to leave?
Let me know what you think, any changes. Any tips , spots , that are good to camp at.
I have a bear locker as well
AlmostThere wrote:The half dome junction is in Little Yosemite Valley, which means you MUST be in the designated campsites there. Not at the junction. You have a passthrough permit, so the first place you can legally camp is... sunrise creek. You'd need a permit for Happy Isles -> Little Yosemite to camp in LYV.
The last day would be a real buttkicker, but at least your pack would be lightest. You COULD move camp to LYV on Tues or Wed legally, after camping uphill from it. That would take off a little distance from that last day.
Mirror Lake isn't accessible from anywhere on your route. You're going to be all the way on the other side of Half Dome and Clouds Rest from it.
Phil wrote:Um, WOW!!!
So you're in "great shape, do a lot of hiking, and spend a lot of time outdoors". At what elevation do you do this at? There's a big difference in all that at sea level-ish and after hiking entirely uphill on what's likely to be a hot day and to the tune of a mandatory 3,000+ feet that you must make on day-1, and merely a portion of the climb on your way even higher the next day to 9,926' or even 8,600' in order to make your ultimate goal. These are factors that I can't help but wonder if you're aware of or realistically taking into account. I don't want to rain on your proposal parade, but if my girlfriend wasn't a seasoned backpacker (at altitude), if I didn't kill her in the process, I would expect her to be not exactly too thrilled with me by the time I took a knee (my GF would probably take the ring and then try to kick me over the edge, or I would still be hearing about the Hell I subjected her to 20 years later...been there, done that). While proposing on an iconic summit is a profound gesture, tour the Valley and pop the question there. There's no shortage of gorgeous, memorable spots to be had, and that she'll remember fondly the rest of her life. Then go backpacking if you run out of other things to do, of which, there are also plenty. Or you can also just drive to Glacier Point/Sentinel Dome and propose there; great view, profound, 10 minutes from the parking lot, everybody that witnesses it will be touched and probably applaud and congratulate you, adding to her sense of joy (that she won't be too exhausted to appreciate...or to let you know of later in the evening), and you'll live happily ever after the better off for it. All in all, throughout the course of this thread, I'm glad to see that you've tempered your expectations, but we try to instill reality, because that's just what we have to do...and no less than you deserve. I simply want to make sure you're where you need to be for as perfect a moment as it can be.
As for Sonoma: I live there, and you aren't going to be driving back in the morning from Yosemite and spending the day touring wineries before your Friday night flight home. Not at all a realistic plan in and of itself. Traffic alone will make sure of that.
AlmostThere wrote:I'm not criticising anything in your plans. I'm aware. It's a very, very dry year, and right now it's 93F in Yosemite Valley. This is early June, there should still be snow on the ground. There is not. Streams are drying up as we speak. The waterfalls are drying up, Yosemite Falls is nothing like it usually is this time of year. This is not a normal year, normal things aren't going to happen. So I am trying to help, but am pessimistic about anyone having any fun below 9,000 feet this year, except for people who like a lot of sweat and grinding up and down trails.
My personal tactic - and I am typically hiking in the Sierra Nevada every other weekend, with monthly 4 - 8 day trips - is to get up before dawn and stop for a long, long break midday near water, and hike on after 3 pm, when it's hot when I'm out. I'm not doing long miles in the hot hot hot. I am acclimated, I am planning trail crew trips carrying a lot more weight than everyone else on the trail (15 lb steel saw in one hand, axe in the other) and I am definitely NOT looking forward to mid elevation afternoons this year.
You're heading into the most rule-bound, most likely to have bears, most likely to get caught if you break the rules, part of the Sierra Nevada, riddled with no camping zones, open exposed areas and granite slabs where the temps are going to soar, patrolled by rangers and crowded by tourists. That's just what you're signing up for. It's confusing as hell to plan a trip in Yosemite, with all the rules. I hope and trust that you are up to it, that the weather favors you with one of those weird turns of temperature, because it's heat stroke weather. I've given up a lot of water to people hiking Half Dome over the years when they run out and underestimate in normal snow years. On average there are 6 SAR efforts per day on that trail. Before the permits for HD went into place, there were an average of 12 per day. Quite a number of people have heat issues and cardiac issues, and a whole lot of them get dehydrated to the point that they are mentally altered. This is just what I know. Nothing about you in particular. I feel like you should know before you go - maybe you live and hike in the open desert at 110F all the time, and have the capacity of a camel. If so, you'll be well prepared, come what may.
I've done the Panorama trail a number of times over the years. Hands down one of my least favorite. I do not care for hiking in the sun a lot. Last weekend, I was north of Yosemite in the Emigrant Wilderness, shepherding some new backpackers in four miles to a lake. It was too dang warm. It should have been cold at night, it was not. It's going to be a roaster this year. A friend brought back pictures of Bunnell Cascade (weird friend, who does 25+ mile day hikes - the cascade is on the river near Merced Lake) and it looks like full on summer out there already. I've already started canceling some of my plans that involved exposed areas burnt by wildfire, or lots of steep elevation gain. Driving high and hiking higher than 10,000 feet is my goal. It might be low 70s up there.
Phil's being terse. But in a lot of what he says, I hear concern. I worry a lot too. For a lot of people. SAR incidents have been skyrocketing over the past year, and it's showed no sign of slowing down. I'm a local with ties into SAR and the agencies. It's not really about you specifically. It's everyone. Yosemite gets people from around the world roaring in and planning mad miles. Some of them make it, a lot of them bail on their plan, some of them make the newspaper.
Good luck.
Phil wrote:I'm sorry you took it so badly. I had no intention of mocking you, but you yourself clearly indicated all those criteria in your abilities, and that makes a huge difference in so many ways, as does at what elevation you do it, which is what Yosemite is if you want to see anything beyond what most others never see or experience, elevation. I (and others) can help make your trip as close to perfect as possible, but what you can or can't reasonably do is sort of a big deal. And dealing with altitude and it's potentially inherent problems (that, as AT mentions, drop or thwart many people) is a consideration that can't be overlooked. For your proposal (an undoubtedly critical event and moment in life that you're obviously really excited about), are you at all willing to take any chances with anything/everything potentially not going as planned? Personally, I wouldn't risk a thing, for a minute. I would want it to be absolutely sure fire, hell or high water, nothing left to chance, zero snafus'...You're there to ask this girl to marry you and enjoy your time together memorably, safely, and maybe with some hard work thrown in, but as enjoyably as you can. That is your ultimate goal, is it not.?
While I run the obvious risk of being taken as counter productive or critical, I have to tell you, when I first opened this thread I had a hard time registering just what you had in mind. Hence, 'Um, WOW!!!'. I got the gist of it, but wrestled hard with how to help make it work. My mind went immediately to the problems with it, because it was overwhelming, scattered and geographically incongruous, full of logistical problems, and too much in too little time... I honestly didn't see a recipe for overall success, and I'm sorry, but that hits me like a ton of bricks, because we effectively then have to shoot down a few things first before we move to any kind of plan at all that I can try to help you with. Just that. We're moving in a direction, this is your trip, an important trip, and, believe it or not, I want you to succeed, not criticize or advise you how to fail. That wastes time and puts you into a bad place. I would rather cut immediately to the chase ( even if it means ripping it all apart and rebuilding it) and have you think I'm a total douche now, during the planning phase, than after I give you lousy advice that contributed to any failure at all when it matters and things can't be taken back for you. But AT was again absolutely right, I had a lot of serious concerns. Take them for what they're worth. If you say you're both good to go, I have no choice except to take you at your word on the basis of that and as it applies to whatever it is I have to contribute.
I also fully get the desire for Half Dome and Cloud's Rest. Having been to both many times, I can attest to all you anticipate and hope for. They are...iconic. However, so is Glacier Point. It's also a 100% guarantee that all goes exactly according to plan, otherwise I never would have suggested it as an "alternative". That view is to die for (world class), privacy can be found to some extent, and as smarmy as you think I might be, regardless of any of the three locations, people will in fact applaud and congratulate both you and your new fiancé, for no other reason than because they're there and sharing in something so obviously special. We all like to share in joy. It's cool, and we don't often get too much these days. And really, isn't that what wedding ceremonies are about anyhow? Sharing your joy with others?
You say you have more questions? Great, ask them, and let's see what we can do for you.
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