Twin Lakes

[Tim Collins]

G'day the good people of the USA. I am planning a 7 day walk from Mono Village Twin Lakes, headng SW then East and looping back around along Sawtooth Ridge.

I know I need a Wilderness Permit from the Bridgeport Ranger Station but do I need to reserve a walking permit to enter/exit the park from the Twin Lakes area ??

Will appreciate any useful advice. And also from anyone who has walked this loop and what they thought of it.

Best Tim from Australia

[dan]

Your US Forest Service Wilderness Permit is also valid for Yosemite National Park--you don't need another permit.

I've backpacked from Twin Lakes over into Kerrick Canyon. I didn't hike it as a loop--I just continued west to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and hitch-hiked back.

It's scenic, isolated country. I went early (early July) during a high snow year (such as this year) and had lots of trouble crossing the streams--they were high. Also had trouble with a lot of snow on the trail--had to hike up and over several berms of snow left over in the cool areas of the trail. If you stay high (say around Sawtooth Ridge), you may not have problems with steam crossings, but the snow will be there early in the season. Don't know about the cross-country hiking around Sawtooth Ridge or Matterhorn Peak--never done it. Some friends of mine are going there Labor Day in early Sept., so I can tell you then, but you may be planning to go before that time.

Maybe someone else who's been there can chime in too.

[Tim Collins]

G'day Dan

Thanks, I appreciate your comments. I guessed as much re the wilderness pass.

I'm a little concerned about your comments regarding getting over the streams. Is is possible that they will be copletely impassable ? Would you mind giving me a little more detail about what what you found with the streams, where you had this trouble and how you actually got over them ?

[dan]

I'm a little concerned about your comments regarding getting over the streams. Is is possible that they will be copletely impassable ? Would you mind giving me a little more detail about what what you found with the streams, where you had this trouble and how you actually got over them ?

The biggest problem I had was the bottom of Matterhorn Canyon. Snow piled up on both sides and a lot of water in the stream. Used 9mm rope to cross. Other places (Virginia Canyon) were problems, but not as much--found logs to cross after several minutes searching. Generally, it's good to spend several minutes looking for a log or rock crossing rather than getting your boots wet or falling into the stream.

Plan your trip to minimize stream crossings. You can usually cross at the upper reaches of a stream and at lake outlets, but the more downstream you try to cross, the bigger the crossing becomes.

[Tim Collins]

Thanks Dan

I really appreciate your taking the time to provide these comments.

We will make sure that a good length of 9mm robe is included on our equipment list.

I have hiked extensively in Europe and Australia & therefore pretty conditioned and well equipped for both cold/wet and hot dry conditions. That said, I have never hiked in North America.

I would therefore also greatly appreciate your views regarding whether there is any specialty equipment that is very useful and perhaps peculiar to Yosemite (other than bear cannisters !)

I would also appreciate your advice regarding safety management. As we are coming from Australia, we will not have any local friends who will sound an alert if we dont show by a certain date. Our plan was to register a return date with the Bridgeport Ranger Station. Is there any other process or equipment that you might suggest ?

Best wishes Tim

[dan]

Bear canister is the main thing peculiar to Yosemite. The black bears are mainly an annoyance--they take your food, but don't generally attack you. Most people in Yosemite die or get hurt from falling--mostly casual visitors.

You could also let a far away friend know and give them local contact information, contact them before and after the trip with Internet or phone. The NPS rangers are responsible for Search & Rescue in the Park, see http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/w ... safety.htm for some Wilderness Safety Tips (I have never seen a mountain lion outside the zoo and the high country doesn't have ticks).

Outside the park, on the east side in the Twin Lakes area, the Inyo County Sheriff, http://www.inyosar.org/

[Tim Collins]

Thanks Dan,

A couple of final questions for the time being if I may:

1. We have obtained reasonable 50:000 - 1 maps of the Yosemite Park. How well marked are the tracks and do you suggest we take GPS etc as insurance ? Can you advise the best source for maps of this area ?

2. I have picked up a good book that describes the various trails in some detail. Are you aware of a particularly good one that covers the are we are looking at ?

Thanks

[dan]

The trails are well marked and I don't think you need a GPS unless you're going off-trail. I have a GPS but don't take it on multi-day backpacks because of the extra weight. It's certainly reasonable to take one though.

Tom Harrison Maps are the best--accurate and up-to-date. He takes the USGS topo maps, updates and highlights the trails, and prints it on waterproof/tearproof Tyvek (polypropylene) plastic. http://www.tomharrisonmaps.com/

Books. The best hiking book for trails is Jeffrey Schaffer's Yosemite National Park: A Natural_history Guide to Yosemite and Its Trails.. The book is getting dated (1999) and sometimes he goes into a little too much detail (I don't need to know about every trail bend and every stand of trees). It's a little too big and heavy to carry on the trail though--you can photocopy the pages you want or tear them out of the book.

For mountaineering, peak-bagging, and cross-country travel around the Sierra crest, I highly recommend R. J. Secor's The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, and Trails (2009).

[Tim Collins]

Thanks again mate.

We already have what I think are reasonable maps but I will certainly pick up some of the ones you suggest for the places we are hiking.

In my view navigation is half the fun of the walk and you can't beat good maps. I like to map to ground navigate but it is always fun to test that with a GPS (instant gratification !)

My girlfriend is doing a training course in Malibu and then we will be hiring a car. Driving to Oakhurst for a day or two (two day walk to Bridleveil) and then up to Mono Village for the big hike. Car hire will cost us a fair bit and most of the time the car will be parked at Mono. We figured that it would be a hell of a lot easier having the convenience of a car rather than trying to mix it with buses etc. Do you think that makes sense or is the public transport system in CA so good that we are wasting our money ?? If you have time, I'd appreciate your point of view.

Best wishes Tim

[dan]

Public transit is terrible in CA, especially in rural areas. There's local shuttle bus systems in Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows. There's a daily shuttle from Yosemite Valley across the Tioga Road to Mammoth Lakes. But basically in these rural areas, you have to have a car. You can hitch-hike, but there's a lot of waiting, and it's harder for more people.

Renting cars outside of airports are often cheaper, even after the cost of a taxi to shuttle there from the airport.

[balzaccom]

Dan has done a good job answering these questions...but I thought I would add a couple of thoughts.

The snow and water levels will completely depend on your dates and the weather We did this hike in early August of last year and had absolutely NO issues with either one.

And sadly, there is no public transport to Twin Lakes. You might try finding a ride through someone who is going there. I agree that it seems silly to park a car for a week and pay for the car ( you'll also have to pay about $20 to park it for the week) and not use it.

On our website is a short summary of this trip--and if you click the photo, it should take you to a Picasa page with the whole trip log

[holz]

Hi,

Can't help but throw in a couple of comment as well.

I did a big hunk of what you are describing last year. I believe it is actually my favorite trip in the Sierras so far. You made a great choice!

You didn't say (that I noticed anyway) exactly when you were coming, but I thought I'd mention a couple of things.

Streams may well be a problem. Remember that turning around is better than being swept away. I would imagine that would be even harder to do when one flies all the way from down under for what may be a once in a lifetime trip, but it is still much better than the once in a lifetime ending then! Also remember that streams that are completely not passable during the afternoon may be passable in the early AM. Perhaps your trip plan could include crossing the larger streams in the early morning hours?

If you haven't used a bear canister before, a couple of tips. . . Repackage EVERYTHING that goes in it. Layer your food in based on the order you will eat it. (Lighter meals at the bottom, sprinkle with small items, etc.) I actually stand on my food after each layer to get it as compact as possible. My record is 10 person-days of food in a single canister. The things are heavy, but they are nice in that they double as chairs and there is no hassle of hanging.

Anyway, you really didn't ask about too much of that, but couldn't help it. Enjoy your time in that special place on the planet. Just thinking about it has made me yearn for it!

All the best!

[holz]

Oh yeah. . .

Be ready for BUGS!!!! Even going over the highest passes in early August last year, the skeeters were pretty bad. Expect them to be out in full force! Never before had I used a headnet in the Sierras, but I did last year and given the 172% of normal snowpack this year it seems likely to be a handy tool again. . . .

[Tim Collins]

G'day Holz,

Thanks for your comments mate. I really appreciate the encouragement about choice of walk. We have just poured over the maps and figured that it would be a great and reasonably remote area to walk. And yes ..... we have never walked in the US wilderness before so in that sense it is once in a life-time. I have travelled to the US on business many times but can't remember ever having a holiday there. Lots of time spent in outback Australia and in remote areas of Europe but never the good old US of A.

We will be leaving Mono Village on 24 August and walking a big loop (round 60 miles). I can't remember the all the place names but essentially west, then south, east then north through Matterhorn Canyon then west past Sawtooth Ridge and back. We can't wait of course and have been increasing our training to prepare etc.

We are well prepared for bugs (come on we're from Australia !) and thanks, we certainly understand the need to re-pack food into the cannisters. (10 days has got to be a US record from what I understand !) We have two stoves and were planning to boil all of our water. I have read some comments about the value of pump filters and would appreciate any advice/comments regarding the their value to weight ratio.

I must admit, whilst we had taken on board the comments about river conditions, we had assumed (hoped) that by late August the water levels would be low enough not to cause us any issues. Comments about cross rivers early in the day rather than late are very helpful.

Given the recent winter in the US, should we expect problems with river crossings as late as August 24 - Sept 2 ??

Best wishes Tim

[AlmostThere]

Add up how much water you will drink during the day (you should figure you will be drinking a lot more, you'll be working hard at elevation, it dehydrates you faster than you'd expect), plus how much you will be boiling per day for meals. You'll probably need to carry 2-3 times the fuel you would need if you just filtered water. Add in the inconvenience of waiting for water to boil, cool, fill a bottle/bladder, boil again, cool, fill the next one... I started out with boiling and got a filter within days of the first backpack trip.

By August you should be okay on water crossings, but I could be wrong. It's 100+ here today, two hours from the park, and up in the mountains it's trending to 75-80F day temps. The thaw continues apace.