Visiting from Australia

[Tim Collins]

Dear BackPackers from the USA,

my partner and I are experienced high country back-packers from Down Under and we are interested in a 10 day walk through Yosemite.

There is so much information and a great new about visiting that we are not used to. Permits, crowds, RV's and bears to name just a few !

We are interested in advice that can help deliver us a unique American wilderness adventure in September 2011.

We want to walk continuously for around 10 days and cover around 12 - 15 miles a day. Keen to find beautful, remote country where only walkers can get to.

Are there any pathways that people can recommend ? Is there information that would be easy to access ? Books or web sites with up to date and accurate information.

Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks very much !!

[Nacci]

This is my favorite backpacking trail book for Yosemite: www.wildernesspress.com/product.php?pro ... t=0&page=1 Jeffrey Schaffer covers the trails thoroughly and includes side trip descriptions. The weakest part of the book is that he doesn't know anything about fishing.

September is starting to get cooler, but I'd stongly recommend you look at a trip beginning along Tioga Road in the high country. Lots of beauty and some solitude up there!

I think it will be pretty hard to fit 10 days of food into a (rented) Garcia bear can. You might be better off with two five day treks. If you're looking for remote, you might consider one trip in Yosemite and one in another part of the Sierra.

Backpacker magazine (and associated forum) has ideas as well.

[AlmostThere]

I wouldn't even start in Yosemite.

I would suggest:

Rent a Bearikade canister for food storage, the largest model is going to be light enough on its own and carry 10 days of food for one person easily. The next model down would work as well - you don't need to put the first day inside, you're eating it after all - but you will have to work on repackaging and take more care in packing it.
Make sure you have a pack the bear can will fit in along with your gear.
Start from a trailhead to the south of Yosemite. Hike up from Reds Meadow to the JMT and start north.
When you get to Donahue Pass you are crossing into the park. Continue onward to Tuolumne Meadows.
Choose a route from there - either down the JMT to Yosemite Valley or onward to Tioga Pass High Country, of which there is plenty, coming out at any of the locations along the road where the hiker bus, YARTS or one of the free shuttles would pick you up, so you get a ride back to civilization. Hopping the free Tioga Rd shuttle back to Tuolumne Meadows positions you for a YARTS ride back to Mammoth Lakes.

Your permit would be from Inyo National Forest, therefore 1,000 times easier to get. You would see some classic Yosemite scenery plus some of the best stretch of the John Muir Trail. You would start at mid elevation if you spent a night in campgrounds near the trailhead, hiked in a ways, and spent another night - this would help you acclimate to elevations over 5,000 feet. You would have shuttles from Mammoth Lakes into the trailhead, and busses in Yosemite to get back to the starting point if you have a plane ticket returning from an airport in the area. If you flew in somewhere like Reno or Lone Pine there are public transportation options to get you to Mammoth Lakes - CREST and YARTS are great cheap options.

Look at Sierra North (a book available online) and similar guidebooks that talk about backpacking in Yosemite and the surrounding area to get an idea of miles and places to stay or not stay.

[AlmostThere]

ps... 10-15 miles a day is pretty ambitious in that terrain. I would plan to start out 8-10 miles per day and increase as you acclimate. You will find yourself huffing and puffing due to elevation until your body adjusts.

[balzaccom]

Good suggestions, AT!

I would also suggest another option: Starting at Kennedy Meadows in the Emigrant Wilderness, and Hiking down into Yosemite from the North. (Permits here are also WAY easier to get--you just ask!). And you could then hike the Pacific Crest Trail down into Yosemite, or take another route to get to Jack Main Canyon...and eventually get to Tuolumne Meadows...either via the Pacific Crest Trail or even through the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne.

But I will warn you that ten days of food in a BearVault is a tight squeeze. My wife and I have done five days together and that pretty much filled up our larger BV. For eight days, we take a large one and a smaller one...and they are FULL. Of course, if you begin outside the park, you can hike for the first few days without the bear canister, because Emigrant Wilderness doesn't require one.

And yes, if you want to really enjoy the trip, I would aim for shorter mileage goals. We've done 12 miles a day...but that's usually on the way home with lighter packs. Elevations here can be 10,000 plus, and with full packs you are going to feel the effort. give yourself a few days of 8 miles...and give yourselves a lighter day every once in a while.

We've got hikes and photos from some of these areas on our website, under the destinations sections: Highway 108 or 120

[Tim Collins]

Thanks for the replies people.

This is much appreciated.

Is a bear can for food a o brainer ?? We are not used to this kind of stuff in Australia as kangaroo's eat grass !!

Appreciate the comments about distance too. How many miles an hour does the average person tend to travel ??

[AlmostThere]

I'm not aware of any average person - distance traveled depends on the person and their goals. A photographer will travel slowly. So will a fisherman intent on trying every pool of water. I can go 15-20 miles in a day but usually do far less, simply because I like to take pictures, get to camp a little early, set up, fish a few holes, and chat with my companions before turning in. Pacing is personal preference.

Bear canisters from the approved list posted by Yosemite is more than a no brainer - it is MANDATORY and non negotiable. From the ranger's side you get a fine if you are caught without one - from your side, you stand a really good chance of going hungry - from the bear's side, that bear really really wants your food and will do whatever it thinks it can get away with to get it - but as he goes to more extreme measures he runs a risk of being shot when he becomes a nuisance bear. It's in everyone's best interest to take a bear canister.

Check food storage requirements at nps.gov/yose

[Tim Collins]

Thanks understood.

We will be wanting to walk steadily and really take in the scenery so I appreciate the advice about daily distances.

Also appreciate your comments about the food cannister. I am not into being hungry in the bush so we will include that in our planning.

Once we have taken in some of the advice provided on this site overnight I expect we will be looking for some further information.

Thanks again & best wishes