backup hike - opinions please

[crghc98]

I've reserved a permit for the following hike. Our original permit was for rafferty creek over volgesgang, coming out the valley, but given the snow and road conditions, coming from Boston I felt I needed a backup permit.
It is pretty much all I could get, so I may be stuck, but I'm looking for opinions as to the difficulty or anything else about the hike. All 4 members of the party are in good physical shape...

We can go from Yosemite Falls which is in the valley so there is no long road trip. Go straight up the valley by the side of the one of the tallest falls in the world. Difficult start but would offer cool sights. Head over to the North Dome- more cool sights of the valley then head in land. We would have to hike out to the Tioga Rd, then come in from the North through Clouds at Rest, up the Half dome and back into the valley. Probably similar distance to what was previously planned. Doesn't get us into the really high country, most is 7-8500 ft, though Clouds at Rest is 9926. Difficult trip but we don't have to worry about closure or rides.

What do you guys think?

[AlmostThere]

That's a hard alternate, and if you find you have trouble with elevation/altitude you may find it even harder than you imagined. Good physical shape helps but does not immunize you against the effects of altitude on someone who is not acclimated. (That goes for your original plan too, btw.)

You are not going to be able to hike along the road or take a shuttle to another trailhead - the roads are not considered wilderness, and if you do more than cross the road, you have exited the wilderness and need a new permit to re-enter the trail system. Which isn't to say you can't do it, just that you need two permits for that sort of itinerary - legally, that's what you have to do.

So for one permit, you have to find an all trail round trip. You do not have to go to clouds rest to return to the valley - you can hike down Snow Creek and come out at Mirror Lake.

Most people try for alternates out of Glacier Point or Mono Meadow, which are off the Glacier Point rd. You do not say when you want to go so I can't tell if that is feasible for you.

[KC]

More words of wisdom from AlmostThere.

[crghc98]

thanks! We head in 6/26 and out 6/29

[AlmostThere]

hmmm... You may run into snow. Don't expect any high passes to be free and clear.

We were crossing patches of snow going to Clouds Rest last June. There was less snow last year. By then it will be consolidated and other hikers will have left steps to use, but keep it in mind.

[crghc98]

Thanks. Hence the backup giving us at least some options to choose from the lesser of two evils...it actually just snowed in the mountains in Vermont last night. Crazy weather year all around.

Two of us have been to higher altitudes, two haven't, and two of us have carried heavy packs, two haven't. I can't replicate the altitude here, but we'll be taking the other two on a "test" hike somewhere in NH next Friday to try to show them what 2-3k of elevation gain over a small amount of miles with a pack feels like on the legs... I think one of the guys is in for a surprise, the other gets it and has been training for it.