Can I drive/park on the the 'fire roads' to the south ?

[burtonator]

Towards the south of yosemite are an array of what look like fire roads. They all have numbers and and a few have names (like Sky Ranch Road).

These look like unpaved roads and I imagine I can do about 5-10MPH on them and get to my location.

I want to try to start off at Chiquito Pass and there is a road that reaches and I could probably make it there in 40-80 minutes which would shave two days off my trip. (one there and one back).

Can I park there? I looked on Google maps and at the entrance off 41 there were no signs which seemed to prohibit access.

[balzaccom]

There is a network of roads into this area that start near Bass Lake and go to Clover Meadows, Granite Creek, Fernandez etc.

The roads are usually passable in passenger cars, but with lots of potholes, gravel and ruts. I would suggest that you plan a 10-15 mph speed on most of them.

[bill-e-g]

Yes. You want Quartz Mtn. Sky Ranch is slow way in.
Go to ranger on 41 Oakhurst. They will tell you how
to get there and give you a crude map.

[bill-e-g]

The map is here if you want to take a look:
http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php ... #msg-28456

Quartz Mtn was probably talked about previously on this forum.
Unfortunately the search doesn't work well/at all on this forum.

You can start at/near Chiquito Lake (can't remember the TH off the top of my head),
but Quartz is the better starting pt. imo. You'll walk thur Chiquito Pass
regardless of which one you take. (but use the Quartz Mt one!)

Have fun

[dan]

Here's some old threads talking about Chiquito Pass or Quartz Mountain:

3 or 4 day packpacking trip...Northern or Southern Yosemite?

Southern Yosemite trips

First-timers looking for advice on proposed route

[AlmostThere]

I have driven in my no-clearance vehicle on most of those roads, and have been to Quartz Mtn and Chiquito Pass THs. They are variable, progressing from paved to semi-paved, not paved, rutted in places, several inches deep in fine silty dust that will permeate every nook and cranny of your vehicle or turn into yucky mud... in hunting season the hunters roar around on them in Jeeps and trucks, churning the dust into airborne clouds, which in the sunlight is impossible to see/navigate through. But once you get to the trailhead, no problem.

All hikes into that SW part of the park, I would start at Quartz Mtn - the drive to Chiquito TH adds a whole bunch of driving and a pointless couple of miles to the hike. Chiquito Lake is more or less a bog.

[hiker97]

Yes, I've hiked in from Quartz Mtn as well and it is definitely the best starting point to reach Chain Lakes and then further in to Ottoway Lake, etc. I think the only benefit to Chiquito would be if you were doing a shuttle trip ending at a trail head further east, based upon the forest service road connections.