Recommendations for 3 night hike?

[GLane18]

I've only backpacked Yosemite a couple of times and am taking some friends on a 3 night backpacking trip in Yosemite. They've never been backpacking before and have never been to Yosemite. All are in their 20s and in good shape.

What would all you vets out there recommend for a 3 night hike? Are there any loops that have good waterfalls, half dome, Clouds Rest? Thank you!

[AlmostThere]

If you are going now, you should pay very close attention to forecasts.

If you are going in late spring or summer, I recommend a one night backpack close to home, and then a three night, because nothing turns a backpack into a death march faster than discovering the body just doesn't want to do it, the pack doesn't fit, the tent doesn't have seam sealing...

The best thing you can do for newbies relying on you is to get them to borrow or rent the expensive stuff, set a low miles, low elevation gain itinerary, and encourage them to start with something easy to figure out gear. If they're fit and don't care about being sore at the end of the day it's a little different but not very, I've seen young guys out there who end up sleeping in til noon the second day of their very first backpack. It's not at all like dayhiking as some have discovered. I had a guy who dayhiked with us for 8-10 miles on a few occasions suddenly want to backpack - I got him to hike 3 painful miles with a 25 lb backpack and he did not enjoy being cold and awake all night, despite the good gear, due to an undiagnosed medical issue that he later found out was throwing his entire temp regulation ability out of wack.

You never can tell about these things. So putting up stuff in the backyard, going for one night, trying stuff out is my recommendation.

And then, for the 3 day, I would suggest setting up tickets for the hiker bus to drop you on Tioga Pass, and hike one way to the valley floor, stopping at clouds rest and at one other location - if you are crowd avoidant, that will not be Little Yosemite Valley. You could go toward Merced Lake and camp in the neighborhood of Moraine Dome, there are a number of good spots there.

[balzaccom]

Boy is that good advice. Neatly said, AT!

[Erica]

when i bring new people with me in backpacking, first i test them with one day of
hard (not too much, i'm not a monster) trekking. At the end of the day i can see who can spend a night in the tent
and wake up the day after without too much lactic acid, and who can't.
I've been surprised many times by the endurance of some guys: students who
don't spend time in a gym, but don't have money enough to use the bus,
are usually better then many body builders and some athletes...
so.. test them before, and after think about the technical gear for a 3 night hike,
this is my method

[orion]

if you want to check out the high country, i recommend Young Lakes north of Tuolumne Meadows. the hike isn't especially difficult, six or seven miles, without too much elevation gain from the trailhead. the next day you could climb Mt. Conness, which is a walk-up, but with some exposure just before the top, and any in your group who aren't feeling up for that could laze about the lake or fish. no campfires, if that is something you need.

i'd say it's a great introdution to high country back-packing and i recommend it to anyone who asks me about going up there for the first time.

[GLane18]

Wow, thanks for the great advice! We are doing a practice run, just like mentioned above, for one night in Desolation Wilderness (in May). Going to make sure the gear fits, see what went well, what didn't go well, etc., and adjust.

Yosemite is going to be the end of June.