Suggestions for a 3-4 day trip in late August?

[amv167]

My boyfriend and I are looking for a good 3-4 day route to do in late August. We will be visiting Yosemite for the first time. We're looking to do 20-30 miles and are in decent shape. Any suggestions? We're looking for good scenery and hopefully some solitude, and also like to dart off and do day hikes if possible.

Also interested in suggestions for any good backcountry books or resources for Yosemite online.

Thanks!

[balzaccom]

There are a ton of options in Yosemite. But if you goal is to hike one day into a campsite, and then use that as a base camp...and you want isolation...that is hard to do in Yosemite. Most of the people who hike and backpack in Yosemite are looking for exactly the same thing!
And those trailheads do fill up quickly during the summer.

You could try Youngs Lakes...about six or seven miles in, and some nice exploring around once you get there. Ten lakes would also work. We have a lot of suggestions on our website, but here are a couple to consider--these are usually open even when the rest of the trails are overbooked:

Mono Meadows to Ottoway Lakes, up the Illilouette Canyon. Lovely area...not many people go this way.
Nelson Lake out of Tuolumne Meadows---the last part of this hike is off trail to Nelson Lake, so it doesn't get much traffic. And from there you can explore quite a lot.

[Grzldvt]

balzaccom as always has it nailed. August is the THE busiest time in Yosemite, solitude is difficult at best. However I suggest you look for Schaffer's book on hiking Yosemite. It is one of THE most popular books, and most informative for the first timers, on hiking the park, and details many options. You can also search the forum for recommendations that have been given to other asking the same question.

[amv167]

Thanks for the suggestions! I ordered Schaffer's book this morning. We did Glacier last summer and it seems like it was a lot easier to plan a route with all the backcountry sites...Yosemite is proving to be a little more difficult for me to get a handle on. We definitely don't want to stay at just one location, but we are interested in lower mileage days. It was just one of our regrets in Glacier, we felt like we missed a couple good day hikes because we had to get to the next site before dark. The Schaffer book might be just what I need...