OBOFRT/Rockslides + North Rim Trail

[mhinch]

Greetings Fellow Wanderers:

I want to add my thanks to the myriad of knowledgeable people here that
help to make the Yosemite experience better for all of us. Thanks!!

Like others (http://www.yosemite.ca.us/forum/viewtopic/f=7&t=2335)
I'm considering the North Rim Trail similar to the Backpacker Magazine
route (http://www.backpacker.com/destinations/hikes/368705). The information on
that thread and others has been very useful, but I have a handful of mundane
questions about it all:

1. OBOFRT Trailhead vs. Rockslides Trailhead. Distance seems to be about the
same, but the trip report and pictures I've seen on Rockslides attempts to
discourage one from attempting that route. True? Both of these trailheads
are open in late July, which itself is suspicious -- something I'm
missing (other than the part about 2500' altitude gain in 4 miles)? I'm currently
leaning towards the Rockslides Trailhead.

2. Part of the reason to ask the above question concerns logistics. If I wind
up in Yosemite without a car, can I practically get to OBOFRT trailhead? The
YARTS bus web site suggests that they MIGHT stop there if asked, but it's
up to the driver. Will they generally stop at/near there? If that's a known
problem, then I'll plan for Rockslides and walk to the trailhead. Obviously
I need to get the right permit ...

3. Rockslides Trailhead has a certain mystery about it. Perhaps the assembled
wisdom here can help.
(A) Where is it? I *think* it departs from Northside Drive across from
El Capitan Meadow west of El Capitan Drive. Right? It's not on
the Yosemite Trailhead maps.
(B) where does it go? Since it's not on the trailhead maps one is
left to wonder. Assuming I have the right trailhead, then on
USGS maps it appears to be the tralhead for a west bound trail
(which I assume is OBOFRT) climbing past Rainbow View and linking
to the North Rim Trail at Cascade creek. Right?
(C) What is it? According to the backcountry permit form, it is a
"Cross Country Only" trailhead. Never having been backcountry
in Yosemite I'm not sure what that means? I can't use any of the trails?
I have to be going at least a 1000 miles? Can I start at this
trail head and walk up (unmapped) the trail to the North Rim Trail and be OK?

4. The permit asks about the number of people in my party (obviously). In my case
it will be either 1 or 3. If I apply for three is there any problem in reducing that
number when I arrive? While I'm on this topic, any special problems with solo hiking
in Yosemite that I should be aware of?

5. What is the official and unofficial story on backcountry cooking fires?
My route is entirely below 9600' so I'm OK on that part.
(A) The regs seem to say only fires in previously existing firerings?
In the backcountry there are previously existing firerings???
(B) I understand the theory about using only dead and down wood. Is there
enough dead and down wood (I'm going in July) that I can count
on not needing to bring a stove/fuel?
(c) Does Yosemite ever declare a ban on all open fires in the backcountry
due to fire danger? Is such a ban often in effect in late July?

Thanks!!! for your collective help!

-Mark

[balzaccom]

Wow--that's a lot of questions.

i'll take a stab at a few of them.

The reason that these trailheads still have space on the quotas is because they are not going to Little Yosemite Valley, The John Muir Trail, or the High SIerra Camps. Those trailheads are mobbed because they get all the press--and they are spectacular. But so is the hike you are considering.

The Rockslide trail isn't that hard to follow, from what I have read. (I'll hike it some time in the next year or two, and then let you know!) You need a good topo map--but you should have one anyway when you are hiking. The trail is clearly shown on Acmemapper's topo site.

The Yarts buses generally stop at a trailhead if you ask them...but do so long before you get to the stop. Don't expect to walk up to the driver as he is approaching the trailhead and ask to stop immediately.

Once you get a wilderness permit, you can hike out of that trailhead pretty much as far as you want---as long as you don't exit the wilderness and try to start again somewhere new. Cross country just means that you may be using use trails, or navigating on your own, rather than following a clearly signed trail. It does not mean you are hiking across the US.

Get the permit for your largest group size. When you pick it up, you can explain that some of your party couldn't make it. They'll add those spots back into the quota pool so that other hikers can use them,

Fires are usually allowed in Yosemite wilderness below 9600 feet, but only in existing fire rings. Yes, people in the backcountry have build many fire rings over the decades. DO NOT assume you are always going to find one where you want it. And this year, with the very dry conditions, do not be surprised if fires are limited to cooking stoves that you can turn off with a valve---and no open fires at all. It's a possibility. Just and FYI--we never make a cooking fire when we backpack. We hate the way that campsites get to look--completely stripped of all downed wood--and my wife is a chef, so she likes the control of a camping stove.

You will also need a bear canister--and they rent those very cheaply at the wilderness office where you need to pick up your permit.

[mhinch]

Thanks for the tips and insights.

I'll see if I can get to the Rockslides trail before you and blaze it for you! My current plan is ~July 21.

Also, I 100% understand the problem with too much traffic, even in the backcountry, stripping an area
bare of wood. I'll plan on a stove to avoid contributing to the problem.

And thanks for the pointer to your blog/website. I had stumbled onto it before, but now that I've
made the connection between that site and your contributions here I'll spend more time looking
through the entire site. Already I like your simple approach to bear avoidance -- avoid the dumb
people that attract bears!

[balzaccom]

Ha! Great! Hope to see you out on the trail !

[RickM]

My wife and I backpacked the North Rim Trail via the Rockslides trail head in 2011. Finding the TH was not that hard (we took the shuttle to El Capitan meadow stop IIRC). The rockslides "trail" did require several sections of boulder scrambling. Most of the sections were short and across the rockslide section. The last one was more substantial and required scrambling up the rockslide as the slide appeared to have covered over a section of short switchbacks. Definitely a beautiful hike, just allow extra time to get across the boulders without any time pressure.

Rick M.
Pleasant Hill, CA

[mhinch]

Modified plan (maybe): Now I'm thinking of starting at Olmstead Point and ENDING at Rockslides.
Thoughts? Anyone tried going DOWN across Rockslides?

[mhinch]

Since I never found anyone who admitted to down DOWN Rockslides, allow
me to contribute that going down was not a problem (well actually it was a
hard scramble across all those rock slides, but I never lost the trail). Going down
has the advantage that I could always see the trail I was working towards downslope
on the other side of the slide area, so getting lost was never a problem.
BTW - Rockslides is well named, i.e., plural. I lost count of how may scrambles
I made (~3 major ones and another 3-4 smaller ones)! Going up this would be
truly challenging because it's probably hard to know when you're at the last
one that needs a major uphill push. I'd really want a GPS for going up
this trail. But anyway, going down was not a route-finding problem since
I could always see the trail.

Also, the rock slides are definitely the major challenge, but keep in mind
that this is an UNmaintained trail. It really makes you appreciate the
folks that clear trails for us all in the Spring. This trail has lots of
downed trees (think 4 foot diameter trees, sometimes with several
piled together) that require the own scrambling to get over/around//through.

It's entirely do-able, and I met several people that had come up that way,
but it's challenging. I'm glad I did it in the downhill direction!