Buena Vista Crest

[jgaffney]

I had an epic backpacking trip planned for last week. I was going to leave from the Bridalveil Campground on Glacier Pt Road, head south to the Buena Vista Crest, swing east over Merced Pass, then northwest down Illilouette Creek to Happy Isles. The first day out, I camped at Deer Camp, about 5 miles south of Glacier Pt Rd. The stream there was dry and I was down to 1 liter of water. I turned around the next morning and headed back to the campground (and water spigot) because the presumption was that, if the creek at Deer Camp was dry, I wouldn’t find any water until I got to the Chilnualna Lakes and I couldn’t make that on just 1 liter of water. I ended up hiking the south rim of the Yosemite Valley, where I only found 1 reliable source of water at Bridalveil Creek. I can only carry 3 liters of water at a time, and that is 8 pounds! If we get an El Nino this winter as predicted, I’ll try the Buena Vista hike again next year.

The red line was my planned route, while the blue line was my actual route.

[balzaccom]

Yeah--we did a version of this trip in early APRIL and there was no snow to be seen. It was sad...

[jgaffney]

I'm already planning on this trip for Aug 2016. One thing I noticed is that if I take the trail out of the south end of Bridalveil Campground, instead of the trail to the west, I can avoid the drop down into Alder Canyon (and back up), and shave about a mile and a half off of the first day's walk to Turner Meadows. That works for me.

[balzaccom]

I'm already planning on this trip for Aug 2016. One thing I noticed is that if I take the trail out of the south end of Bridalveil Campground, instead of the trail to the west, I can avoid the drop down into Alder Canyon (and back up), and shave about a mile and a half off of the first day's walk to Turner Meadows. That works for me.

That's assuming you can park your car at that point in the campground. I bet that's not legal. You probably have to park in a separate area farther from the trailhead...and it's probably about the same distance. That must be a corollary of Murphy's Law