The Grand Canyon of the Tuolume River

[iane58]

I am thinking of hiking Tuolumne River starting at Tuolumne Meadows and ending at White Wolf for the first time, I will have some newbies on the hike also. How hard is the hike? Will 3 day be enough time? What do I need to know? HELP

Ian

[bill-e-g]

If you only look at the mileage at about 27 miles then it should be doable in 3 days.
The kicker is coming out of Pate Valley you have over 3500ft. gain.
I wouldn't take a newbie on this in 3 days.
The wifey and I took my brother in law on White Wolf to Glen Aulin down
GCT and back to White Wolf. He had never backpacked before and
we did the GC section in 4 days. That is what I would recommend.
Day 1 - Glen Aulin Passthru ... somewhere between Cal Falls and Le Conte Falls
Day 2 - Past Muir Gorge to Cascade
Day 3 - Past Pate Valley to Morrison Creek - Camp around Morrison Creek
Day 4 - Up some more and out to White Wolf

I can get really hot down in the Canyon so I would plan 4 days as above.
Especially for a newbie. You can always just play it by ear and do it in 3 if you feel like it.

Have fun.

[hiker97]

Another consideration for the final day on GCT is the shuttle. If you're like me, the final day is also the drive home. Doing a lot of mileage on the last day, then having to shuttle back for a vehicle and drive home is not my cup of tea. Unless perhaps at the start of this trip you could work out using the Yosemite Tioga Rd shuttle...maybe leave the car(s) at White Wolf and then ride the shuttle out to Tuolumne Meadows? Then you would not have to return to TM to retrieve your other vehicle...

[gwegan]

I agree the hike out to from Pate Valley is difficult. Another suggestion is to start from White Wolf. Its 3500 feet in about 4 miles and the lower 2/3 is exposed.

The walk up from Waterwheel Falls to Tuolumne Meadows is much better than climbing out to White Wolf and there are plenty of campsites.

My youngest son was 9 when we did this and he had no problems with it.

[hiking*round]

Hi - I'm new to this board, but found this post and thought I'd reply. We are also thinking of taking a few days to hike through the Grand Canyon of the Tuolume. We were planning on starting at White Wolf, passing through Tuolume Meadows, picking up the JMT and ending in Yosemite Valley. If I've done my math right, it should be about a 50 mile trip (give or take). I'm wondering 2 things:

1. If the temp's in July will be to hot to travel through the Grand Canyon?
2. If anyone knows where I can find a map of backcountry camp sites where we could/would be able to pitch a tent along the way?

And if anyone's done something simliar to this trip before...any advice would be great! We're thinking of doing it in 5-6 days, but will be flexible depending on what pace we make along the way. Last year we did 50 miles on the JMT and summited Mt. Whitney - we had a blast and are excited to do soemthing similar in Yosemite! Thanks for your advice, everyone!

[bill-e-g]

50 miles is about right.

I wouldn't worry about the heat. Maybe worry about Mosquitos...

There is no 'map' of backcountry campsites.... you can camp anywhere
you like as long as you follow the basic rules... 100ft. from water..,
100 ft. from trail.. etc...
Please leave no trace, dont build new fire rings... consider not having a fire at all... respect others... respect wildlife...
That sort of thing...

Here are some of the spots people camp along this route:
- Morrison Creek
- Pate Valley
- Cascade before Muir Gorge
- Return Creek
- ALOT of places between LeConte and Calif Falls.
- Glen Aulin (above Calif Falls)
- Glen Aulin proper (HSC area)
- Lower Cathedral
- Upper Cathedral
- Long Meadow area
- Junction w/Clouds Rest Trail
- Little Yosemite Valley

Have fun! But, again, you can camp anywhere you like... (pretty much)

[hiking*round]

Excellent!! Thank you so much bill-e-g! That list is perfect and exactly what I was looking for! Any recommendations for the mosquitos?? Is there a type of repellent that works better than others?

[bill-e-g]

-DEET is your friend.... Guaranteed to work. Other stuff is suspect..
-Deep Woods Off... that sort of thing... personally I would say don't
worry too much about the "ill" effects... unless you plan on using it for
weeks on end...
-Long Sleeves, Long Pants
-Camp or stop for breaks IN the wind... it will help keep them at bay
-Headnet. If you wear a baseball cap you can just have it on the rim
and when hiking it won't feel restricting... when you stop you can pop
it down to keep them off... with DEET they won't bite but will still drive
you nuts
-Keep hiking... typically the amount will very greatly by elevation...

One other thing... keep your eye out for Poison Oak in the GCT...
It does exist up to around 5K in the canyon...

Have a great trip... Hopefully the waterfalls in the canyon are awesome
when you go thru it..

[hiking*round]

Not to be overly concerned here, but I've been reading some previous posts that talk about the hike out from Pate Valley to Tuolumne Meadow as being pretty hard. All of us are in pretty good shape and were able to tackle a 50 mile backpack and Mt. Whitney last year, no problems. However, that being said, we also want to enjoy this trip. Do you think this schedule sounds reasonable: (??)

Day One: Drive to Yosemite Valley
Day Two: Begin backpack at White Wolf (9 miles), camp in Pete Valley
Day Three: Continue backpack (10 miles), camp near Waterwheel Falls
Day Four: Continue backpack (8 miles), camp in Tuolumne Meadow
Day Five: Continue backpack (8 miles), camp near Sunrise Lakes
Day Six: Continue backpack (6 mile backpack + 4 mile day hike), camp near Moraine Dome, day hike Half Dome
Day Seven: Finish backpack at Yosemite Valley (6 miles), drive home

[bill-e-g]

"we did 50 miles on the JMT and summited Mt. Whitney"

What did you do? Kearsarge Pass? Roads End (Bubbs Creek)?
and out the Portal?
Shepherd Pass looks too short to be 50... ???

Well, any of those would be much more difficult than your route this year.

Your plan looks good. It's very reasonable.

[hiking*round]

Hi bill-e-g

Our 50 miles was from Onion Valley, up over Kearsarge and south to Guitar Lake. Then up the backside of Whitney, and on down to Whitney Portal. It was fantastic - I'd highly recommend it, if you haven't already been in this area!

Thanks again for your great advice, I appriciate the comments back!

Happy trails and hope you have some great adventures this year!

[bill-e-g]

Nice!
Yeah, you are gonna have a great trip. It should not be a problem
since you did Kearsarge and Forester and Whitney.

I've never hiked from the east... Just soooo far a drive from San Jose.
I had a bit of the JMT that I just "had" to finish so last year I went from
Roads End (Kings Canyon) up Bubbs to JMT to Whitney and then back
thru Kern River Basin-Lake Reflection-East Lake to Roads End.
Soooo beautiful.

Have a Great Trip! Hope the falls are really flowing nicely when you are there!

[holz]

Hi newbie,

I hiked up the GCT last year in mid-July and it was pretty stinking hot at the bottom. We came down from Rodgers lake and the 5000 ft drop was "challenging" especially with the heat.

However, it was also absolutely marvelous in Pate Valley. I jumped in the river with my clothes on after dropping my pack.

All in all, worth it, but make sure you plan on going a bit slower than you might otherwise.

My $.02.

[hiking*round]

Hi holz -

Thanks for your 2 cents - it's very appriciated! I'm a little bit nervous about the heat, but hope that there are pockets of shade along the way to relax in, if needed. I think the 5,000' drop is going to be challenging with or without heat and my knees don't look forward to it. But it sounds like if we take it slow we should be fine. When you say that Pate Valley was marvelous - is that to say that the temps were nicer once you reached the water?? Or was it still crazy hot? It is July - in a big canyon...so hot temps are to be expected. I just don't want the temperature to RUIN the trip. Hot is fine as long as it's managable and there are opportunities for shade. You know what I mean...?

[bill-e-g]

The drop from White Wolf is approx. 3500ft.
There is a lot of shade in Pate Valley... and plenty of trees along the
way to rest under.
In the hotest part of the day just take a siesta under a tree...