Young Lakes Out and Back

TL;DR

This was a fun short overnight we did on a whim. Starting from Tuolumne Meadows from the Young Lakes via Dog Lake trail head, the trail meanders 7 miles up to the high country through forest and open meadows. We did this as an overnight but would be great as a two-nighter, allowing for more time to enjoy the lakes and perhaps scramble up Mt Conness. Depending on the time of year, check snow and creek reports. We did this hike mid-July on a mediocre snow year and some creeks were dry already. Permits can be reserved using Yosemite’s online permitting process or at one of the Wilderness Permit Stations. Young Lakes sit at 9800ft elevation.

Thoughts

We picked these permits up on a whim when Yosemite announced they would be releasing the reserve in-person permits through online lottery. Kudos to Yosemite for coming up with a system like this as quick as they did. The process from a user perspective was seemless. I applied to the lottery the same way I always do for permits. Instructions were very clear as to what I needed to do, from the online ranger presentation, submitting the access code to get my permit and parking pass PDF, to arriving at the park and just showing my permit print-out and ID. So just a thank you to the park operators in general, this year has been rough but thank you for doing your best to make a place like Yosemite accessible and safe for everyone involved. From a backpacker’s perspective, it was as easy as can be.

By the way Pohono got punted to the fall. Maybe we’ll be back in September?

We had never started from this trail head before. I was in part, inspired by this article from The Outbound Collective. Seemed like a nice, straightforward trip with a rewarding destination. Over the years I’ve come to realize how much I really love the alpine wilderness. I love those granite lakes and camping at the tree line. This hike checked all the boxes. And like any first trip of the season, short and sweet just to get back into the swing of things.

Right from the parking lot, the hike starts with some gain with typical Yosemite switchbacks. Eventually you’ll top out and begin alternating between switchbacks and meadows. The weather was pleasant when we went so we weren’t plowing through our starting water supply. I imagine it could get quite hot though. Delaney Creek was the first water source we crossed, it was still going strong. Dingley Creek was the second and served as a nice lunch spot on the way out. The area around Dingley Creek also had some beautiful views of the Tuolumne area and Cathedral Peak.

It didn’t take too long until we arrived at the lower Young Lake. There were a handful of camping spots on the northern side but I had that alpine lake feel in mind so we pushed on. The second lake was easy to find but was still to foresty. After a little bit of meandering we found a steep trail cutting up next to a waterfall. We followed that and finally found the upper lake in all its alpine glory.

Not a ton to say about this trip. It was short, it was great to be outside after three months of shelter in place, and got to test our setup out in preparation for Lost Coast. Any trip to Yosemite is a good trip.

Chilnualna Falls Out and Back

TL;DR

Check out one of the least visited areas of the Yosemite. Starting from Wawona, its a steep (but not as steep as the valley) up to the top of Chilnualna Falls. This is great as a 8 mile day hike or as a short leisurely out and back backpacking trip. There’s very little water access until you reach the top of the falls. Pay attention to water levels, especially during the spring and summer. Permits can be reserved using Yosemite’s online permitting process or at one of the Wilderness Permit Stations. We did this trip in September as a 1-nighter.

Thoughts

Ah, but this was supposed to be a Pohono trip wasn’t it??? Apparently mother nature had other plans. Storm closure of Glacier Point Road forced us to swap our itinerary. While it is possible to hike up 4 mile trail to Glacier Point, the group we were with wasn’t up to the task.

Luckily, Chilnualna Falls trailhead is rarely full. We were able to get enough permits for our group and successfully rearranged our trip. Pohono, hopefully, we’ll see you in 2020.

The minimum distance from a trailhead you have to hike before camping in Yosemite, is 4 miles, so that became our goal. Coincidentally, its 4 miles to the top of Chilnualna Falls so we were aiming for a just a bit past the top. This trip was intended to be an intro to backpacking for multiple friends so we were trying to do something a little easier than the brutal 15 mile days we’ve been doing as of late. It was a nice break for us as well. However, anything in Yosemite is going to have a decent amount of elevation gain, this one being no exception. Its about 2000ft of gain over those 4 miles

The hike up to to the top of the falls cuts away from the creek so there isn’t all too much to see other than some nice glimpses of the surrounding granite domes, ya know, if you’re into that sort of thing like I am. We took frequently breaks and enjoyed the surprisingly warm weather. Night temperatures were supposed to dip below freezing so we were enjoying it while it lasted.

We stopped at the top of the falls to enjoy the view. Already, a cold breeze was beginning to pick up. We meandered a bit further, past the fork in the trail. The ranger had said there should be some established sites past the top of the falls with some fire rings. How rare it is we get to enjoy a fire in the backcountry.

It didn’t take too long to find a good site that would fit all of us plus had a good fire ring. The wind felt like ice at this point and I was ready to put some layers on. Once camp was set up we decided to explore a bit downstream. Since it was fall, the creek flow was slow but steady. We scampered across the exposed rock, following it down to subsequent pools that would have been amazing swimming holes if the temperature wasn’t plummeting.

After our explorations we built our fire and settled in for snacks, dinner, and a round table reading from this young adult Goosebumps-esque National Parks themed book called “Ghost Horse” my friend gave me as a gag gift. The night was everything great about backpacking with friends. The minute we finished, snowflakes started falling down from the black sky, followed quickly by hail. There was a flurry of goodnight’s as we doused the fire and headed for our tents. Right as we were settling inside, a flash of lightning lit up the tent followed by a crash of thunder. What timing indeed.

The next day was a slow moving morning. D and I still operate in long distance mode so we were up at sunrise, ate breakfast rather slowly, and then waited around for the rest of the group. Despite the slow pack up, it was a mad dash back down the trail to the car. Group trip accomplished. We got to see whats up above Chilnualna. I had been wondering for a while what’s back there. Based on maps, there’s a pretty expansive wilderness area and it sounds like hardly anyone goes. Sometimes its also nice to have this leisurely trips. To enjoy some of the little luxuries we don’t always get on our, shall we say “more exhausting” trips.

Wonderland Trail

TL;DR

Circumnavigate Mount Rainier over 93 miles and 26,000 ft of elevation gain and loss on the Wonderland Trail. Aptly named, the trails winds through flowery meadows and misty forests as it ungulates around the mountain. Either enter the permit lottery or roll the dice for a walk-up permit. This backcountry loop only allows camping is designated sites. We had to do an extra excursion off trail due to the campgrounds we were assigned. All campgrounds have a pit toilet as well as bear poles for hanging food. Check with the park rangers regarding water crossings and trail conditions before starting. Water sources are plentiful and the mosquitos mild. We started this hike from Longmire and left a car there for the duration of the hike. We lucked out with mild weather and no rain which is definitely not always the case. Be prepared for heavy rain and possibly snow even during the summer months. We did this hike at the end of July after a mild snow year for Washington. There was still snow on some parts when we did this hike.

Permits

The Wonderland Trail permits are awarded based on a lottery system run by Mount Rainier National Park. You can apply for sections of the trail as well as for the full loop. There are walk-up permits available as well.

From March 15 until March 31, you can apply for Wonderland permits here. Applications will be processed in a random order and you’ll be notified sometime toward the end of April to beginning of May. There is a nonrefundable 20$ to submit the application (even if you aren’t awarded a permit).

The trail does not allow dispersed camping. All camping is regulated to distinct sites along the trail. The permit will ask for your desired itinerary, including starting and ending dates, entry trailhead, exit trailhead, and nightly campsites.

The permit application also allows for some flexibility, if you want it. It will ask if you’ll accept alternate campsites, dates, starting trailhead, and hiking direction. In the notes box, we had also added that we could hike 16 mile days which is probably how we ended up with a campground not on the actual trail. These options are double edged swords. It does increase chances you’ll be awarded a permit but it opens the possibility to a sub-par itinerary. Not all campgrounds are equal IMO.

Note: These were the options when we applied in 2019.

Itinerary

We did a 7 day clockwise itinerary starting from Longmire and actually received most of the campgrounds we had requested. We were actually permitted an 8 day itinerary but the day 7 camp was Paradise River which ended up closed due to hazard trees. We were reassigned to Cougar Rock when we picked up the permit. Cougar Rock isn’t on the Wonderland trail and is roughly 1 mile from Longmire so we decided to just finish it in 7 days.

Day	Mileage	Camp	Food Cache
1	16.7	Klapatche Park
2	7.6	Golden Lakes
3	10.3	Mowich Lake	X
4	13.5	Mystic Lake
5	12.9	White River	X
6	17.1	Olallie Creek
7	16.9	End at Longmire

Thoughts

I had actually been pretty excited about this trip. There’s a lot of glamour to a trail with a name like Wonderland so the bar was set pretty high. The photos from guidebooks and trip reports are simply amazing. The hype from winning the permits really amps you up. And if you haven’t caught on yet, I’m not sure how much I really enjoyed the trip. Don’t get me wrong, there were absolutely stunning moments along the trail. But there were also a large amount of mundane moments that made up a large percentage of those 7 days. Let’s start from the beginning.

We knew going into this that day 1 was going to be rough. We were looking at a 17 mile day with roughly 6500ft of gain and 3700ft of loss according to CalTopo. Not exactly how you want to start a multi-day hike. We grabbed a high cost but conveniently located motel room at Gateway Inn and Cabins for the night before our start. It made picking up our permit the day before and getting an early start feasible as it was only 15-20 minutes from the Longmire trailhead and wilderness center.

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Right from the start you notice just how vibrantly green everything is. Coming from California, lush vegetation is just not something you see unless you’re on the coast. The multitude of greens right next to the trail was astounding. We settled into our step as we took in the ups and downs of the trail. Hiking through dense forest can be beautiful and it was different from our typical high Sierra granite sprawls. Lots of shade, limited exposure except on the high points. It didn’t take long until we were treated with our first view of Mount Rainier. One minute we were in dense foliage, the next, the world opened up to this view.

In and out of the trees we weaved. Every once in a while we’d come across a meadow overrun with a variety of wildflowers and a spectacular view of the mountain. These were probably my favorite moments and the whole reason I had wanted to do this trail in the first place.

Each day we were presented with a similar schedule; a couple thousand feet of gain or descent, lunch, then a couple thousand feet of the opposite. A lot of switchbacks were done, most of them in dense forest. On this trip I discovered that I much prefer open expanses to hiking with limit sight of where the trail is going. The images often advertised of vast alpine meadows are from specific areas and not totally representative of the whole trail.

After doing the JMT last year I realized that I don’t really care to write play by plays. For the most part, you had to be there. There are high points or little points of interest that I enjoy writing about, but for the most part, I don’t think I could do these places justice and I much rather inspire people to go do it for themselves.

My favorite part of the trail was definitely day 6, White River to Olallie Creek. Olallie Creek in itself was moral destroying, I don’t recommend using that camp. However, the trail through Summerland and Indian Bar was everything I had wanted the Wonderland Trail to be. I love being above the tree line. I love alpine meadows and snow melt lakes. We could see the climbers descending after summiting the mountain. We could see Mt Adams and Mt Hood after we topped out from Indian Bar. That day was stunning.

Mount Rainier itself, almost as tall as Whitney, dominates the landscape in the area like surrounding peaks like Mt Adams. Its so tall compared to everything else that it really is quite a beautiful mountain. The Wonderland Trail was an adventure for sure and every excursion is a learning experience. I think I might take a break from the long hikes. I find I don’t have the time or energy to really appreciate just being there. I’m looking forward to a few relaxing overnighters now that I can better appreciate them. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to do the Wonderland Trail. Can’t beat those wildflowers, that’s for sure.

JMT Day 3

TL;DR

Day 3 took us from Upper Cathedral Lake to Lyell Fork in 15.3 moderately flat miles. We took an extended lunch in Tuolumne Meadows where you can also pick up a resupply if needed. We followed Lyell Canyon until we just couldn’t walk anymore. Several established campsites are spread out on the mountain side of the trail. Elevations still below the cutoff for campfires.

GPS Track and Elevation Data

Click here to go back to the main JMT page

Thoughts

Now facing an even longer day than the one before, we woke up early once again to beat the heat and try and put a dent in the 15 miles we had. What little uphill we had that day was right at the beginning. We passed the turn off for Lower Cathedral Lake, bringing back memories of our past trip, and then descended toward Tuolumne Meadows. The portion through Tuolumne Meadows wasn’t all that eventful. We chose not to cross over to the north side of Hwy 120 . Half my maps say the trail stays south while the other half says the trail crosses over so we decided to just stay south since we planned on getting food anyway. We made good time getting to the shuttle stop and burger place but ended up lingering too long, enjoying the fresh food and somewhat dreaded the next leg.

The meanders parallel to Tioga Rd until passing the Tuolumne Meadows Ranger Station when it starts cutting south to Lyell Canyon. This was the beginning of uncharted territory for us. I hadn’t even heard much of Lyell Canyon until planning this trip but it might be one of my favorite spots in Yosemite now. Its a beautiful wide canyon with a river that snakes back and forth within a grassy meadow. We took a second lunch break next to the water to soak our feet and just enjoy how amazing it all was.

Soaking our feet might have contributed to our demise. We were stiff after that break and really just wanted to be at camp already. As you travel further into the canyon, it begins to narrow and the walls become taller. We were soon in shadow and the temperature began to drop. The last 2 miles of everyday will always feel like the longest, no matter how many miles you’re doing. Feeling exhausted, we decided to just camp at the first sites we could find, falling short of goal that day. The last mile would have required a decent amount of elevation gain that we knew we didn’t have the energy for.

Scattered among the granite we found two campsites that had fire rings. Being one of the few places we could actually have a fire and with the chill setting in, we happily made one, enjoyed our dinner, and quickly passed out. This was only day 3.

Previous Day

Next Day

JMT Day 2

TL;DR

For our second day on the trail, we hiked from Little Yosemite Valley to Upper Cathedral Lake. This was our first full day of hiking and was a rough 12.5mi. You gain elevation quickly as you bypass offshoots to Half Dome and Clouds Rest. Once in the high country, you’ll hike by Sunrise High Sierra Camp, through Cathedral Pass and then descend to Upper Cathedral Lake. Established campsites surround the south and east sides of the lake.

GPS Track and Elevation Data

Click here to go back to the main JMT page

 

Thoughts

We woke up early to get a head-start on the elevation gain we had that day. About 3700ft of gain awaited us and started right outside of Little Yosemite Valley. Immediately, you start doing switch backs up to the fork to Half Dome and then to the fork to Clouds Rest. While I’ve done many hikes through Yosemite, I’ve actually never hiked from the Valley up to Tioga Pass. Once I passed the turn off to Half Dome I was in new territory, and to be honest, it wasn’t that exciting. The air was warm and dry as we passed through dead forests and dry brush. The scenery was pretty unchanging and there were long dry gaps between water sources. At mile 6, we hit the most heinous set of switchbacks I’ve ever done. Even after the end of the trip, nothing compared to these switchbacks. They were abnormally steep and, despite being a short section, dragged on forever.

We topped out on Sunrise mountain and collapsed for lunch. This was our high point of the day, close to 9800ft. It wasn’t a great spot for lunch. We were exposed with little shade and all the rocks were covered in sap. We rested up then began our decent that would bring us past Sunrise High Sierra camp. We had been through this section before when we did our hike to Lower Cathedral Lake. Its a beautiful meadow that brings you past Tressider Peak to Cathedral Pass.

My memory of Cathedral Pass was doing me a disservice as I didn’t remember it being that long. We were dragging by the time we made the last descent to Upper Cathedral Lake. Our first full day of hiking was taking its toll. We mosied down to the southern part of the lake looking for an open camping spot. The sun was going down and any hopes of getting a quick dip in the lake were diminishing as we saw most of the established campsites were taken. We started making our way back into the granite slopes looking for a spot flat enough for a tent. We found a few plateaus that would be good enough and set up there. Mosquitoes were out in force due to the warm weather. After getting water, rinsing off our feet, and eating dinner, D and made another trip down to lake to take some photos and enjoy the alpenglow. Cathedral lakes and peak have always been one of our favorite spots in Yosemite and it was a nice treat to come back.

Previous Day

Next Day

JMT Day 1

TL;DR

Our first day on the trail took us from Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley in 5 short miles. Because we didn’t get a Little Yosemite Valley pass-thru on our JMT permit, we were required to stay the night in Little Yosemite Valley. Little Yosemite Valley backpacker’s camp sits back behind Nevada Falls. Campsites have bear boxes and there is also a 4 stall solar toilet for the camp.

GPS Track and Elevation Data

Click here to go back to the main JMT page

 

Thoughts

Shuttling the cars ended up being a 2 day affair. We drove two cars out to Lone Pine and dropped one off at Whitney Portal. The next day we started the drive north, stopped by Mammoth to drop of our Red’s resupply (which ended up being an endeavor in itself), and then continued on Yosemite Valley. Since we arrived after the day hikers were already leaving (~6:30PM) we were able to get a parking spot. We made our way over to valley backpacker’s camp and squeezed our way into half of a campsite. That was my first time using that backpacker’s camp and it was a bit chaotic. Its kind of every person for themselves yet you still have to pay even if you don’t necessarily have a real spot. Randomly, the rangers will come around checking for payment tags and if you don’t have one you’ll get an earful and then kicked out. The night was hot and I got my first mosquito bites before the trip even began.

We weren’t in any rush to start the next day. We packed up and went to “HalfDome Village” (I miss Camp Curry) to get breakfast and then headed to the general store to grab some lunch to take with us. We then returned to the car to make last minute gear choices and prepare to leave for real. With a poorly planned early afternoon start, we said bye to my car and set off toward Vernal Falls.

The initial segment of this trail is packed with day hikers making their way to the base of the falls. If you’ve never done the Vernal Falls hike, it has a decent amount of elevation gain within a short distance. We bobbed and weaved past the day hikers just so we didn’t have to do the steep portions at a slow pace. Just over the bridge at the bottom of Vernal is the fork to the Mist Trail on the left and the John Muir Trail on the right with the first trail sign for the JMT.

The trail wondered up switch backs until it reached the top of Nevada Falls. The short day was a nice way to ease back into backpacking even though it sort of truncated our schedule more. Although, we can’t really complain, not many people are even awarded the Happy Isles start.

We took a break at Nevada Falls to cool off and eat lunch. Little Yosemite is about a mile past the falls so we weren’t in any rush. On the way there, we did have our first wildlife encounter. A rattlesnake on the side of the trail. I am not a fan of snakes by any means. They’re actually what I worry about most backpacking. We reached the Little Yosemite Valley backpacker’s camp, set up camp, then headed down to the river to lounge around some more. Much to my dismay, our second wildlife encounter ended up being a water snake floating by right as I was about to get in. This trip was off to a great start.

Next Day

Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail

TL;DR

Enjoy all the Santa Cruz mountains have to offer in this ~30 mile thru-hike from Skyline Ridge to the Waddle Beach. Official trail starts at Saratoga Gap, however, overnight parking isn’t allowed there. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a drop-off, you can park at Castle Rock State Park and add on 3.5mi. Traditionally done in 3 days, we did it in 2 with a big 18.5mi first day from Castle Rock SP to Big Basin SP. A car shuttle of some sort is necessary for this hike. You are required to camp in designated campgrounds along the trail. Most campgrounds are closed during the winter and the agency will not issue permits until they open. The majority of the trail is shaded although temperatures can get warm during the summer months.

GPS Track and Elevation Data

Permits

A big beef I have with the backpacking around the Bay Area is how convoluted the permitting process is. Top hits when googling “Skyline to sea” don’t actually send you to any agency where you can get permits. Navigating Redwood Hikes sends you to a backcountry trail camps site where you can actually start the process. Here is a summary step-by-step of how we got our permits for S2S (as of June 2018).

1. Plan out how many miles you want to do a day and what campsites that puts you near. Redwood Hikes does give a great overview of the trail, the different parks you hike through, and where the campgrounds are.
2. Check campsite availability to see if the dates you want are available. A “(0)” next to the campground means there are no sites available there. Limit is 6 people per site.
3. Up to 60 days before your planned dates, submit a Backcountry Trailcamp Request
4. Wait until they email you back saying that you have been “approved”
5. If you have been approved, you now have until 5PM the next business day to call (831)338-8861 (during business hours) and submit payment. If you don’t do this in time, your request is cancelled, and you must start all over again.
6. After paying over the phone, they will email you your backpacking permit as well as 1 parking permit. If you are planning on parking a car at either end, you will need to pay for the second car upon arrival.

Thoughts

I have some pretty mixed feelings about this trail. Some parts were just a grind and a bore to get through while other parts were absolutely gorgeous and wonderful to be in. First and foremost, we mostly used this as a gear test/training hike for the JMT. We had a group of 4 and 2 cars, one for either end. The morning of we drove out to Waddell, dropped off one car and then continued on to Castle Rock. This whole process took 2 hours starting from Oakland. The Castle Rock parking lot is pretty heinous. It fills up ridiculously early due to the popular rock climbing there and they don’t reserve spots for overnight backpackers. We arrived at the lot around 9:30am and it was completely full so we had to wait and pray that someone who did an early hike would leave. God must have been looking in our direction because we only had to wait about 15 minutes. 10am isn’t that great a start when you have 18.5 miles to do.

I would say our day 1 was pretty bland. If you start from Castle Rock, you will meander along the Saratoga Gap trail until it meets up with the official Skyline-to-the-Sea trail. Castle Rock is unfortunately within very close proximity to an outdoor gun range. For the first 3-4 miles the ambiance consists of periodic gun fire. Once you have traveled out of hearing range of the gunfire, you get to travel directly next to highway 9 where you can enjoy the sounds of passing traffic. There were also a couple abandoned cars that looked like they careened off the highway. The dense foliage made them unsalvageable.

We stopped at the Waterman Gap Trail Camp for lunch and to refill our water. Its a bit depressing to stop for lunch at 9 miles and realize you’re only halfway done. The camp was very nice. We sat around an unoccupied campsite to eat. Soon after we were on our way again. The rest of the day passed by in a mosquito filled haze and we rolled into Big Basin well after dark and then finally to Jay Camp around 10PM. Jay Camp is a bit off the trail and involved wondering through the Big Basin parking lots for roughly a mile before finding the camp.

Jay Camp itself was also very nice. You aren’t assigned a site prior to getting there, you just find one that unoccupied. We managed to grab Site 1 which had two good spots for 2 person tents as well as a highly needed picnic table to sit around. Flush toilets, sinks, as well as showers area available next to the campground.

Day 2 arrived and we didn’t pack up as early as I had wanted to. The pros and cons of hiking in a group. This is the same group that we’ll be hiking the JMT with. Here’s hoping that we start earlier than 10 during that trip.

Hiking through Big Basin was significantly better than Castle Rock. The foliage is more forest than brush and its hard to beat hiking through redwoods. We had to take some detours due to trail closures which added on an extra mile. The trail follows a creek system all the way to the beach. Coincidentally, we once again ended up hiking the same day as an Ultramarathon. A couple miles in the runners caught up to where we were and we had to start paying attention and letting them pass.

All in all, it was an alright trip and I’m glad we did it. We had ulterior motives and were going for high distance days so it was hard to really enjoy (hence my lack of photos). Plus I’m still getting used to this camera ><

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prairie Creek to Fern Canyon Loop

TL;DR

Enjoy a lovely long day hike through old growth redwood forests from the Prairie Creek Visitor’s Center to Fern Canyon and back. The hike is ~12 miles with moderate elevation gain and loss. Fern Canyon doesn’t have foot bridges during the winter so your feet will get wet. Take the James Irvine Trail from the vistor’s center to Fern Canyon then walk along the road to the Gold Bluffs Beach Campground. Enjoy the sun and ocean’s views until you’re ready to head back along Miner’s Ridge Trail to complete the loop.

Thoughts

My original plan was thrown out the window due to the water level in Redwood Creek. I had wanted to do a day or two backpacking trip to Tall Trees but it would’ve involved fording the creek which is not suggested during the winter. Instead, this route was suggested to us by the park ranger at the front desk at Prairie Creek Visitor’s Center. She was very helpful in telling us what trails to take and where to stop for views of the ocean. Redwood National Park is a bit different from other national parks. It was originally a group of state parks that then became a part of the over arching national park to add more protected land as well as provide ease of management between the groups. Prairie Creek visitor’s center is in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Right outside the visitor’s center is a meadow where you can see Roosevelt elk lounging around.

The trail-head is right behind the visitor’s center. The day use parking is sparse so you should either get there early, leave your car at the campground (if you plan on using it) or you’ll have to park out on the scenic parkway. The park ranger recommended 6 hours to do this hike. This is probably slow pace time. We stopped frequently, took photos, ate lunch, and hung out at the beach and still made it back under 6 hours.

From the moment you take your first step on the trail you are in the forest. What stood out immediately to me was the density. In between the multitude of trees, big and small, are lush green ferns, mushrooms, moss and a variety of other greenery. We have redwood forests in the Bay Area but these just seemed older and less traveled. The deeper you go, the thicker the trees got. We were ants.

I think the thing I love about hiking is feeling that existential crisis. Whether you are in the forest, by the ocean, or in the mountains, your time is but a blink to them. They were here long before us and (hopefully) will be there long after us.

It was very quiet in the forest and we saw barely any other people on the trail. Other than yourself, all you can hear is the forest breathing. We didn’t even see any birds or critters, perhaps due to winter, but it made for a very timeless feeling experience.  Its easy to imagine that plus or minus 50 years it still looked exactly the same.

This trail immerses you in the forest. You won’t see any sweeping views of the ocean as you would be hard pressed to get above the treeline. The canopy itself is illusive enough. At about 3.5-4 miles you’ll come to the junction. You can either continue along James Irvine which will take you to the mouth of Fern Canyon, or you can descend into the Canyon itself and follow it out to the ocean side.

We took the route down into the canyon despite the cautionary warning that we would get wet. Fallen trees make for an impromptu playground as you navigate down the stream. If you are very careful and have good balance/shoes you might be able to get through without getting wet.

Once at the mouth of the canyon you can follow the trail south to the Fern Canyon parking lot. Continuing down the gravel road will take you to Gold Bluffs Beach Campground. While the forest was misty and overcast, we were treated to some sunshine once we reached the campground. On the inland side of the campground is the trail-head to Miner’s Ridge which takes you back to the Visitor’s center through some more old growth redwoods.

Despite the scenery being relatively the same, its hard to get tired of just how large the trees are. It is hard to comprehend just how large they are since you can never see the whole thing in your line of vision. If you haven’t read “The Wild Trees” by Richard Preston I highly recommend you do so. It’ll make you appreciate these giants even more so.

Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne Backpacking

TL;DR

If you’re interest in a 30 mile thru-hike that is just as beautiful as it is exhausting then you should check out Yosemite’s Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. It drops down into canyon from White Wolf, giving you views of Hetch Hetchy as you follow the Tuolumne River through Pate Valley and back up to Tuolumne Meadows. This is the often recommended direction for this hike. Doing it the opposite way gives a brutal last day of elevation gain. Pate Valley is known for a high incident of bear sightings as well as rattlesnakes and more mosquitoes than you know what to do with.

GPS Track and Elevation Data

Thoughts

This was our first Yosemite trip of 2017 and I had been pretty stoked about it since getting the permits in February. It was another one of those trips where you do tons of planning and research 6 months before and then don’t do anything until 2 days before leaving. The most difficult aspect of planning this hike is coordinating the transportation. This is a thru-hike so you either need more than 1 car or to hitchhike. The Tuolumne Meadows shuttle doesn’t go to White Wolf. From White Wolf to Tuolumne Meadows, where the hike ends, is a 30-45 minute drive each way. We had a decent size group so our plan of attack was to meet up at White Wolf at 9am, dump all gear and passengers, drive all the cars to Tuolumne Meadows/Glen Aulin Trailhead, then drive one car back to White Wolf. We were able to start hiking by about 11:30am.

Day 1 of this hike isn’t necessarily hard, just long and brutal on the knees, ~10.5-11mi. The first few miles are flat and slightly up as you crest the ridge that looks over the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. From there, you start the downhill slog to the bottom. We stopped at about 5 miles in to a nice rocky area that overlooks the canyon area and Hetch Hetchy. For the next 3 miles you’re doing switchbacks down to the bottom. If it seems like you’re almost done, you’re not. They really do keep going. If the sun is out, these switchbacks will feel like an oven. Luckily, we were treated to a summer thunderstorm about halfway down. The downpour was warm and last for about 20 minutes. By the time the rain started letting up, we had hit the bottom of the canyon. From there we started following the Tuolumne upstream and into Pate Valley. Pate Valley exists where the Piute Creek joins the Tuolumne River. Its a moderately forested area with several areas where people have camped previously. You can tell from the fire rings and sitting rocks. We actually received mixed information from the park rangers regarding campfires. Tioga Rd wilderness station said no fires. Tuolumne Meadows wilderness station said fires were okay. Evenings were a balmy 75 degrees so a campfire was not in the least what we wanted. Upon reaching the place we wanted to camp, we realized we were being watched by a black bear and her 2 cubs. This was the first time I’ve ever seen bear cubs. They were a good 50 yards away and skirted the edge of the area our campground was in and then disappeared into the woods. Pate Valley is known for the highest number of bear sightings in Yosemite.

Day 2 started off with the temperature quickly ramping up early in the morning. After packing up camp, we decided to go for a quick swim before starting the 11mi day 2. There are 2 bridge crossings you do in order to follow the trail. The first bridge was still in tact but the second bridge was all but blown out from this year’s epic snow-melt. We received more conflicting advise on how to do the crossing. One ranger said don’t use the bridge, ford the river (which was actually pretty deep and running strong). Another ranger said use the bridge, just do so cautiously. We had talked to another group of hikers coming from the opposite direction and they said if you stick to the middle beam of the bridge we would be fine. So we did that and got across without any problems, but it sure looked janky.

We probably spent too much time goofing off and swimming but it felt great at the time. It was going to be hot so it was nice to relish the cold river water while we could. Day 2 really felt like eternity. I was coming off being utterly sick and bed ridding a week before, so the heat, elevation gain, and mileage really took its toll. Not to mention the worst fly and mosquito area I have ever hiked through. Even with bug spray on I had to constantly swat away flies and straight up smash mosquitoes because they wouldn’t leave me alone. For me, this hike really fell into the type 2 category of fun. In the thick of it, its mostly just a mind game to get yourself to keep walking, how to ignore the bugs, the pain in my feet, and the exhaustion. Writing this now and looking back, I can’t wait to get out there again. The trail was really quite beautiful but at the time you just can’t enjoy it. Lush wooded areas, frequent waterfalls, amazing canyon views. I recommend taking a lot of pictures to enjoy later. My favorite thing about Yosemite are those massive granite walls. They are awe inspiring. There they have stood for millenia. They are timelessness. And who are we to stand among them? They always remind me of mortality. Yet at the same time, we are so small and are capable of scaling mountains in our blip of a lifetime. How amazing it is to be human.

It was a long day, that about describes day 2. I’ve done higher mileage days before and this felt like the absolute longest (for whatever reason). We finished the final set of switchbacks up Water Wheel Falls just as the sun was setting, and topped it off with another bear sighting. Could not have been happier to have day 2 be over.

The day you hike out always has a bit of excitement to it. While I love backpacking, its nice to look forward to a shower and some In n Out. Day 3 is around 8-9 miles, depending on your map source. You continue up past Water Wheel to LeConte Falls and then onward to Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp. The camp was closed this year but the solar toilet was still open which a number of the group used. I was doing well up to about 2 miles pass Glen Aulin and then I totally tanked. My legs and feet wanted to be done. Luckily, the last few miles of the hike were more or less flat and on dirt trail. It still hurt terribly but its all a faint memory now. All I feel now is the satisfaction having done it and the joy of having spent a weekend out with my friends in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Lake Aloha Out and Back

TL;DR

This late spring trip took us 6.5mi into Desolation Wilderness to Lake Aloha (which wasn’t quite a lake yet). Lake Aloha is a seasonal lake that forms from snowmelt accumulating in a granite basin. What we experienced was just tons of snow. Intermediate terrain allowed for us to brave the snow in hiking boots and snowshoes, although microspikes would have probably have been the optimal choice.

Permit Application Destination Zone: 33 Aloha

GPS Track and Elevation Data

Thoughts

Desolation Wilderness is one of the most popular wilderness areas in the state. I believe it. I didn’t even go very far in and it was breathtaking. All of that right off highway 50. I applied for permits as soon as I could not really considering the heavy snow year that California was having. I got permits for Memorial Day weekend and as the date got closer, realized that we were going to be doing some snowcamping.

The road to the trailhead wasn’t going to be plowed yet so we had to park at the Echo Lake SNOPARK, which is just a small parking lot with a bathroom. Permits for the SNOPARK can be bought and printed out here. Permits are good for any SNOPARK in California and Oregon so purchasing a permit doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be guaranteed a spot. We were hiking in on a Friday so we beat the weekend crowds. The Echo Lake SNOPARK is almost a mile from the actual trailhead at Lower Echo Lake.

As we hiked along the edge of the first Echo Lake, this hike soon became a test of mental integrity. Making sure each step on the snowy slopes was secure before pushing off really wears on you, especially with a pack on. 50 feet of snow, then 50 feet of trail was our reality for the first 2 miles. We got to the north end of the first Echo Lake and were starting to doubt we would actually make it to Lake Aloha before sunset. We had seen a group go ahead of us from the start so we pretty much followed their path. We were the second group to come through so we had to kick in a lot of the steps.

We made short of the upper Echo Lake and then Tamarack Lake and started the climb up to the pass. Now was when it become pure will power to drudge up the snowy slopes. Its been a long time since I’ve had a leg work out like that. Having to work your quads in addition to the stabilizers in your leg working overtime was rough. It was a slog, pure and simple. Its times like these when I’m reminded that, pass a certain point, you either end up shutting off your brain and just taking step after step, or you brute force it until the end. This is why I am weary of taking friends on their first backpacking trip. Sometimes there’s trails where are all you can do is drudge on and I can’t say its fun. Getting to the destination is fun. Forcing yourself to take the next step is not. But perhaps in these times its not the pursuit of “fun” that is our reason to go outside (although I will argue that it is often times simply that) but to see how far we can push ourselves…to see how far our bodies will go and how far our mind can push it without giving up. I wouldn’t even say its character building…its more like character breaking to reduce yourself to robot that just takes step after step up a frozen hill. Its also a bit unsettling to know that despite how far you are able to push yourself, you still have to do that all again to go back home.

Alas, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. We made it to what GPS said was Lake Aloha before sunset. What it really looked like was a giant snowfield. We happened to find a nice grouping of rocks to setup camp so we wouldn’t be completely in the snow. The group that was ahead up us camped up on a rocky ridge that jutted out into the “lake” but otherwise there was no one else around.

Our plan was to do 2 nights at Lake Aloha. Spend a day exploring, then the hike back the next. Although we were pretty beat and didn’t feel like doing much exploring. The other group we saw packed up pretty early and left. So we took it upon ourselves to see what was up on that ridge and also see if we could find any water, melting snow was taking too long. The weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky, and low 60s. With the sun reflecting off the snow it felt more like low 80s. We got up on the ridge and looked around. There were a sporadic amount of small snowmelt lakes forming and to the west was an actual stream. We hiked down off the ridge to check it out. Apparently there was an actual dam release there. It was a bit sketchy because you can’t really tell what you’re standing on until you can see it from the water’s side. All we could tell that at some point there was a supported cement wall, so we aimed for that wall.

The refilled our water stash at one of the snowmelt ponds since they were liquid again by afternoon. We spent the rest of the day reading and relaxing since it became too hot to really want to do anything else. The pros of backpacking in May is that you get some epically long days. Its such a joy to cook and eat dinner before sunset. Since it starting cooling off, we walked around a bit more and got some photos of the sunset.

The hike back out the next day went smoother than expected. The snow was a bet slushier because of the warm weather, and the trail was much more warn in from the people that came in on Saturday and Sunday. Nothing like what we experienced on Friday. Its funny how in the moment, things can be so excruciating and hard, yet days later the memory of it is so much fainter. Your legs are no longer burning, your heart is no longer pounding. You’re no longer hating life. How quickly all that effort fades away. Something to remember, and even more reason, to push myself again.