August 17 - 26, 2012

Yosemite National Park, at the north end of the John Muir Trail and smack in the middle of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, is one of the premier hiking, backpacking, and climbing destinations in the world. Please join me for this spectacular week-long backpacking trip into the park's Clark Range.

The Drive

We'll make the long, 600-mile, 9-hour drive to Bakersfield, California on Friday, August 28th, starting about 7:00 AM. We'll shack up there for one night in an inexpensive motel. (See the links to the right.) You'll want to make your reservations early. It doesn't cost anything to make a reservation. You'll only pay once you check in.

On Saturday, August 29th, we'll continue our drive into the south entrance to Yosemite National Park -- this time it's only about 4 hours -- and find a campsite at Bridalveil Creek Campground ($14.00 per site / 2 sites). We need to get there early to get adjoining sites, or any sites at all. Once we've set up camp, we'll make the horrendous two-hour drive down into Yosemite Valley. We have to pick up our permit and find some place to leave one vehicle near the Happy Isles Trailhead for our return in a week.

That same evening, we may have an opportunity to go out to Glacier Point to hear a talk given by one of the park rangers. If we're lucky, the speaker will be Ranger Dick Ewart. Ranger Dick has been in Yosemite for nearly 40 years, and knows much of the history, legends, and folklore associated with Yosemite Valley. I guarantee it'll be entertaining.

The Plan

On Sunday we'll pack our gear, have breakfast, then shuttle a few miles down the road to the Mono Meadow Trailhead. Once we're all there, we'll head out for the Illilouette Creek watershed. It's only 5.6 miles to our planned camp along Clark Creek, but we could continue further. We'll play it by ear. There's not a lot of elevation gain this day, but we'll make up for it on Monday and Tuesday. 5.6 / 1,000'

On Monday morning, we'll get up and have breakfast, then start our long trek up Illilouette Creek. After about 6.5 miles and a gain of 1,800', we'll reach a trail junction between Lower and Upper Merced Pass Lakes. There, we'll turn east and climb for another two or three miles to reach Lower Ottoway Lake at 9,700', where we'll set up for our second night on the trail. 9.6 / 2,600'

On Tuesday, we've got a tough hike up through Red Peak Pass to start our morning. We'll climb from 9,700' to 11,200' in just a couple of miles. From there, it's mostly downhill to another junction about six miles away. Once we reach that junction, we'll turn south and take that trail about 1.5 miles further until we reach an unnamed lake. There, we'll set up camp for a two-night stay at 10,000 feet. 9.5 / 2,700'

On Wednesday, we can sleep in a bit. We don't have any firm plans for the day, but the idea is to wander about three miles up to Isberg Pass, gaining about 600 feet along the way. We might continue down the east side of the pass, leaving Yosemite National Park behind for a bit, and have lunch at Isberg Lakes. Return along the same trails to our camp at our unnamed lakes. 9.4 / 1,100'

Thursday is going to be another longish day. Fortunately, much of it is gently downhill. We'll be heading north all day, moving along the higher country above the Triple Creek Fork of the Merced River. At one point we'll drop down to Lyell Creek, then have to climb 600 feet over a couple of miles before the trail levels again. We'll eventually reach another downhill stretch. At the bottom of that section is a junction with an east-west trail, where we'll set up camp along Lewis Creek for our fifth night of the trip. 10.8 / 1,600'

Our last full day and night is a bit shorter, mileage-wise. We've got a short seven or eight miles to hike on Friday. About two miles into the morning, and about 1,600 feet below our starting point, we'll come to the Merced Lake Ranger Station. We'll cross several streams on the available footbridges, and continue along the trail past the Merced Lake High Sierra Camp. A few miles further along, we'll meander into Lost Valley, where we'll probably spend the night. Camping is not allowed in Little Yosemite Valley, which is just past our little lost oasis. 7.9 / -2,100' / +200'

Saturday finds us less than nine miles from our exit trailhead at Happy Isles. Before we get there, we have a lovely trek through Little Yosemite Valley. Some people may want to attempt a climb up Halfdome, which is a short walk from the main trail. That side hike will take about three hours. In the meantime, the rest of us will continue along the Merced River past two famous Yosemite waterfalls -- Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls. After these spectacular sights, it's just a short drop down the Mist Trail to our trailhead and our vehicle. 8.8 / -1,100'

The Prep

This trip is planned for as many as eight people. Two vehicles are required in order to make the shuttle work.

As mentioned above, you'll need reservations at two hotels. Use the links to the right. Once I have a full roster, I'll pass out all of the names to everyone, in case you'd like to share hotel rooms. You can work out those arrangements among yourselves.

I have a permit for as many as eight people for this trek. The cost for the backpack permit will be six to ten dollars per person, depending on how many go.

There will, of course, be additional shared costs for fuel and our campsite at Bridalveil Creek, as well as individual costs for meals, etc., along the road. Plan on as much as $250.00 per person.

You'll need food for seven breakfasts, six lunches, and seven dinners. Six breakfasts, five lunches, and five dinners must fit in a bear canister. Those extra meals -- two dinners, one breakfast and one lunch -- can go into a bear box at Bridalveil Creek Campground, and straight into your pack for our first day on the trail. If you have a bit of extra room in your bear canister, be generous with sharing that space (once we're in camp) with those whose food doesn't quite fit into their bear canisters.

Water and Weather

There should be water all over the place. I don't foresee any problems.

The weather in the Sierra Nevada can be very nice at higher elevations, but will be warm in the lower portions of our trek - mostly the last two days. Daytime highs will be in the 70s or even the low 80s with nighttime lows in the mid 40s and low 50s. There might be one or two nights of temps in the high 30s. Be prepared! Click the names of the various campsites below to get spot weather forecasts. You will probably only need a cool weather sleeping bag. I'm hoping to be able to take my 40° bag.

The Hike

day	miles	elev gain	elev	destination
Friday	600 mi	driving	-	Motel 6 #262 in Bakersfield, CA - $45.00
Saturday	220 mi	driving	-	Yosemite National Park
Saturday	30 mi	driving	7050'	Shuttle cars to Bridalveil Creek Campground ($14.00 per site)
Sunday	2.0 / 2.0	200 ft / 200 ft	7200'	Mono Meadow Trailhead
Sunday	0.6 / 2.6	-250 ft / 200 ft	6950'	Mono Meadow
Sunday	2.3 / 4.9	-500 ft / 200 ft	6400'	Illilouette Creek and Glacier Point Jct
Sunday	0.1 / 5.0	0 ft / 200 ft	6400'	First Nevada Fall Jct
Sunday	1.6 / 6.6	600 ft / 800 ft	7000'	Second Nevada Fall Jct
Sunday	1.0 / 7.6	200 ft / 1000 ft	7200'	Clark Creek Campsite
Monday	2.2 / 9.8	200 ft / 1200 ft	7400'	Lower Illilouette Canyon
Monday	4.3 / 14.1	1600 ft / 2800 ft	8900'	Lower and Upper Merced Lakes / Merced Pass Jct
Monday	3.1 / 17.2	800 ft / 3600 ft	9650'	Lower Ottoway Lake Campsite
Tuesday	2.9 / 20.1	1600 ft / 5200 ft	11200'	Red Peak Pass
Tuesday	4.3 / 24.4	200 ft / 5400 ft	9250'	Red Peak/Isberg Pass Jct
Tuesday	2.3 / 26.7	900 ft / 6300 ft	10000'	Unnamed Lake Campsite
Wednesday	3.1 / 29.8	600 ft / 6900 ft	10500'	Isberg Pass
Wednesday	1.6 / 31.4	-400 ft / 6900 ft	10100'	Isberg Lakes
Wednesday	4.7 / 36.1	500 ft / 7400 ft	10000'	Unnamed Lake Campsite for 2nd Nite
Thursday	5.0 / 41.1	600 ft / 8000 ft	9100'	Lyell Creek Crossing
Thursday	2.5 / 43.6	700 ft / 8700 ft	9600'	Washburn Creek Crossing
Thursday	3.3 / 52.4	300 ft / 9000 ft	8700'	Lewis Creek Campsite
Friday	2.1 / 49.1	-1600 ft / 9000 ft	7300'	Merced Lake Ranger Station
Friday	3.3 / 52.4	-500 ft / 9000 ft	7050'	Echo Valley
Friday	2.5 / 54.9	200 ft / 9200 ft	6200'	Lost Valley Campsite
Saturday	4.0 / 58.9	-500 ft / 9200 ft	6100'	Little Yosemite Valley Campground
Saturday	4.8 / 63.7	-600 ft / 9200 ft	4100'	Happy Isles Trailhead
Saturday	200 mi	driving	-	Comfort Inn #CA786 in Lone Pine, CA - $175.00
Sunday	600 mi	driving	-	Tucson, AZ

 

After the Hike

After shuttling back up to Mono Meadow Trailhead to get the other vehicle, and possibly picking up any of our stray backpackers at Happy Isles Trailhead, we'll depart Yosemite via the east entrance, driving up through Tuolumne Meadows and the rest of the park for a quick tour, making our exit via the east entrance. We'll probably stop at a restaurant there for lunch.

After lunch, we'll continue down CA395 through Mammoth Lakes and continue on until we reach Lone Pine. That's about a four hour drive. There, we'll unload our gear at the hotel for a couple of showers and a bit of rest. Then we'll make a tour of Lone Pine, including a stop for a great pizza and beer dinner, before going back to the hotel for some much-needed rest.

On Sunday, we've got a ten-hour drive back to Tucson, perhaps dropping off people along the way. One good thing about this schedule is that you'll have Labor Day to rest up from your week-long trek before going back to your regular labors on Tuesday.