Nik_guti
Adventurist
First off, this trip was not planned. My girlfriend, another couple, and I originally had plans for 4 nights in Havasupai but received a phone call 2 hours before we were about to start driving that the trail is indefinitely closed due to flooding. This was a bummer, especially since we spent that whole day getting our packs ready. Though bummed, we were determined to go backpacking somewhere else. We did some asking around, 'google-ing,' and calling till we decided to try out Yosemite. What really sold us was that the only fee was parking ($20 per car for the week), rather than the $110 we were expecting to spend at Havasupai. The rangers at Yosemite told us to stop by the Wilderness Center to get our free permits.
We left the next morning at 2 a.m. to get there early in the morning and be ready for the hike. We showed up to the Wilderness Center around 10 a.m. and waited in the line till 11-that's when they give out permits. The rangers are helpful and suggest trails/routes based upon what you want. For us, we do not have backpacking gear so its all pretty heavy and we decided that we wanted to stay all 3 nights at the same place and go on day hikes. We chose to stay in the Happy Isles and set up camp at Little Yosemite Valley. We liked Little Yosemite Valley because there is a lot around and they have bear lockers. (From talking to other backpackers, I've heard that rattlesnakes like to curl up under the bear lockers...be careful!) While talking to the ranger, he told us that there were cancellations at Little Yosemite Valley and we were luckily able to go up that night. (Just a heads up, permits at Yosemite are given for the following day. They do have a backpackers campground so you do not have to get a hotel room! Permits are valid the day before and after the assigned dates in the backpackers camp only and cost $5 per night.)
There are two trails that go up to Little Yosemite Valley with a 2,000 elevation gain, Mist Trail (~4.5 ) and John Muir (~5.5). Given that it was already past noon and we hadn't started our hike, we decided to go up Mist Trail since it was shorter. The first 0.8 mile is paved, crowded and has fairly steep rolling hills. You then reach a bridge (has bathrooms and faucets to fill up bottles) and then you have a 1.2 mile trek to the top of Vernal Falls. From here, a bit of the trail is paved and then it turns into a rolling, rock staircase. With your 40 lb pack on and everyone and their mother trying to get to the top of the falls, it will take sometime. Also, Mist trail gets its name from the mist that soaks the rock stairs from Vernal Falls. When at the top of Vernal Falls, its nice place to take a break. From here, it is another ~1.5 miles up to the top of Nevada falls. The trail isn't too bad till you get to the steep rock staircase switchbacks, which lasts about a mile. At the top of Nevada Falls, there are restrooms and a gorgeous view of the valley. From here, you meet up with the John Muir trail and take it for 1 mile until you reach the Little Yosemite Campgrounds. The last mile has a few hills and most of it is sand. The campground is nice because it is on the Merced River, has bathrooms, and bear lockers. Each site is spacious and there are two community fire pits. We set up camp and called it a night.
The next day, we planned to take the John Muir Trail for ~12 miles to Merced Lake. We slept in and took our time for the first couple of hours...didn't get too far. The trail follows the river and you see two beautiful water falls and big pools of water. We had lunch on the bank of the river and decided to split up since me and my gf wanted to see the lake and the other couple wanted to hang around the waterfall. Soon after we split up and had about 40 yards separating the two groups, a tree fell right in between us. It was crazy to see and we thought the tree fell on them- luckily it didn't! After this, my gf and I decided to push for the lake and went about 6 miles in 2 hours. the hike through the canyon is BEAUTIFUL. There are some steep switchbacks but the views makes it all worth it. We had about 2 miles to go and it was 3 p.m. but had plans to regroup at 5 p.m., so we turned back. We made the same time going back and went for a dip in the freezing water at the waterfall. We dried up, headed back, had dinner, and then hung out at the community bonfire. There we met a bunch of people and everyone shared their adventures of the day.
The following day, my gf and I took the treacherous hike up to Clouds Rest. It was a ~6.2 mile hike with a 3,500 ft elevation gain (1,000 ft higher than Half Dome). THIS HIKE WAS HARD!! We eventually got the the point where we took appreciation breaks after every switchback because we got so tired. After 4 grueling hours, we made it to the top. The view is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous and made every second of the climb worth it. From Cloud's Rest, you see Half Dome (looks small), El Capitan, the entire Yosemite Valley, and everything in the Back country! I would highly recommend Cloud's Rest!! Most people we talked to at the top came up the back way from Tenaya Lake. From Tenaya Lake, its about 14 miles with 1700 ft elevation climb. After being up there for about 30 mins to an hour, we decided to head back to camp. On the way down, we were burning the trail and made it down in about 2 and a half hours. As we were coming down, we topped off our water at the clouds rest campground and met a few people. They all told us we were crazy because we went up the really hard way! After making it down, we had dinner and called it a night since we were exhausted.
The next morning we packed everything up, had breakfast, and began our hike out. We took the John Muir trail instead of Mist trail The hike out was way easier and made it to the car in about 3 hours...we took our time. Like any person who is sick of Mountain House dehydrated food, we found the first In n Out and destroyed our burgers. All in all, it was a blast and we plan to explore more of Yosemite.
Things we learned while backpacking:
- Half Dome now needs a permit which can be bought at the Wilderness Center or you can risk a $175 ticket
- Heard great things about Tuolumne Meadows
- Heard of a Trail to Hell which is 1 mile of uneven cobblestone out by Tuolumne Meadows
- Saw water Moccasins so be careful in the water
- There are lakes/rivers everywhere so water is nothing to be too worried about (needs filtration)
- Water levels in rivers are low!!
We left the next morning at 2 a.m. to get there early in the morning and be ready for the hike. We showed up to the Wilderness Center around 10 a.m. and waited in the line till 11-that's when they give out permits. The rangers are helpful and suggest trails/routes based upon what you want. For us, we do not have backpacking gear so its all pretty heavy and we decided that we wanted to stay all 3 nights at the same place and go on day hikes. We chose to stay in the Happy Isles and set up camp at Little Yosemite Valley. We liked Little Yosemite Valley because there is a lot around and they have bear lockers. (From talking to other backpackers, I've heard that rattlesnakes like to curl up under the bear lockers...be careful!) While talking to the ranger, he told us that there were cancellations at Little Yosemite Valley and we were luckily able to go up that night. (Just a heads up, permits at Yosemite are given for the following day. They do have a backpackers campground so you do not have to get a hotel room! Permits are valid the day before and after the assigned dates in the backpackers camp only and cost $5 per night.)
There are two trails that go up to Little Yosemite Valley with a 2,000 elevation gain, Mist Trail (~4.5 ) and John Muir (~5.5). Given that it was already past noon and we hadn't started our hike, we decided to go up Mist Trail since it was shorter. The first 0.8 mile is paved, crowded and has fairly steep rolling hills. You then reach a bridge (has bathrooms and faucets to fill up bottles) and then you have a 1.2 mile trek to the top of Vernal Falls. From here, a bit of the trail is paved and then it turns into a rolling, rock staircase. With your 40 lb pack on and everyone and their mother trying to get to the top of the falls, it will take sometime. Also, Mist trail gets its name from the mist that soaks the rock stairs from Vernal Falls. When at the top of Vernal Falls, its nice place to take a break. From here, it is another ~1.5 miles up to the top of Nevada falls. The trail isn't too bad till you get to the steep rock staircase switchbacks, which lasts about a mile. At the top of Nevada Falls, there are restrooms and a gorgeous view of the valley. From here, you meet up with the John Muir trail and take it for 1 mile until you reach the Little Yosemite Campgrounds. The last mile has a few hills and most of it is sand. The campground is nice because it is on the Merced River, has bathrooms, and bear lockers. Each site is spacious and there are two community fire pits. We set up camp and called it a night.
The next day, we planned to take the John Muir Trail for ~12 miles to Merced Lake. We slept in and took our time for the first couple of hours...didn't get too far. The trail follows the river and you see two beautiful water falls and big pools of water. We had lunch on the bank of the river and decided to split up since me and my gf wanted to see the lake and the other couple wanted to hang around the waterfall. Soon after we split up and had about 40 yards separating the two groups, a tree fell right in between us. It was crazy to see and we thought the tree fell on them- luckily it didn't! After this, my gf and I decided to push for the lake and went about 6 miles in 2 hours. the hike through the canyon is BEAUTIFUL. There are some steep switchbacks but the views makes it all worth it. We had about 2 miles to go and it was 3 p.m. but had plans to regroup at 5 p.m., so we turned back. We made the same time going back and went for a dip in the freezing water at the waterfall. We dried up, headed back, had dinner, and then hung out at the community bonfire. There we met a bunch of people and everyone shared their adventures of the day.
The following day, my gf and I took the treacherous hike up to Clouds Rest. It was a ~6.2 mile hike with a 3,500 ft elevation gain (1,000 ft higher than Half Dome). THIS HIKE WAS HARD!! We eventually got the the point where we took appreciation breaks after every switchback because we got so tired. After 4 grueling hours, we made it to the top. The view is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous and made every second of the climb worth it. From Cloud's Rest, you see Half Dome (looks small), El Capitan, the entire Yosemite Valley, and everything in the Back country! I would highly recommend Cloud's Rest!! Most people we talked to at the top came up the back way from Tenaya Lake. From Tenaya Lake, its about 14 miles with 1700 ft elevation climb. After being up there for about 30 mins to an hour, we decided to head back to camp. On the way down, we were burning the trail and made it down in about 2 and a half hours. As we were coming down, we topped off our water at the clouds rest campground and met a few people. They all told us we were crazy because we went up the really hard way! After making it down, we had dinner and called it a night since we were exhausted.
The next morning we packed everything up, had breakfast, and began our hike out. We took the John Muir trail instead of Mist trail The hike out was way easier and made it to the car in about 3 hours...we took our time. Like any person who is sick of Mountain House dehydrated food, we found the first In n Out and destroyed our burgers. All in all, it was a blast and we plan to explore more of Yosemite.
Things we learned while backpacking:
- Half Dome now needs a permit which can be bought at the Wilderness Center or you can risk a $175 ticket
- Heard great things about Tuolumne Meadows
- Heard of a Trail to Hell which is 1 mile of uneven cobblestone out by Tuolumne Meadows
- Saw water Moccasins so be careful in the water
- There are lakes/rivers everywhere so water is nothing to be too worried about (needs filtration)
- Water levels in rivers are low!!
