Am Planning a backpacking trip from the Sunday 22th of May in yosemite NP. Some of you already helped me to plan this trip and I thank them very much. Information available on web sites are pretty confusing. Do you think it could be possible to sneak a 5 days backpacking trip through yosemite at this time of the year. Do you have any recommandation for a particular trip?
In advance, thank you
Confused Frenchy
loran
Whoa! Not a good time to backpack in Yosemite. Way too much snow. Here is the site for the plowing of the Tioga Road; the pictures are from about 7,500 feet. http://www.nps.gov/yose/now/tioga.htm
But when the snow starts to melt, the backpacking is great in Yosemite!
Jerry Hill
While Tioga Road is closed and much of the high country inaccessible (unless you have skis or snowshoes), there are other places in Yosemite that you could consider. Hetch Hetchy is open, and should be accessible due to its lower elevation. I’m sure Little Yosemite Valley is also open, and other places in Yosemite as well. The key will be finding the lower elevation areas. If you call the permit reservation number, they could probably help you put together a trip. It might not be the ideal trip you would like to do during summer conditions, but any trip to Yosemite is a good trip . . .
Kanga
I would wait if I were you. Although it’s my “Happy Place”, most of the best areas for a 5-day trip involve higher elevations. The downside? Wilderness Permit reservations for the best areas/trailheads (i.e. Tuolumne Meadows, Happy Isles, Glacier Point, etc) are typically secured well in advance of these trips. The good news is that there are permits held back for first come/first served walk-ins but you need to be at the ranger station early and hope that you get one. BTW, for whatever it’s worth, the best 5 day trips I’ve taken in Yosemite are the Red Peak Pass Loop (start and end at Glacier Point-approx. 50-miles), the High Sierra Camp Loop (start/end from Tuolumne Meadows or from Happy Isles-mileage depends on your route) and the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River (start/end at White Wolf-about 55 miles. All of these are best done during the July-September or October timeframe. But as Kanga points out, any trip to Yosemite is a great trip. Good luck!!
Sherpa Steve
I was hiking there two weeks ago… obviosly still snow up high but many great lower trails to frolic upon…
aswah
I would recommend you car camp on Yosemite Valley floor and go on long day hikes from there. There is a less expensive campground where rockclimbers stay a little west of Yosemite falls. This a great time of year to do that before summer crowds arrive. There is a lot of water going over the waterfalls. Three hikes you could do would be: To top of Yosemite Falls or farther and back, To top of Glacier Point and Back, Up into little yosemite valley (Above Nevada falls) and back. This would be a really fun trip.
Pika
Before heading to Yosemite Valley any time soon, you may want to read this. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050517-1816-ca-yosemiteflooding.html
Sherpa Steve