Backpacking Yosemite

1,034 Views | 6 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by nosoupforyou
Pro Sandy
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Anyone have experience with backpacking in Yosemite?

Looking at going in August. Currently waiting to hear back on our permit as the lottery is 168 days before your start date.

Our current itinerary.

We will start at Tuolumne Meadows
5 nights on the trail
Night 1 - Vogelsang
Night 2 - Merced Lake
Night 3 - Sunrise
Night 4/5 - Little Yosemite via Clouds Rest. Day 5 climb Half Dome
End at Happy Isles

Looking to see if anyone has any experience in Yosemite backcountry. My previous experience has been in the valley. What was your itinerary? Any lessons learned?

For camps like Vogelsang, is the experience hampered by it being a commercial camp?

For bears, I already have a bear canister. Have you seen much bear activity? Last year we hiked in Kings Canyon and saw a bear everyday in the backcountry.

Is the backcountry crowded? In Kings Canyon, the John Muir Trail was practically a highway, so the solitude wasn't as great as one might hope.

TIA
nosoupforyou
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great trip coming! I have been there and loved hiking Half dome, but we drove around - didn't backpack so I can't really comment much.. hope others that have done it can so you have a great trip
Pro Sandy
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Got our permit today! First week of August we will be there. Entering Rafferty Creek->Vogelsang and exiting Happy Isles->Little Yosemite with a climb up Half Dome included.
turfman80
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Congrats!!! That will be an awesome trip!
Yeah, well, sometimes nothing is a real cool hand
SkiMo
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Pro Sandy said:


Day 5 climb Half Dome
Just climb directly up the wall... might take about 4 hours. Ropes not necessary.
nosoupforyou
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Congrats!

Half dome will take 12 hours or so round trip - I'd guess it's better to do it early on your trip vs last after you might already be tired- but you will make it and it's amazing! I celebrated my 40th birthday on top and I'll never forget!

May Lake was awesome if you can do that too. So serene
Pro Sandy
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We are doing Half Dome on the last full day on the trail. It's a layover day for us, so we will climb with just water and snacks. My main concern is storms, so hopefully an early start will relieve any issues with storms.

Did you climb straight from the valley or were you camping in the backcountry?
nosoupforyou
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Parked at 5 am or so in the dark and started walking - took stairs up and the back trail down.

Stayed up top for an hour or so

Got back to the parking lot at 6:00.

We ran out of water and had to borrow some so be careful.. we ate lunch up there and had snacks

Our weather was amazing - so thankful for that
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