The Big Outside Complete Guide to

The Best Backpacking Trip in

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Hiking and backpacking is a personal choice and requires that YOU understand that you are personally responsible for any actions you may take based on the information in this e-guide. Using any information in this e-guide is your own personal responsibility. Hiking and associated trail activities can be dangerous and can result in injury and/or death. Hiking exposes you to risks, especially in the wilderness, including but not limited to: • Weather conditions such as flash floods, wind, rain, snow and lightning; • Hazardous plants or wild animals; • Your own physical condition, or your own acts or omissions; • Conditions of roads, trails, or terrain; • Accidents and injuries occurring while traveling to or from the hiking areas; • The remoteness of the hiking areas, which may delay rescue and medical treatment; • The distance of the hiking areas from emergency medical facilities and law enforcement personnel.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, NEITHER MICHAEL LANZA NOR THE BIG OUTSIDE, THEIR AFFILIATES, FAMILY AND FORMER AND CURRENT EMPLOYERS, NOR ANY OTHER PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DELIVERING THIS E-GUIDE IS LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF A USER’S ACCESS TO, OR USE OF THIS E-GUIDE.

Cover photo: Todd Arndt on the Diving Board atop , above . Title page photo: Todd Arndt and Jeff Wilhelm on the summit ridge of , Yosemite National Park.

Dear Reader,

Congratulations, you have just downloaded the best guide you’ll find to what I call the best backpacking trip in Yosemite for anyone seeking an ultimate Yosemite experience. It explores one of the park’s two largest chunks of wilderness, hitting highlights and more- remote areas south of , from Half Dome and to the Clark Range in the park’s southeast corner. (The photo of me at right was taken on this trip, on the summit of Clouds Rest, with Yosemite Valley in the background.) I know you will find this trip as beautiful and adventurous as you expect of Yosemite.

I make those statements with confidence not only because I have taken this trip, but I have been writing about outdoors adventures for more than two decades between my blog, The Big Outside, magazines, and authoring print guidebooks.

In responding to innumerable questions from readers planning a trip they read about at my blog—and, of course, through many years of planning my own trips—I’ve acquired a strong sense of what information people like you are looking for. I believe you simply want an e-guide that tells you only what you need to know to understand what a trip is like, and to pull it off successfully and safely—without a lot of superfluous verbiage.

For The Big Outside, I decided to create affordable, downloadable, single-trip e- guides that are organized to most effectively help you do just that.

I also understand that you want the information presented in a way that allows you to customize the trip to suit your party’s style of backcountry travel. Whether a family outing or a group of friends, complete beginners or hard-core experts, what you are about to read will clarify what you must do to properly prepare for this trip, and then pull it off in a way that feels like an adventure personalized for you.

CLICK HERE NOW for a full menu of the e-guides I offer for sale.

In the pages that follow, I will describe this trip’s character and highlights, and provide details on its total distance and elevation gain and loss, difficulty, and the degree of solitude you can expect to find along it during the peak season. I will give you extensive advice in Section 1 on how to plan this trip, including tips about seasons, getting a permit, travel logistics, gear, and what you need to know regarding safety and other issues specific to this trip. And finally, in Section 2, I give you my expert guidance on how to execute this trip, including primary and alternative hiking itineraries.

A few points: • I’m a big believer that much of the success of any outdoor adventure is determined before you leave home, so you’ll find abundant information in Section 1: Planning the Trip. I think you will find that my unique and thorough trip- planning advice is what most distinguishes my e-guides from other guides. • I don’t rate trips for quality or scenery. Instead of a dry, numerical rating, this e- guide will describe for you the trip’s unique character. Plus, every trip that I’ve created an e-guide for is excellent and highly recommendable, period. • I don’t provide GPS waypoints or tell you precisely where to take photos or pitch your tent every night, because I believe that excessive hand-holding sucks the mystery out of the wilderness and robs you of the joy of discovery. Instead, this e- guide suggests itineraries and, in general, the best camping areas and other highlights, with specific tips on how to maximize enjoyment and safety. • Please be aware of and always follow low-impact backpacking guidelines; learn about them at lnt.org. They ensure that we all have as pristine a wilderness experience as possible. Also, respect park regulations, they exist for good reasons. • Hold down your keyboard’s Control key when clicking on hyperlinks in this e- guide, and the link will open in a new window. If you don’t hold down the Control key, any link will open in the same window. (You could then click the back arrow in the upper left to return to the e-guide.) Alternatively, open this e- guide twice, to have one copy constantly open while clicking on hyperlinks in the second copy to view them, and using the browser’s back arrow to return to this e- guide and open other links in the second window. • If you find any inaccuracies or typos—or to simply drop a note to tell me what you think of this e-guide—please email me at [email protected]. • Lastly, you have purchased one electronic copy of this e-guide for your personal use only. I retain all rights to its content, and I ask you to respect my legal rights and not distribute it by any means or for any purpose, including for illegal profit.

Thanks again for purchasing this e-guide. I hope it helps make your backpacking trip in Yosemite very special. If you would like personalized trip-planning help, or you have questions about how to safely and successfully pull off this or any trip I’ve written about at my blog, I can help you. See my blog’s Ask Me page for more details. If you want personalized help with this trip, I will deduct the price of this e-guide from my fee.

Please be sure to follow my stories about my adventures at The Big Outside.

Have fun and be safe out there,

Michael Lanza Creator of The Big Outside

Mark Fenton enjoying the dawn view above the Lyell Fork of the .

The Best Backpacking Trip in Yosemite

Location: South of Tuolumne Meadows and east of Yosemite Valley in the southeastern quadrant of Yosemite National Park, .

Primary Route: 65 miles/105 km (including the four-mile round-trip hike up Half Dome).

Approximate Cumulative Elevation Gain and Loss (primary route): 11,600 feet/3,536m gained, 11,400 feet/3,475m lost.

Difficulty for the primary route, on a scale of 1 (easiest) to 5 (hardest)

4—Strenuous at times, but also with some easy stretches, with challenges including significant elevation gain and loss, steep terrain, possible severe weather (mainly afternoon thunderstorms) and hot summer afternoons, sporadic drinking-water sources, and remoteness, with potentially few other parties encountered—but no extraordinary navigational challenges or need for technical skills. Good to excellent fitness and intermediate-level backpacking skills and experience recommended. See the Need to Know section below for specific details.

Overview I had already taken several trips in Yosemite over the years, backpacking, dayhiking, and climbing, before I finally got around to exploring the park’s two most expansive swaths of wilderness: the Clark Range and Merced River headwaters south of Tuolumne Meadows on this 65-mile hike, and even vaster northern Yosemite on a subsequent 87-mile hike that I also wrote about at The Big Outside. They were the two pieces of a one-week, 152-mile grand tour of this flagship park that friends and I made. And a grand tour it was, hitting much of the best backcountry Yosemite has to offer. This hike south of Tuolumne Meadows displays something of a split personality: It hits some of the busiest areas of Yosemite’s backcountry as well as some of its most remote and lonely wilderness. Highlights include what are certainly two of the best summits in the park, Clouds Rest and uber-popular Half Dome overlooking Yosemite Valley, as well as thunderous, 594-foot-tall Nevada Fall, the beautiful Vogelsang area, the mind-boggling granite domes of Tuolumne and Lake, the remote Red Peak Pass in the Clark Range, and the rocky terrain and tarns, lakes, and creeks at the headwaters of the Merced River. In a sense, this represents the perfect Yosemite backpacking trip: You get to see iconic vistas that few backpackers want to miss, despite the crowds—like the view of Yosemite Valley from the brink of the sheer, 2,000-foot Northwest Face of Half Dome— while still discovering the solitude and scenic rewards of Yosemite’s quieter backcountry. The entire route follows good trails and much of it remains no more than moderately strenuous. Its main challenge is the long stretches without water on the first two days. Read my blog story about this trip and see more photos at thebigoutside.com/best- of-yosemite-part-1-backpacking-south-of-tuolumne-meadows. Read my blog story about the 87-mile hike through northern Yosemite that followed this trip at thebigoutside.com/best-of-yosemite-part-2-backpacking-remote-northern-yosemite, and get my e-guide to that trip, “Backpacking Wild, Uncrowded Northern Yosemite.”

Solitude This hike begins, ends, and passes through some of the busiest parts of Yosemite: the Tioga Road in the Tuolumne Meadows area, and the most popular summit in Yosemite, Half Dome. But it also traverses one of the park’s most-remote corners. The typical experience on this trip, even during the peak months of July and August, will range from quite crowded to a high degree of solitude. You will see other dayhikers and backpackers around Tenaya Lake, Half Dome (dozens of people), Little Yosemite Valley, where this hike overlaps the Trail, at Nevada Fall, the Vogelsang area, and close to any trailhead in Tuolumne Meadows. But you will encounter few if any other people on long stretches of trail, including Clouds Rest (despite its incredible views); the Illilouette Creek and Ottoway Creek valleys; Red Peak Pass and the upper forks of the Merced River; the high trail (above the Merced River canyon) between the upper Merced’s forks and the Lewis Creek Valley, as well as along Lewis Creek; and ascending to Vogelsang Pass from the Lewis Creek side.

Hikers on Half Dome’s cable route in Yosemite.

Section 1: Planning the Trip

Season The peak summer backpacking season in Yosemite generally begins in early or mid-July, when higher elevations and passes become mostly snow-free—although passes can remain snowy into late July, especially Red Peak Pass on this hike—and the prime season runs well into September. Good weather is not uncommon in October, too. While Clouds Rest reaches nearly 10,000 feet, its summit ridge gets abundant sun exposure to melt off snow; and although snow can linger into July in shaded forest at higher elevations along trails up Clouds Rest, those snow patches aren’t like to impede you from hiking. Half Dome, at 8,842 feet, can only be hiked when the park reinstalls the cables, but that’s usually by late May or sometime in June. Mosquitoes get quite thick near any water in Yosemite (and throughout the High Sierra) from the arrival of summer temperatures until mid- to late August. Summer days are fairly reliably sunny, although afternoon thunderstorms are not uncommon. Mid-summer afternoons feature notoriously withering heat and an intense alpine sun, from which there’s often little respite, especially at higher elevations; stay well hydrated and wear a wide-brim hat.

Insider Tip For moderate daytime temps and comfortably cool nights, few to no bugs, and few people in the backcountry, late August until mid- to late September (especially after Labor Day) stands out as an ideal time for backpacking in Yosemite, and good weather sometimes lasts into October. But watch the forecast in fall, because a first-of-the-season snowstorm could dump several inches or more. Also, the park shuttle only operates until mid-September (see Getting There section below).

Permit Free wilderness/backcountry permits are required year-round for camping in the Yosemite backcountry. Many trailheads are popular, so make an advance reservation (a reservation costs $5 per confirmed reservation plus $5 per person). You can reserve a permit online up to 24 weeks (168 days) before your hike’s starting date; for example, to start a trip in late July, you should submit your application in early February. Submit your permit application early on the first day they begin accepting applications for your starting date; for many trailheads, reservation quotas are filled within hours. For each trailhead, 60 percent of available permits can be reserved in advance, while the remaining 40 percent are available on a first-come, first-served basis no earlier than 11 a.m. the day before your hike begins, as long as permits are available. The park issues permits based on a quota system, limiting the daily number of hikers starting at each trailhead. There are only a few designated backcountry campgrounds, so for the most part, you can camp wherever you choose in the backcountry—with a few exceptions that apply primarily to popular backcountry camping areas like Little Yosemite Valley and near the five . Find more information at https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wpres.htm. When attempting to make a permit reservation, especially if you are not doing it close to 24 weeks in advance of your desired dates, consult the park trailheads report at nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/fulltrailheads.htm for availability. For this trip, you need to specifically request adding Half Dome to your permit, at a cost of $10 per person. (The park also requires dayhikers to obtain a permit for Half Dome and sets a daily quota of dayhikers and backpackers.) Find out more at nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wpres.htm and nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wpres.htm and read my blog story “10 Tips For Getting a Hard-to-Get National Park Backcountry Permit.”

Insider Tip When applying for a backcountry permit, include alternative routes or starting dates, in case you’re denied a permit for your first choice. That may be as simple as reversing your route’s direction, starting midweek instead of on a weekend, or choosing an entirely different, less-popular route. For example, for this hike, you could alternatively start at the Cathedral Lakes Trailhead in Tuolumne Meadows and camp your first night at Sunrise.

Backpacking in the Merced headwaters east of Red Peak Pass in Yosemite.

Management This hike lies within federal wilderness in Yosemite National Park, nps.gov/yose.

Getting There The closest major airport to the Tuolumne Meadows area, where this hike begins and ends, is in Reno, Nevada, a roughly 3.5-hour drive via Yosemite’s east entrance at (through the town of Lee Vining). Driving to Yosemite from the east side rather than the west side avoids the often congested traffic around Yosemite Valley. The Tioga Road remains closed due to snow from November through late May or early June. To hike this route counter-clockwise, from Tenaya Lake to Tuolumne Meadows, leave your vehicle at the Rafferty Creek/Lyell Canyon Trailhead in Tuolumne Meadows (down the road past the Wilderness Center). Then take the park shuttle bus to the Sunrise Lakes Trailhead at the west end of Tenaya Lake on Tioga Road to start the hike. A park shuttle bus that operated frequently between several stops along the Tioga Road in the Tuolumne Meadows area from June through mid-September for many years did not operate in 2018. Find out about its status and other public transportation serving the park at nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/publictransportation.htm.

Map Trails Illustrated Yosemite no. 206, $11.95, natgeomaps.com. Digital maps can be obtained from various online sources, including: caltopo.com mytopo.com/maps natgeomaps.com/trail-maps/pdf-quads nationalmap.gov/ustopo

While planning this trip and reading through this e-guide, consult the list of trails and hiking distance at https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/trailheads.pdf, and park trailheads at nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/wildernesstrailheads.pdf.

Services Tuolumne Meadows has a visitor center, campground, wilderness center, and a small café. The nearest town with lodging, food, gas, and other services is Lee Vining, about a 30-minute drive from Tuolumne via the park’s east entrance at Tioga Pass. Check out the fish tacos and breakfast burritos at the Whoa Nellie Deli, in the Mobil station at the junction of CA 120 and US 395 in Lee Vining; whoanelliedeli.com.

Need to Know • A bear canister is required for food storage when backcountry camping in Yosemite (see my favorite in this review). Canisters are available for loan at the park’s Wilderness Centers, including in Tuolumne Meadows, where you will pick up your backcountry permit. Pepper spray is optional and not generally used in mountain ranges, like the Sierra, that have no grizzly bears. • While water is plentiful along much of the route, there are long waterless stretches, including for several miles going over Clouds Rest; between the Merced River at Nevada Fall and the Merced Pass Lakes (you can get water from Ottoway Creek, just off the trail a short distance west of the lakes); and between Triple Peak Fork (in the Merced River headwaters area) and the Lyell Fork of the Merced. Estimate your own hiking time and water needs for those sections. • High Sierra summer afternoons can be very hot, and high elevation and the dearth of shade magnify the effects of the heat. Wear a wide-brim hat, stay well hydrated, start early to hike in the cool morning hours, and don’t overpack. I also prefer wearing lightweight shoes or boots on trips that are hot and often dry. See my ultralight backpacking tips and my “10 Tips For Making Hiking and Backpacking Easier” and “8 Pro Tips For Preventing Blisters When Hiking.” • Afternoon thunderstorms can be intense. Avoid high ground or descend quickly if one is approaching. • High runoff from melting snow can extend into late June and July, particularly after a winter of heavy snowfall and a relatively cool spring; ask backcountry rangers for current information about any potentially hazardous fords. • Much of this hike is at altitudes between 8,000 and 11,500 feet. Most people acclimate to these altitudes without major problems. Stay hydrated. If possible, camp in Tuolumne Meadows—at 8,600 feet—before the trip to begin acclimating. • Gloves are recommended for ascending and descending the cable route on Half Dome. Leather gloves work best. But you will find a pile of used leather gloves at the base of the cable route during the normal hiking season for Half Dome; use a pair and deposit it back in the pile when you come back down. There’s no need to bring your own gloves unless you really prefer having your own.

Gear No specialized gear is needed, other than a bear canister. During the summer season, given the generally dry weather in the High Sierra and nights that don’t get very cold, you can (and should) use lightweight or ultralight gear, including your pack, tent, bag, rain shell, and footwear. Here are some gear tips for backpacking in Yosemite and throughout the High Sierra—but this should not be considered a complete packing list: Shoes or lightweight to midweight boots that fit well and are comfortable, light, and highly breathable to prevent your feet from sweating excessively, which contributes to blisters, are preferable to heavier, warmer boots. See my “Pro Tips For Buying the Right Hiking Boots” and all of my reviews of hiking shoes. Trekking poles are indispensable for steep descents and ascents in the mountains. See my reviews of trekking poles. A backpack of 50 to 65 liters will have adequate space for water, food, and clothing, and you will be happier—especially on hot High Sierra afternoons—with a light pack. See my “Gear Review: The 10 Best Backpacking Packs” and my picks for the best ultralight backpacks. In late summer and early fall, past the bug season, I typically use a tarp shelter in the High Sierra instead of a tent. But if you prefer tents, see my “Gear Review: The 5 Best Backpacking Tents” and all of my reviews of backpacking tents. A lightweight sleeping bag rated around 30 degrees is all many people need in typical summer weather in Yosemite, and it will help keep your pack lighter; anyone who gets cold more easily will probably want a warmer bag, rated 15 to 25 degrees. See all of my reviews of sleeping bags at The Big Outside. A sun hat with a wide brim that covers your head and shades your face and neck, and clothing that covers as much skin as possible, like a sun shirt. The high-elevation California sun is hot, and hours of intense heat on your head can be draining and exacerbate symptoms of dehydration and heat exhaustion. See my Gear Reviews page at The Big Outside, my “Essentials-Only Backpacking Gear Checklist,” and also “The 5 Best Rain Jackets for the Backcountry.”

Other articles at The Big Outside that may be useful in preparing for a Yosemite hike include:

5 Tips For Staying Warm and Dry on the Trail 7 Pro Tips For Keeping Your Backpacking Gear Dry Training For a Big Hike or Mountain Climb 10 Tricks For Making Hiking and Backpacking Easier 7 Pro Tips For Avoiding Blisters How to Prevent Hypothermia While Hiking and Backpacking 10 Pro Tips For Staying Warm in a Sleeping Bag

Mark Fenton backpacking over the summit ridge of Clouds Rest in Yosemite.

Section 2: The Hike The Primary Route: Tenaya Lake to Tuolumne Meadows

This approximately 65-mile route between Tenaya Lake and Tuolumne Meadows can be hiked in either direction, with pros and cons for both options. The daily mileages in the itineraries below indicate distances between named places and/or trail junctions; your daily mileages will depend on your choice of campsites. Hiking in this direction, you’ll begin with the ascent of Clouds Rest when your pack is heaviest, and there are few to no water sources on this day (depending somewhat on how early in summer you are there). Also, the ascent to Red Peak Pass is steep in this direction. I offer alternative suggestions in both this primary itinerary and the two alternative itineraries below for adding days, to break up the long and challenging first two days. Bear in mind that trail mileages can vary between different maps, guidebooks, and other sources, including trail signs.

Day one: Tenaya Lake to Little Yosemite Valley 16.5 miles, 3,800 feet uphill, 5,700 feet downhill

From the Sunrise Lakes Trailhead at the west end of Tenaya Lake, hike over 9,926-foot Clouds Rest, one of Yosemite’s most thrilling summits, culminating in a narrow, granite knife edge with steep drop-offs off hundreds of feet to one side and thousands of feet on the other side. (The crest itself is about the width of a city sidewalk, so it’s quite safe.) Beyond Clouds Rest, descend to the junction with the Half Dome Trail. If you have a Half Dome permit, stash most of your packs, gear, and food in the woods nearby and take the four-mile, out-and-back hike up Half Dome, which finishes with a crazily steep ascent of several hundred feet up the cable route. Camp at Little Yosemite Valley (the only designated camping in the area and the most popular backcountry camp in the park; reserve your permit 168 days in advance).

Alternative plan: Spend two nights at Little Yosemite Valley.

But for the popularity of Little Yosemite Valley and the difficulty of getting a permit for camping there for two nights, I would have designed this primary itinerary as a six-day trip, with two nights at Little Yosemite and a day for hiking Half Dome. If the first day described above is too long, here’s an option: Skip Half Dome on day one and hike directly to Little Yosemite Valley— shortening the day’s distance by four miles to 11.7 miles, and cutting total elevation gain almost in half, from 3,800 feet to 2,000 feet. (You’ll also avoid hitting Half Dome in the afternoon, when it’s most crowded and there’s a greater likelihood of thunderstorms.) Build an extra day into your itinerary to hike Half Dome (7 miles round-trip with 2,700 feet of vertical), and spend a second night at Little Yosemite Valley. You’ll add three out-and-back miles to the trip’s total distance. But with a light pack, it will feel like a relatively easy day. Get an early start to beat the crush of dayhikers up Half Dome—it’s a much different experience with few other people up there. See Alternative Itinerary no. 2 below for another suggestion for making this a six- day or weeklong trip.

Day two: Little Yosemite to Lower Merced Pass Lake 13.5 miles, 2,900 feet uphill

Leaving Little Yosemite Valley, pick up the one mile southwest to Nevada Fall; walk a minute off the trail to overlooks of the waterfalls’ brink. (But don’t approach the river; even rock that’s dry can be unsafe, because the water will occasionally wash higher up the granite slabs containing the river, and can easily sweep a person over the falls.) From there, continue into and up the forested Illilouette Creek Valley, passing some granite domes, to camp near Lower Merced Pass Lake. (We saw a black bear along this section of trail.)

Day three: Lower Merced Pass Lake to Triple Peak Fork 12 miles, 2,200 feet uphill, 2,000 feet downhill

From the trail junction near the Merced Pass Lakes, turn northeast toward 11,500- foot Red Peak Pass, the highest pass reached by trail in Yosemite. The pass is a dramatic, narrow notch in a ridge of clean, white granite. Descend the other side to cross a stark plateau of brilliantly red-orange rocks. Continue beyond to camp near the trail junction at the Triple Peak Fork of the Merced River. There are also nice campsites by lakes and tarns between Red Peak Pass and Triple Peak Fork.

Day four: Triple Peak Fork to Lewis Creek 10.1 miles, 1,300 feet uphill, 1,700 feet downhill

From Triple Peak Fork, hike toward Isberg Pass, but at 1.2 miles uphill, turn north onto the trail following the rim above the Merced River (past Cony Crags labeled on maps). Follow this trail through open, quiet forest littered in places with boulders, for 8.9 miles to Lewis Creek to camp. There are numerous nice, potential sites as you head up the creek valley.

Day five: Lewis Creek to Tuolumne Meadows 12.4 miles, 1,000 feet uphill, 2,000 feet downhill

Hike up the valley of Lewis Creek to Vogelsang Pass, a relatively easy pass. The trail descends gently to pretty Vogelsang Lake and the busy High Sierra Camp and backpackers camping area at Vogelsang. Follow the Rafferty Creek Trail north to Tuolumne. Less than a mile before reaching the Rafferty Creek/Lyell Canyon Trailhead parking lot, you’ll pass creeks and pools that offer a refreshing swim.

Jeff Wilhelm descending from Vogelsang Pass toward Vogelsang Lake in Yosemite.

Alternative Itinerary no. 1: Tuolumne Meadows to Tenaya Lake

You could essentially reverse the above primary itinerary, using the same campsite areas, but I think it would feel harder in some respects—unless, of course, you add at least one day and perhaps two. While the first day from Tuolumne Meadows to Vogelsang Pass and Lewis Creek never gets terribly steep, it’s long and has limited shade, and can feel like a tough day under the relentless sun. (Start in the cool temps of early morning.) You could shorten it by camping at Vogelsang or somewhere in the upper Lewis Creek valley. The ascent of Clouds Rest in this direction is nearly 4,000 feet uphill from Little Yosemite Valley; combining it with Half Dome and hiking out to Tenaya Lake would be a very hard day of 16.5 miles with 5,700 feet of uphill and 3,800 feet of downhill. Hiking in this direction, many backpackers would, if possible, prefer to spend an extra night at Little Yosemite Valley, and devote one day to hiking Half Dome.

Alternative Itinerary no. 2: Tenaya Lake to Tuolumne Meadows

Long waterless stretches make it difficult to shorten some of the longer days when hiking in this direction (as my primary itinerary recommends)—unless you carry extra water, allowing to camp wherever you decide to stop; but that adds considerable weight to your pack. One alternative is to add a night at the start, camping at the backpackers’ camp at Sunrise (where there’s also a High Sierra Camp, so this is a busy but scenic spot); that adds more than five miles out-and-back to the total trip, but shortens the big first day, and gives you a little more time to acclimate before ascending Clouds Rest. Plus, you could still build in two nights and a layover day at Little Yosemite Valley to devote one day to hiking Half Dome (as suggested above). While there’s no good camping options in much of the Illilouette Creek valley— the creek is mostly inaccessible from the trail—you can shorten the day over Red Peak Pass by camping at one of the lakes beyond the pass, before reaching Triple Peak Fork. From Triple Peak Fork, instead of taking the high, mostly waterless trail in the primary route, you could descend the Merced River canyon to Lewis Creek, having good water access and more camping options, while adding about 1.5 miles to the trip. There are multiple camping options along Lewis Creek, allowing you to add another night before heading over Vogelsang Pass.

Thanks again for purchasing my e-guide. I hope it helps you pull off an unforgettable trip. I’d really like to know what you think of this e-guide. Email me at [email protected] and tell me what you think, even if it’s a simple “I love your e-guide to backpacking south of Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite,” or tell me what’s not in it that you wish it had. Thanks.

Now let The Big Outside help you find your next trip! See my blog stories “America’s Top 10 Best Backpacking Trips” and “The 10 Best Backpacking Trips in the Southwest,” my Trips page for menus of stories about the many trips I’ve taken, and the Family Adventures and National Park Trips pages at The Big Outside.

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Rock art found near the Rafferty Creek Trailhead, Tuolumne Meadows.