Hi Guys, myself and a friend are planning to backpack in Yosemite and will be arriving in mid June 2009. It will be our first time there and will be coming from England via San Francisco and would like to camp the trails for approx 2 weeks. We literally have NO idea how to accomplish this! So any help on the following points would be much appreciated, thanks.
*How to get from SF to Yosemite by bus or train (we do not drive)?
*How easy is it to get a Wilderness permit on the day of arrival?
*Can we stay 2 weeks? Is there any restrictions on the time you can stay for?
*What gear do we need to survive? ie: food, water, stove, bear proof stuff?
Backpacking in Yosemite in June
Here the link to wilderness permits nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildpermits.htm.
The main problem I see is getting to the trailhead. some are in the valley, but the best hikes are up out of Glacier point or Toulumne meadows and there is limited public transport here%26#39;s the link for that yosemitepark.com/Activities_GuidedBusTours_T鈥?/a>
if you go to www.yosemitepark.com, they also have a list of items you will need. I think you can rent items as well from the mountaineering school.
Happy planning!!
Backpacking in Yosemite in June
1. Buy an Amtrak ticket from SF to Yosemite Valley. This will include a combination of train/bus into Yosemite Valley. As mentioned above, you then need to figure out how to get to the backcountry.
By the way, hitch-hiking in the park is legal, which doesn%26#39;t necessarily mean I%26#39;m recommending it. However, it does seem safer than hitch-hiking off a random city street.
2. It depends on what trail you%26#39;re leaving from, as to how easy it is to get a permit the day of your arrival. Call the wilderness permit line and see what advice they can give you as to the easiest permits to get. You can reach the back country from Yosemite Valley...you%26#39;ll just be doing some significant uphill hiking your first day to get yourself out of the Valley.
3. 30 day camping limit per year, which includes backpacking time.
4. Bear canister is required, and can be rented where you get your wilderness permit. Make sure everything else with a scent can fit in that canister (sunscreen, toothpaste, etc.). Also make sure you have some way of purifying water...filter, tablets, whatever. Giardia is an issue.
Rental equipment in the park at the Mountaineering school
yosemitepark.com/Activities_RockClimbing_Ren鈥?/a>
Guided overnight trips:
yosemitepark.com/Activities_HikingCamping_Ov鈥?/a>
Also, just to clarify...you have or have not been backpacking before?
Oh...Sorry, I didnt make it clear that we will definitely be starting from Yosemite Valley. Which sounds pretty easy to get to from SF, phew.
Just to clarify this is both my friends and I%26#39;s first backpacking trip anywhere in the world!!* We are under no illusions that there will be a lot of hard work and walking involved, but we prefered it as an alternative to staying in The Yosemite Valley for 2 weeks for the following reasons: cheaper, less need to reserve in advance, less crowded in june. I see your an expert in this field, so whaddya reckon?
Thanks for your help so far, we are so grateful.
* One of us was once in the boy scouts.
IMO you do need reservations for permits!! If you get there and you cannot get a permit, what are you going to do? June is high season and you might not have a place to stay, especially if you don%26#39;t have a car.
My first instinct when you said both of you have never backpacked, was YIKES!! Being a boy scout does not prepare you for the wilderness of Yosemite. Guess I%26#39;ve seen too many rescues in the back country.
You might consider trying to get a cancellation at the high sierra camps (they%26#39;re not cheap) or going on a guided camping trip that includes food and lodging.
yosemitepark.com/Accommodations_HighSierraCa鈥?/a>
Backpacking leaving from Yosemite Valley takes a fair amount of work, so just keep that in mind. You basically have to climb 3,000 (900 ish meters) feet or so to get out of the Valley, as you can%26#39;t set up backpacking camp anywhere inside the Valley. And you%26#39;ll be doing those steep hikes with heavy packs.
If you%26#39;re going to leave from the Valley, then I would recommend trying to get a wilderness permit ahead of time. If you can%26#39;t, then be at the wilderness office at...oh...I%26#39;d even recommend 7am (before it opens) to make sure you%26#39;re in line and can get one of the first come first serve permits. A certain number of permits for every trail are available for first come first serve...BUT, leaving from the valley is very popular.
June is less crowded, but still crowded.
For a first time backpacker (and this is just my opinion), you might want to try a 2 night trip to see how things go. Camp 4 is a first come first serve campground in the Valley, and if you%26#39;re there early in the morning (again, 7am), or sometimes even before noon on weekdays, you can find a spot. It%26#39;s $5 a person per night.
If you really really want to do such a long trip, I strongly recommend getting very good at reading topographic maps, getting a hold of a good detailed trail map of yosemite (the National Geographic topo map would be a start), and learning how to navigate wilderness using those maps. Many trails in Yosemite are well marked, but if you%26#39;re out for 2 weeks...you just want to make sure you%26#39;re skills are pretty good.
http://www.yosemite.org/cat-18-1-7/Maps.htm
I will also say that I tend to err on the side of caution when approaching hikes/wilderness...so take my words with a grain of salt, as others on the forum may be more comfortable with you heading out on a 2 week backpacking trip as a 1stimer.
If you haven%26#39;t already seen this forum, you might give it a try to see what kinds of responses you get. Seems like there%26#39;s a bigger community of backpackers checking that one:
www.yosemite.ca.us/forum/viewforum.php?f=7
Be safe and have a good time whatever you decide.
Wilderness Permit ~ another hiker reported in the backpacker.com forum that he always gets one of the First-Come First-Served permits for his frequent Yosemite hikes. We always call or fax exactly 24 weeks in advance.
Have you seen the Yosemite Backpacking webpage? nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/backpacking.htm
In general, a long backpacking trip into the Yosemite backcountry when there is still snow on the ground by two newbies makes me cringe. But my husband reminded me that we did crazy things in our youth and that people survive on very little. So, assuming you are still planning to do this trip, here are my suggestions, based on my advanced age, years of backpacking experience, and somewhat limited knowledge of the Yosemite backcountry. (I am assuming that you are locked into the mid-June arrival and cannot postpone your trip.)
-%26gt;read every backpacking book you can get your hands on. Read the websites marmot suggested above. Read, then ask questions on www.backpacker.com forum.
-%26gt;treat your water with iodine water-treatment pills to minimize weight. A water filter pump adds weight, but the water is available to drink right away. Treated water needs to sit for 30-60 minutes.
-%26gt;get gear now, or try to figure out what you%26#39;ll need. REI (store) rents gear, but I have no idea where you%26#39;d find the closest REI to the San Francisco airport. Perhaps there are other places that rent gear. Ask on the San Francisco forum.
-%26gt;invest in some good clothing. You%26#39;ll be wearing it nonstop for a long time, so it needs to be breatheable, comfortable, and versatile.
-%26gt;you%26#39;ll save weight if you don%26#39;t cook. For myself, I can%26#39;t imagine backpacking without having coffee in the morning and a hot dinner at night, but one of our friends actually prefers to ';cold camp.'; You%26#39;ll be eating peanut butter, tortillas (they fit in a bear can), Velveeta Cheese, or other things like this for a long time. But if you cold camp you%26#39;ll really reduce your pack weight. Remember, EVERYTHING with an aroma must be kept in the bear canister at night. We%26#39;ve had bears knock over our canisters, just to see if the lid is ajar.
-%26gt;if it%26#39;s at all possible, try to split the trip in to smaller portions. Go for 4 - 6 days from the Valley, hike back down and stay at Camp 4, eat real food, shop at the Village Store, then go back out the next morning with a new permit.
-%26gt;my husband suggests that you try to get a trip out of Hetch Hetchy. You%26#39;d need to hitch hike to get there, but it should be much warmer and more hike-able in mid June. There will be snow when you hike out of the Valley.
Good luck! (And as marmot said, be safe.)
Well, thats pretty comprehensive, many thanks Muffya, Marmite, and PacificNWfamily. The advice you%26#39;ve given will be invaluable.
I think we gonna have to look at scaling down our plans, maybe twoo weeks was a tad ambitions!! But we are locked into the mid june arrival but after that we can adjust to anything. The bigger picture is that we%26#39;re visiting the USA and travelling from SF to NY in 85 days, visiting Yosemite is a vital part of this as our budget dictates that we need to have one segment of our trip where we spend very little dough but still have beautiful scenery, meet nice people etc and after a lot of internet research we decided backpacking in Yosemite was ideal (if it was possible for us to do it).
We%26#39;ve decided to have a crack at it anyway, %26#39;spose we can always go running back to Mummy when it all goes t*ts up, Thanks again Guys.
Before you think that backpacking will save you money, check prices of equipment rentals and food. Two weeks in the mountains means you have to haul a lot of food and food that won%26#39;t rot. freezedried food is very expensive.
Look at housekeeping camp in the valley for cancellations. Not sure how much it runs in the summer, but that might be an option for some of the nights.
You have been given some great advice here. I can%26#39;t help adding some more.
Your proposal is adventurous but possible even for a first-timer at backpacking, but you will have a lot of work to do first in planning.
Be aware, as mentioned, that this might not save you much money, once you factor in the cost of equipment, (even renting it) and the lightweight food you need. Still, it%26#39;s a great plan for exploring Yosemite and meeting some wonderful people on your way.
I would say that given your circumstances (arriving by public transport, no reservations in the park) you absolutely need to reserve your wilderness permits in advance, rather than rely on walk-up permits. What if you try that and can%26#39;t get one? You would be forced to leave the park, again by public transport, which unfortunately is not all that great in the US. Or maybe you could stay in Camp 4, but again, you can%26#39;t count on that.
There is a place on the wilderness permit website where you can check on the availablitity of permits. It looks like there are still plenty left for late June.
I think PacificNWFamily has a great idea in dividing your time up into several shorter trips. This will give you a chance to practice your backpacking skills and adjust or restock as needed before heading out on a longer hike.
Also---each permit carries with it the right to 2 nights at a backpacker%26#39;s camp in the Valley, one night before and one night after your wilderness hike.
www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/bpcamp.htm
So---you could arrive in Yosemite Vally, 3 permits in hand, and spend a night in the backpacker%26#39;s camp, 2 nights on the trail, return to the Valley for 1 or 2 nights, do a longer wilderness hike loop of 3 to 4 nights, return to the Valley, and do another wilderness loop to fill your two weeks.
You could hike up to Tuolumne Meadows by one route and return by another. Be aware, however, that you are likely to encounter snow on some of the trails. The Tuolumne backpacker%26#39;s camp does not open until July, according to the website, and the main campground up there does not take reservations until July either.
We did a 6-week hike on the John Muir trail starting on June 15 one year, and we were mostly on snow for the next 10 days. We could always find bare ground for pitching the tent, but we had to use route-finding skills (map and compass) to find our way with the trails buried under snow. This may only be a problem at the higher altitudes (above 8,000 feet) but you should include thoughts of snow in your planning.
One of the trickier parts of planning a backpack trip is deciding on the food---what and how much to bring. There are lots of ready-made freeze-dried backpacker%26#39;s meals available (just add boiling water and stir), but they are not cheap. We and most people we know make our own, from a combination of cuisines---rice, couscous, polenta, beef jerky, etc. It does take some practice to get the amount, taste, and nutritional value just right for full days of vigorous activity like hiking.
A good general book on gear and planning for beginners is The Complete Walker by Colin Fletcher (a UK citizen who migrated to the US). It is available from Amazon.uk:
amazon.co.uk/Complete-Walker-IV-Colin-Fletch鈥?/a>
You can go crazy over-the-top with gear, or keep it simple. But there are some basics that you absolutely need: tent, sleeping bags and pads, stove and cookpot, first-aid kit, maps and compass, bear canister, water filter (or purification tablets), proper clothing, etc. And a good comfortable backpack to carry it all , as it will add up to 35 to 40 pounds each, or more.
Also remember that you will need a place to store all your things that you brought on your trip but won%26#39;t want to carry on the backpack.
You might also consider a few nights in the tent cabins at Curry Village.
Cool, after much deliberation myself and my companion will be taking the advice we gathered in this forum and are going to split the Yosemite trip in to smaller segments and use multiple permits, it seems the only sensible way after all!
One thing we forgot to ask was - %26#39;Can anbody give us a brief description of what exactly the term %26#39;trail%26#39; and %26#39;trailhead%26#39; means? I appreciate this may sound like a daft question to you guys but, as first timers we have very little knowledge of how you start,follow,end a trail/route. Thanks
No comments:
Post a Comment