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Tuolumne Meadows To Yosemite Valley Backpacking – This post follows our 7-day hike through the heart of Yosemite National Park, starting in Tuolumne Valley and ending, more than 50 miles later, at the bottom of Yosemite Valley.
It’s hard to describe in words and photos what it feels like to be there, to spend an entire week in the mountains and valleys of Yosemite National Park. It’s not a real thing, and we were lucky enough to be able to do it, I’m going to try to tell our story and hopefully convince you that you need to go see it for yourself.
Tuolumne Meadows To Yosemite Valley Backpacking
The summer before, we went to see Zion and Brice National Parks and Escalante National Monument in Utah. We took a friend’s advice and hired a guide company to do the equipment for us, because we didn’t know much about Utah, and we wanted to avoid doing it. research on our own journey. Our friend Sheri recommended Wildland Trekking, a company she used to travel with. I’m glad we chose them, because we had such an amazing experience, and based on that, we asked to join their Yosemite trip!
Backpacking Yosemite National Park In 7 Days
We decided to fly to Fresno, a flight from Seattle, and stayed there. The next morning, because we didn’t want to rent a car and leave it parked for a week while we were in the country, we took Amtrak to Merced, then boarded the Yarts bus to Yosemite Valley. It took time, but it was a lot of fun to ride public transport and enjoy the view.
We purposely arrived a few days early, to allow us to see the tourist side of Yosemite Valley, and we were in for a treat! In that valley there were thousands of tourists, buses full of people, food and store lines at least 10 customers long and in general it was very, very full. We felt we had reached the wrong place. But that was going to change soon, we thought, so we decided to hang around, and take a quick walk around the area.
We spent two nights in Yosemite Valley at a cabin in Curry Village. They really exceeded our expectations in terms of comfort and stability. We enjoyed the warm weather, close to the grocery store and food. We also enjoyed a small show that they put on for us as guests at the village theater. It tells the story of climbing El Capitan. What else could we ask ourselves before the beginning of our retreat?
We met the guide the night before, talked about the trip, checked the equipment and most of all we met everyone else in our group. We all decided to get an early start, so, at 8 am, we were waiting for the Tuolumne Meadows bus.
Yosemite Valley To Tuolumne Meadows Via Clouds Rest
The ride to Tuolumne Meadows took two hours and we were lucky enough to get a front row seat on the bus, so we enjoyed the view. Somewhere in the middle of the ride, I think it was near Lake Tenaya, the bus took a short 5 minute break.
We stopped for lunch on the patio at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, and shortly after, we joined the nearby John Muir Trail.
Although the sign said 27.5 miles to Yosemite Valley, we took the long way to give ourselves enough time.
In the 7 days we planned to be there. If I remember correctly, we ended up walking a little over 50 miles together.
A Young Man Walks Past Cathedral Lake During A 27.3 Mile Backpacking Trip From Tuolumne Meadows
Once we entered the trail, we were pleasantly surprised by the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River and the meadows of Lyell Canyon. I felt like we were walking in a wonderland.
We hiked for a good few hours on the rugged but beautiful trail through Lyell Canyon. The weather wasn’t perfect, but the temperature was perfect for hiking, probably in the mid-fifties. Although the route was good, it could not compensate for the effect of the height, because I started to feel a little headache. I wasn’t surprised since we were hiking eight miles high, an altitude where I often get mild AMS (acute mountain sickness).
On the way, we could see these beautiful ponds, with rocks nearby where marmots will mark and announce their presence.
After 5.3 miles through the canyon, near Irish Creek, we reached the junction of the Evelyn Trail where our first campsite was going. We left the John Muir trail behind and headed back down the road, toward the Vogelsang High Sierra Campground, to find a place to camp.
Mammoth To Tuolumne Hike
The first night I sleep outside every time, I ask all the noises I hear because it is very quiet. Every broken branch or cone that falls to the ground sounds like a bad bear coming to get my food. Eventually I stopped making things up in my head and went to sleep.
That’s exactly how it was this time, only I found out in the morning when I left the bag that was nearby where the bear was in our camp that night, trying to steal the food they couldn’t meet the bear’s cancer (their big mistake) and had to hang it in a tree. They were able to scare the bears away when we had no real evidence.
We took our time packing and left camp shortly after dawn. We knew the weather would turn nice, and here it was, the sun was shining again.
The hike from Irish Creek to Vogelsang begins with the upper section, opposite Lyell Canyon. We walked around the river for a while and stopped at a place to eat after the climb (about 9600ft).
Valley To Cathedral Map, Yosemite, Backpacking John Muir Trail
Walk, walk, walk, through Yosemite’s beautiful pine forest. We had scored 10k so far and were in the top country, but I still felt good. No top marks at all, yay!
The next two hours were the most memorable of the day. The views were very positive. Map:
Descending the main valley, crossing two streams, we arrived at Evelyn Lake with views of Fletcher Peak and the rest of the Sierra beyond, in the distance. Just a few more changes and we would be at Vogelsang Camp.
It wasn’t long before we left Evelyn Lake and moved on, seeing Fletcher Peak in all its wilderness.
Days In Yosemite: How To Plan Your Yosemite Itinerary
The next photo is another perspective view. There we found our campsite five minutes away. The thought that immediately crossed our minds was to catch. We struggled, took care of camp first, then came back, not swimming, but diving for 20 seconds in/out. The water was very cold, (not what we expected otherwise).
This experience has always been the defining moment of our journey. It marked a time when we were no longer connected to where we came from – civilization. Our adventures in the wilderness can really begin.
When we went to the lake, we somehow missed the sign of the camp, and we were searching near this river to pitch our tents.
Finally we found a good place to camp. To be honest, when I think of Vogelsang, this is the first image that comes to mind. It was one of my most memorable experiences of this trip!
Yosemite Backpacking Part I: Tuolumne Meadows To May Lake — Backcountry Emily
But this dream was not intended. Some of the staff at Vogelsang Camp proper (Vogelsang is a High Sierra Camp, with horse stables, tent cabins, running water, etc.) were having a party that night, 200 yards from where we camped. , and confirm it, come and tell us. With internal arguments, and repeated visits from different dudes, we finally decided to move our camp down and choose another location. Still, you can’t beat a sunset in the Sierras.
We woke up early that day, not because we needed to go very far, but because we wanted to spend the afternoon at leisure, and maybe take a dip in Lake Merced. We only hiked 6.3 miles the other day, all uphill, and now we’re faced with a very easy 7.8 mile hike, all downhill. The elevation loss from Vogelsang to Lake Merced is 2,800 feet.
2 miles or so from Vogelsang it passes through a large and wide meadow, then turns into a steep path over ravines and beautiful granite rocks.
With higher altitudes, tall trees began to appear, and we descended into the subalpine. Since we were running on time, Joe suggested we take a 0.3 mile hike and have lunch at Babcock Lake. After lunch it didn’t take long before we got out of the narrow corridor we had been in for a while and got a good view in the distance. It’s time to bring out the cards and give ours
Three Days In Tuolumne Meadows: Lyell Canyon And Vogelsang Loop
The idea of naming the peaks we see. One of them was the Dome Section, which has a unique shape, far away.
Part of the Dome
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