YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, JUNE 13-19

What can you bite off and how much can you chew in 7 days? That’s what 11 women found out on our stunningly beautiful and quite challenging backpacking trip around Yosemite’s North Rim, with a couple days’ hikes on the Mariposa Grove and Mist Trails thrown in as a warm-up.

“Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature’s darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.” John Muir

Our photo diary follows, plus suggestions re: guiding, activities, restaurants, accommodations, and what to add to your backpack!

Yosemite is “not just a great valley, but a shrine to human foresight, the strength of granite, the power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra. First protected in 1864, Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more.” US National Park Service

THE SISTAS

GUIDING COMPANY

We used South Yosemite Mountain Guides for our backcountry trip. Riley and Tom were positive, hard-working, helpful, and fun guys. Matteo, the company organizer, considerately provided us with two extra guides to help carry some of our heavy gear up the very difficult first trail. Riley brought his guitar and woke us every morning with a tent-side serenade, plus he led a fun campfire sing-along. Tom carried a lot of extra weight without complaint. The SYMG equipment was mediocre at best: the sleeping bags were tired and left a lot of feathers in our tents, plus a number of the sleeping pads had serious leaks. They did their best to accommodate our food allergies et al, but the meals were lacklustre. We ate uncooked quinoa twice (which is a pipe cleaner, if you get my meaning.) And they only packed 2 rolls of toilet paper for 11 women! Overall, I’d give the guides a solid 8.5/10 and the gear 5/10.

ACCOMMODATIONS

For this trip, we entered the park via the South Gate, which is closest to Fish Camp. Note: book well in advance (a year) to get your desired lodging. We stayed at the Tenaya Lodge cottages, a short walk to the main resort which offers all the amenities you need. The lodge was understaffed with a lot of “green” employees but tried their best to run a smooth operation. The spa is excellent, the food is great (compared to the other local options; order the chai tea chia in the am), the shop could use more actual hiking gear, and the cottages could use a facelift but were spacious and clean.

DAY 1: MARIPOSA GROVE OF THE GIANT SEQUOIAS TO WAWONA POINT (OUT AND BACK)

LENGTH: 8.33 MILES / 13.4 KM

LEVEL: EASY- MODERATE

ELEVATION GAIN: 1,759 FT. / 436 M

TIME: 3HR 13 MIN WITH A LUNCH BREAK

PARKING: MARIPOSA GROVE WITH SHUTTLE TO TRAILHEAD

NOTE: PLAN TO GET TO THE PARK BY 7 AM OR YOU’LL SIT IN SERIOUS TRAFFIC AT THE PARK ENTRANCE

We took a half day to explore the awe-inspiring Mariposa Grove of the Giant Sequoias. The trail reaches a beautiful climax at Wawona Point.

Sequoia, is a tree that ranks among the largest and oldest living things on Earth. Millions of years ago, these trees grew over most of the Northern Hemisphere. They now grow in only about 70 groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, at elevations ranging from 5,000 to 8,000 feet (1,500 to 2,400 meters). The name sequoia comes from Sequoyah, the name of a Cherokee Indian leader who invented a written alphabet for his tribe. People also refer to the giant sequoia as the big tree or Sierra redwood.

DAY 1 DINNER: DUCEY’S ON THE LAKE

Step back in time to Ducey’s for a fun meal in a lodge overlooking the popular Bass Lake. Think Dirty Dancing and you’ve nailed it..

DAY 2: MIST TRAIL – VERNAL FALLS, CLARK POINT AND JOHN MUIR TRAIL LOOP

LENGTH: 4.5 MILES / 7.2 KM

LEVEL: MODERATE – CHALLENGING and VERY WET!

ELEVATION GAIN: 1,614 FT / 492 M (FLOORS: 337)

TIME: 6 HOURS

This is a spectacular day hike which will exhilarate and soak you! You follow the Merced River from the bridge and half way up must don your full rain gear. Gaiters are highly recommended. We only reached Vernal Falls because the crowds were heavy and our hikers were tired. If I were to do it again, I’d arrive very early and complete the higher Nevada Falls part of the trail, too. Do not hike back down the steep, slick steps; rather, find Clark Point and use the John Muir trail, which provide cool perspectives of the waterfalls (and you’ll dry out!)

DAY 2 EVENING: SUGARPINE RAILROAD BBQ AND SING ALONG

We went full tourist that night at the Sugarpine Railroad, enjoying a mixed BBQ in an old rail yard, and then jumping on an antique lumber train that took us deep into the woods for a campfire singalong. Under the starry skies, we were serenaded by banjo players and guitarists. It was convivial, goofy, and full of laughs.

DAY 3: YOSEMITE VALLEY FLOOR TO THE NORTH RIM AKA “THE SADISTIC” HIKE, CAMPING AT SNOW CREEK PREMONITORY

LENGTH: 4 MILES / 6.44 KM

LEVEL: SUPER CHALLENGING WITH 35 LBS ON YOUR BACK: THIS HIKE IS STRAIGHT UP FOR 2 MILES

ELEVATION GAIN: 3,671 FT / 1,118.92 M

TIME: 8 HOURS

PARKING: OVERNIGHT BACKPACKER PARKING AT CURRY VILLAGE AND SHUTTLE TO MIRROR LAKE

The preceding night, we met our SYMG guides who briefed us and distributed our tents, sleeping pads, poles, and sleeping bags. We drove into Curry Village the next day, packed our food into bear cans, shuttled, and then set off to gain the north rim of Yosemite Valley and the top of Yosemite Falls (2,425’)*. This hike straight up via switchbacks was HARD. SYMG calls it substantial. I’m glad we trained with weight and were given lots of breaks. Was it worth it? Yes. The campsite in the evergreens, with brazen deer, was spectacular. Sitting by myself, taking in the views of the Mt. Watkins, Half Dome, and the falls, made me cry for its pure, raw beauty. The only sound you hear is the roaring water, winds, birds, and forest creatures. Snow Creek was running too hard and was freezing cold, so swimming wasn’t in the cards!

DAY 4: LAYOVER WITH MT. WATKINS HIKE

LENGTH: 7.5 MILES / 12.07 KM

LEVEL: MODERATE WITH LOG CROSSINGS OVER

ELEVATION +1890’/ -1,890’ / +362.71 M /-362.71 M

TIME: 6 HOURS

We earned a well-deserved layover day and explored, with light day packs, Mt Watkins for a peek at one of Yosemite Valley’s least visited jaw-dropping viewpoints of Half Dome and Cloud’s Rest. Did you know that the ‘face’ of Half Dome is the namesake for the North Face brand? The day included log-crossings over rivers, a lot of hiking over well-packed snow, and a quite a bit of post-holing (but no one was injured, thankfully – just a few scrapes).

DAY 5: TRAVERSE THE NORTH RIM OF YOSEMITE VALLEY

LENGTH: 9 MILES / 14.48 KM

LEVEL: MODERATE WITH LOTS OF SNOW

ELEVATION +1864 FT / -1929 FT / +569.15 M / -587.96 M

TIME: 6 HOURS

This was an enjoyable day of hiking on thick, packed snow through the forest (some burnt out) and bare-foot creek crossing. It culminated with pics on top of Yosemite Falls with mighty Half Dome in the background. Were we done? Nope. It was an extra mile uphill to reach our campsite. And yes, it was worth it again: we had the river and a glorious site all to ourselves.

DAY 6: DESCEND SNOW CREEK TRAIL

LENGTH: 5 MILES / 8 KM

LEVEL: MODERATE BUT ACTUALLY TOUGH BECAUSE IT’S ALL DOWHILL

ELEVATION +305 FT/ – 3077 FT / +92.96 M / -937.87 M

TIME: 5 HOURS

We packed up one final time and bid adieu to our high camp. Some took down the stairs at the top of the Falls to a scary scenic platform. And then we descended the Snow Creek Falls trail to Mirror Lake, exiting on the eastern end of Yosemite Valley. The trail was full of day hikers (some seriously ill-equipped with babies and dogs in their backpacks, sandals, and no water) mostly going up. We made it down by lunch but it took us five more hours to get home because of traffic and shuttle issues. That night, we enjoy a fine meal at Tenaya, handed out a few funny awards, and hit the hay. There’s nothing like camping to make you appreciate a real mattress!

DAY 7: TRAVEL WITH A STOP AT REIMER’S CANDIES IN OAKHURST AND AN INCREDIBLE DINNER AT SAIZON IN FRESNO

On the way through Oakhurst, hit Riemer’s Candy for old-fashioned goodies and ice cream. If you stay overnight in Fresno, hit Saizon restaurant for lunch or dinner. They call it “Napa Valley meets Mexico City.” We called it truly delicious!

OVERALL:

Those who have hiked all of the Tredsup trips, to date, rate this Yosemite trip our 2nd hardest, with the first being the West Coast Trail. We hit the park at a phenomenal time when the rivers were running their hardest in decades. It was truly a lucky, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Yosemite is a Mecca for tourists and it was overly packed because they didn’t cap the daily visitors; however, our arduous backpacking took us out of the fray and into some magical, breathtaking, solitary sites. My motto is to hike the challenging routes while we are able bodied, soak in the world’s great wonders, and then tackle the easy, flat routes in our 80s. I’m proud of this Tredsup gang of sistas for putting this notch in their belts with me!