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michael feldman
Mountain climber
millburn, nj
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 12, 2013 - 11:57am PT
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I will be in Yosemite (staying at the Yosemite Lodge) with my wife in August for 4 days. She has never been to Yosemite, and though she does some rock climbing, she does not want to climb this trip (I know, I know). I promised her lots of great hiking. What are your recommendations for the best things to do in the Valley for a 4 day trip if climbing is not an option? While I have previously done the Half Dome hike before permits became a problem, I am assuming that hike is out now due to the lottery system, etc. And yes, assume we'll be having drinks in the evening. Thanks for suggestions.
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nopantsben
climber
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Jul 12, 2013 - 12:00pm PT
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those little pools in the royal arches area are really cool. i think they are marked in the reid guidebook as devils bathtub or something like that. I can't really describe how to get there though.
any chance you drive from LA on August 6, 7, or 8?
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michael feldman
Mountain climber
millburn, nj
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 12, 2013 - 12:03pm PT
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Thanks for the quick responses. As for coming from LA, not a chance. I'll be coming from NJ via a wedding in Napa. Sorry!
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sharperblue
Mountain climber
San Francisco, California
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Jul 12, 2013 - 12:11pm PT
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The very best view of Half Dome, and possibly in the entire Valley by an easily-accessed (long-ish but extremely easy; awesome start, boring middle, colossal pay-off at the end) hike, is actually from the top of Cloud's Rest, beginning from Tenaya Lake (45-ish minutes on 120 back up from the Valley bottom by car to the trail head)
http://www.summitpost.org/clouds-rest/150422
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rincon
Trad climber
SoCal
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Jul 12, 2013 - 12:15pm PT
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Getting a "first come first served" permit for the Half Dome Cables is only a problem on weekends, so do it on a weekday.
Go for a hike up Tenaya Canyon and find a secluded swimming hole.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Jul 12, 2013 - 12:21pm PT
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What else is she into? I remember taking a photography clinic with Ansel Adams studio that was fun.
Having a cocktail at the Ahwahnee is a nice treat.
I'll have to look up the uncrowded hike we did on a rest day...
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jul 12, 2013 - 12:33pm PT
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explore Tenaya canyon, it's a 2nd class hike... and depending on what you want to do you can up the difficulty of scrambling... not very often visited
do the Snow Creek trail from the Valley floor, also unique views
Hike in to North Dome then to Yosemite Point and then Yosemite Falls from the Porcupine Flats trail down from Rt 120... less people, spectacular views
Do the Old Big Oak Flat trail (might be warm) which will require a little bit of route finding and scree hopping
Hike out to Devil's Dance Floor from Tamarack Flat, or up from the Valley
Hike up to the Diving Board... not the top of Half Dome but great views and you can click your own version of "The Monolith"
Hike the Pohono trail up from the Wawona tunnel... other set of great views not often seen
Do the John Muir "if I only had one day in the Valley" hike... ambitious but oddly compelling.
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Jul 12, 2013 - 12:34pm PT
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I'd head to Clouds Rest. It's absolutely beautiful up there.
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frank wyman
Mountain climber
montana
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Jul 12, 2013 - 12:53pm PT
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Drive up to Mariposa Grove and hike around all the Giant Sequoias...
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Jul 12, 2013 - 12:55pm PT
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Lots of good options above for longer hikes. Edit: yes the Mariposa Grove is great.
Try to get a half dome permit, best day hike in the world.
Don't neglect the standard, short, touristy "hikes". To the bottom of Bridaveil Falls, Yosemite Falls, Mirror Lake, Vernal Falls / Happy Isles.
Rent bikes. Lots of fun. If there's enough water rent a raft.
Visit the Le Conte memorial. Visit the Awahnee, the first floor is a public place, great place to read a book in the evening. The tour is interesting.
The Indian Village, movies, visitor center, are ok.
Take a day trip to Tuolumne for sure. The weather will be much nicer and it's amazing in it's own right. Take a swim in Tenaya Lake. If your feeling adventurous find the water slide a couple mile hike down from the outlet of Tenaya lake.
Another day trip is to Glacier Point. Long hike or drive. If you drive check out the fissures and Sentinel Dome. But I'd do Tuolumne first.
Sunnyside bench is barely 5th class, a couple moves of 5th class on a 4 pitch 4th class climb. Worth a shot. From the top of the climb you could hit the swimming holes between upper and lower yosemite falls. If you had gear then you could top rope around Swan Slabs.
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kaholatingtong
Trad climber
Nevada City
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Jul 12, 2013 - 01:02pm PT
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nice pic brandon
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Jul 12, 2013 - 01:03pm PT
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Like fly fishing? Awesome opportunities all over the Valley ans it's feeder creeks.
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Jul 12, 2013 - 01:06pm PT
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If you're not climbing, the only thing worth doing otherwise is hiking and running, IMO. If you're not doing that, then you will be languishing with fat people feeding wildlife.
Tenaya to Cloud's rest, then down the Valley is indeed good. Hop the first shuttle in the AM from the Lodge to Tenaya Lake.
I don't like the Yosemite Falls trail. Too many people, not as runnable, not as pretty as other trails. But it's a good fix and the railings overlooking the falls are good. Hit Yosemite Point and the Lost Arrow as well.
4 mile to Glacier Point, then down the Panorama to John Muir is my most frequented Yosemite run. You can take a bus to Glacier if you want to shorten this.
Lots of stuff in Tuolumne as well. Glen Aulin is my most frequented run up there. Cathedral Lakes is good, Young Lakes is also fun.
I don't like the Snow Creek trail. If you do it, take a shuttle to Olmstead and run it back down to the Valley. This way you'll be looking at Half Dome instead of a bunch of trees in the woods. As an out and back, it's ~24-30 miles. There are way better options out there if you want to endure that kind of hike/run.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Jul 12, 2013 - 01:10pm PT
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Not clear what level difficulty you and your wife are up for.
Ed mentions Old Big Oak Flat Road. Great views across the Valley. Definitely a lot of big boulder hopping otherwise easy. No scree. And you probably won't see anybody. Some route finding difficulty across and up the giant rock slide. Full Sun.
Snow Creek trail is beautiful and spectacular. Durned hot on a hot day. Ditto for Yosemite Point (above the Yos Falls tourist trap).
Tuolumne Meadows is unique (a word I seldom use).
Get the bus (unless you have a car) from the Lodge to Tuolumne Mdws (earliest possible). The Cathedral Peak circuit is awesome. It's a good climber's trail that leaves the main trail - get directions from SuperTopo. You can lunch in the meadow below the South face and watch the hordes scurrying up the face. You can go all the way around and down past Cathedral Lakes. Good side excursion is Budd Lake (more good climber's trail), and if you've gone up there you may as well hike easy cross country around to the west corner of Echo Peaks for the southerly view before returning. The walk up Lyell Canyon from the Tuolumne Mdws store/campground is very pretty and easy. Go as far as you like and return. Or up to Vogelsang Lake and return. If you have a car, go to Tioga Pass. Easy hike/scramble the trail to the north to McCabe Lakes, pass them on your left and then go up the long ridge above for spectacular views. Or from west end of Tioga Lake find the climber's trail (steep but never difficult) to the Dana Glacier or to the Dana Plateau (view of Nevada) (or both if you're up for it). Real alpine environment.
Or hike Mt Dana, 13.050 feet. A steep, long walk.
You can "climb" the east ridge of Mt Conness if you drive over Tioga Pass and then left to Saddlebag Lake. A short section of 3d class scrambling otherwise gorgeous cross county alpine travel. See SuperTopo Mt Conness descent for description.
These are all Big Days but well worth it.
I don't recommend Sunnyside Bench without a real belay.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Jul 12, 2013 - 01:14pm PT
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Grizzley Peak - that was the fun hike with tons of views of falls and no people.
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Social climber
SLO, Ca
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Jul 12, 2013 - 01:21pm PT
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Rent bikes to see the valley destinations / attractions. Do the raft rental thing- it's fun. A lot of places will be hotter than the surface of the sun so I'd do tourist stuff in the valley and hike in TM.
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Risk
Mountain climber
Olympia, WA
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Jul 12, 2013 - 01:36pm PT
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Well, you have to hike the mist trail, hundreds of people or not; wait until after 6PM and most will be back to the Valley by then. You could also take the bus to Glacier Point and hike down to the valley via the Panorama Trail and the Mist Trail, Tenaya Canyon is also a great hike.. Go up the north side to the top of Hidden Falls. Also, a short scramble up Snow Creek from the confluence with Tenaya Creek is a fine lunch spot. Another favorite is scrambling up to the amphitheater at the base of Ribbon Fall. Surprisingly remote and unusual with great views down into the valley. You could also take the Tuolumne Bus to the North Dome trail and hike down the Snow Creek Trail with a stopover at North Dome. I didn't include the million possibilities of hikes from Tuolumne.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jul 12, 2013 - 01:42pm PT
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for Tuolumne hikes
one thing to remember is that you can do hikes starting on Rt 120 at one end loop back into the woods, and come out someplace else on Rt 120 and catch the bus back to your car... this expands the possibilities of hiking... (make sure you start and end reasonably near a bus stop)
I'd second the motion for hiking up onto the Dana Plateau, even if you don't summit, it's a spectacular alpine setting with huge views, and you will probably catch sight of climbers on the Third Pillar
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10b4me
Ice climber
Middle-of-Nowhere, Arizona
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Jul 12, 2013 - 01:44pm PT
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Float the river; definitely go up to Tuolumne, and hike to Elizabeth lake.
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Bruce Morris
Social climber
Belmont, California
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Jul 12, 2013 - 02:00pm PT
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Swimming in the Merced River at Steamboat beneath the Cookie Cliff. Swimming back up into the cave to sit on the "Throne" deep inside is an interesting tour de force, especially swimming upstream against the current. Nice slide back out too.
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michael feldman
Mountain climber
millburn, nj
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 12, 2013 - 02:08pm PT
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Thanks (again) for the recommendations. We are in good shape, so we are looking to likely hike (though some of the other suggestions also sound interesting). If I can convince her to do Half Dome, I would definitely do it again if we can get a day pass. Some of those other hikes sound great also. I'll try to match them up to my old hiking guide for Yosemite.
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Eric Beck
Sport climber
Bishop, California
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Jul 12, 2013 - 02:09pm PT
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August is too hot in the Valley for hiking. A good high country hike is Mt Hoffman, starting at the May Lake parking. Good use trail the entire way past the Hi Sierra Camp. Superb view.
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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Jul 12, 2013 - 02:11pm PT
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--In the Valley:
Second on Four Mile, I'd reco starting in early evening and do it by moon/starlight. Nights are made for walking with the people you love, esp in the Sierra.
Ribbon Falls Amp.
Various lux swim spots.
--In Tuolumne:
Thirding the suggestion on the Dana Plateau.
West shore of Tenaya lake (Nutjob recently gave me that tip, thanks dude!). Circumnav'ing the lake is also nice.
--Beyond Tuolumne:
Carve out the time to drop down to 395 and pick a hot spring.
Enjoy your trip, post a photo TR!
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splitclimber
climber
Sonoma County
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Jul 12, 2013 - 02:23pm PT
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yeah, go peak baggin' - hoffman, clouds rest, half dome, tressider etc.
then you can say you were "climbing" :)
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Jul 12, 2013 - 02:41pm PT
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My Bad for not checking the YARTS schedule in advance.
according to the currently posted schedule, there's basically no way you can take the bus from Yos Lodge to Tuolumne, do anything and then return the same day.
Go Figure!!!
(when in tarnation is the US going to create usable public transportation?)
So to do Tuolumne you'll either need your own car, find someone to go with or stay overnight at Tuolumne Lodge (not a bad thing in itself)
http://www.yarts.com/schedules.html
or the so-called "hiker's bus" which is nearly as bad
http://www.yosemitepark.com/tuolumne-meadows-tour.aspx
bloody stoopid!
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Ward Trotter
Trad climber
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Jul 12, 2013 - 03:12pm PT
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Use the 4 days to hike into the backcountry. In the interest of light weight backpacks prepare to trap and consume native animals and plants. Make spears from appropriate branches and fashion knapped stone arrowheads affixed with pine sap cooked at low temps and dried in the sun. Make twig traps bound with rolled bark to fashion fish nets to catch trouts in streams and lakes.
Return to highway then take shuttle bus back to car.
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Jul 12, 2013 - 03:13pm PT
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The shuttle works just fine to avoid the need for 2 cars if going to or from Tuolumne one-way. The late start is so all the fat people can sleep in and eat a few lbs of bacon and sausage before leaving. 10am up in Tuolumne is fine. YARTS isn't really an option, you need to look at the AM/PM on the schedules.
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AlanDoak
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Jul 12, 2013 - 04:12pm PT
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Another vote for Clouds Rest.
Also, check out one of the sequoia groves.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jul 12, 2013 - 04:42pm PT
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I think Yosemite Valley seems hotter to the locals then to the visitors... we get to experience the Valley in every season and frequently... so we get picky about the state it's in... but the high country is the place to be in the summer if for no other reason than it is open for such a limited time one feels bad not taking advantage of it...
the John Muir suggestions, from his book The Yosemite can be found here:
http://www.yosemite.ca.us/john_muir_writings/the_yosemite/chapter_12.html
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Jul 12, 2013 - 06:32pm PT
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^^^Awesome Ed, from 101 years ago and just as right on now as then.
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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Jul 12, 2013 - 09:05pm PT
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"So we get picky about the state it's in"..HaHaaHa... 4 mile trail early in the day and the mist trail..don't put harder, arduous hikes on your wife( from experience), If she's knott a climber don't expect her to be an extreme trooper. The falls trail is a knee basher and exposed to a lotta of sun.
Spend time with her at the merced soaking your feet and keep your expectations realistic. Some fine dining at the camp ground ,ie;Break out from the normal climbers menu....maybe a squab barbecued and red potatoes-with squash, and a nice bottle of wine... Bring her into our beloved space with a gentle hand and (Hopefully) she'll remember that the rest of her life.
Does this qualify under the Friday night posting while drunk thread? or am I really that in touch, with my feminine side.
Beat me with a hose , please.....
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 12, 2013 - 09:48pm PT
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Rent bikes to see the valley destinations / attractions.
+1 A great way for a first timer to drink it in.
edit: To elaborate, biking the valley is a nice, casual time. Ride, stop at the shops and attractions, take few short hikes to the falls, grab lunch and a brew, check out exhibits, etc. Biking the valley really lets you get a full view at your own pace (well, except for the congested parts near the lodging areas).
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Psilocyborg
climber
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Jul 12, 2013 - 10:19pm PT
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Sunnyside Bench and furthur up if shes feelin it
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Jul 12, 2013 - 10:36pm PT
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A nice loop is Yosemite Falls Trail > Yosemite Point > North Dome > Indian Ridge > Indian Rock > Descend Snow Creek Trail
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JOEY.F
Gym climber
It's not rocket surgery
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Jul 13, 2013 - 01:24am PT
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All good suggestions,
As well, put Sierra Point on the list, a small adventure mostly overlooked.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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Jul 13, 2013 - 01:50am PT
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A sixer of Elephant Malt Liquor at Degnan's Deli comes highly recommended I hear.
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
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Jul 13, 2013 - 02:31am PT
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go to the Mtn Room and get hammered while tourons get bit by blood sucking mosquitoes,
then hijack a tour bus from glacier point and give 40 people a death ride,
then out to mirror lake where that calsburg elephant has been cooling and contemplate john muir on crack,
then hitch hike to LA and watch an old lady get hit by a corvette stingray,
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Jul 13, 2013 - 07:01am PT
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^^^^
Get laid on the summit of North Dome while getting cheered by tourons on top of Half Dome
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jul 13, 2013 - 12:22pm PT
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just thought of another "climber centric hike" to do...
go up the gully between the Cathedral Spires and Cathedral Rocks (as if approaching Braille Book but continue to the notch, then walk the backside down and around, perhaps hitting the summits of Upper, Middle and Lower Cathedral rocks... you could return down the Gunsight (ropes there for descending, though if you plan on returning that way you'd want a harness and a rap device, probably).
Looking at the face of Middle Cathedral is truly amazing from Lower...
and the views from Lower across the Valley are outstanding and unique.
You'll encounter no one... Bridalveil Creek might be a nice place to refresh on the hike.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jul 13, 2013 - 12:35pm PT
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I haven't read the rest of the worthy suggestions but has the time-honored doss been proffered as an enriching experience?
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| Messages 1 - 41 of total 41 in this topic |
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