Yosemite Valley report

[John Kasaian]

We just got back from an overnighter in the Valley. I had to break one of my cardinal rules about not visiting Yosemite during the busy season since my daughter wanted to spend her 11th birthday on an outing with her dad on the half day mule ride :D

Road construction---the detours have ended at long last. The one way loop around the valley floor is back to normal!

4x5 film---I didn't see a lot in the fridge at the Ansel Adam's Gallery. I don't know if they were just low in their stock or if they're cutting back, so if you need to bolster your resources while in the park you might want to give them a call and find out what emulsions they plan to have on hand.

Wildlife---Bears, herds of deer, coyotes...we saw them all! The critters are very active in the valley right now!

Waterfalls---Spectacular!

Merced River below Vernal Falls---Extreme whitewater. Very photogenic but don't slip in! Deadly!

Food---We had dinner at the Buffet at Camp Curry on saturday evening. The prices weren't bad but the food wasn't as tasty as I remember from years past.
Perhaps the kitchen crew hasn't gotten their "act" honed yet as it is early in the season.

Degnan's still has very good pizza (which we had for lunch on sunday) and the staff was very "with-it" unlike our last visit.
Perhaps the kitchen crew is still fresh and attentive as it is still early in the season.

Mules---Claire rode Slick, I rode Fred. Destination: Clark's Point. Route: a new (to me) equestrian only trail that circumvents Happy Isles. I found this very interesting as I thought I'd been over every square inch of Happy Isles yet I don't remember seeing this area before. It is quite an improvement seperating the stock from the foot traffic all the way from Happy Isles to past Vernal Falls. It is a wonderfully constructed trail with beautiful rock work.

Mosquitos---Yeah, they're out.

Weather---Mist hanging over the meadows in the morning. Lots of thundercloud activity from about 2:00PM-ish on. Some rain (delightful when coming up from 100+ degress in Fresno! :) )

That is all.

[Vaughn]

Thanks for the report! I was wondering how life in the Valley was doing. Sounds like a fun trip.

Funny...I packed mules for a living for 10 seasons. Now I just do not have a desire to ride for fun. But I do remember my mule-ride in Yosemite 45 years or so ago...up out of Tuolumne Meadows. Can't remember the mule's name, but my brother got "Lightning".

Vaughn

[Eric Leppanen]

I visited Yosemite last week and experienced similar conditions. The LF film bin was completely empty at the AA Gallery when I visited, and one of the folks there told me that their film sales had become virtually non-existent (even though they still stock an impressive amount of 35mm and 120). LF shooters BYOF, as they say. Charles Cramer has an interesting exhibition at the gallery.

The thunderstorm conditions can lead to spectacular skies when the sun pops out. I traveled over Tioga Pass and got some wonderful shots of the Yosemite high country (some of the lakes are still iced over) as well as Mono Lake and the Bristlecones. There was still more haze than I would have liked at places like Tunnel View, but overall photographic conditions were good if you didn't mind being occasionally rained on. Alas, the dogwood blooms were all but gone.

The Whoa Nellie Deli is still alive and well at Lee Vining.

[tgtaylor]

Anyone have an idea what the backcountry conditions are like along Tioga Road? Would a trip to the Ten Lakes area be possible without snow shoes? The Tuolumne Meadows webcam hasn't been undated since 17 May.

[Drew Wiley]

I'm about to take my second trip into the backcountry this month. Snowshoes are
worthless this time of year, but so are inexpensive hiking boots at the higher elevations. I use good well-oiled leather mountaineering boots and either trekking
poles or an ice axe. Unfortunately one of my poles broke in half when I was fording
a stream and I took a pretty good dunking in ice water! I always wrap all my camera gear, clothing, and sleeping bag in plastic bags just for such mishaps. There
are some spectacular thunderstorms over the high peaks, so you have to choose
your terrain wisely. This coming week may well be a real drencher along much of the crest. Accessible elevation depends on specifically where you go. It's still quite snowy anywhere above 9,000 feet, so expect deep snowdrifts in shaded areas.
As usual in June, be wary of major stream crossings. The nice thing is that the trails
aren't dusty yet and the mosquitos are not bad up near the snowline, but very soon
will be! I didn't see anyone on my last trip, though I passed two parties who gave up
at the first crossing. The trail was virtually nonexistent above 9000 ft and I returned cross-county and didn't even attempt to follow a standard route. Won't say exactly
where I went - not many people know about it - but the 4x5 was put to good use!

[tgtaylor]

Sounds like you are posting this from the Yosemite Lodge. I'll be heading up shortly. Would be amusing to find that we are setting up in the same place.

[Preston]

Just a quick note on Yosemite/Sierra weather for those who may be headed that way in the next few days...

We have been having unseasonable colder weather with many thunderstorms and isolated heavy showers with gusty winds, lightning, and hail. Snow accumulations of five to seven inches are expected above 7,500 feet in the Northern Sierra today (Friday, June 5). Travel over Carson, Ebbets, Sonora, and Tioga passes may be difficult, and conditions in the back country will winter-like.

Conditions are expected to improve as we move through the weekend, but isolated T-storms and unseasonably cold temeratures can be expected through the coming week in the Sierra foothills and the higher country in the range.

If you are planning to head into the higher elevations, be prepared.

For more info, check http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/Sacramento/ or here http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/hnx/ .

Have a great weekend, and be safe out there!

-Preston

[Drew Wiley]

Thanks Preston. Every year it seems that the stereotype of the Sierra as "Gentle
Wilderness" gets people in trouble. In my lifetime I have been in serious blizzards every
month except July, storms in which people died, and once even saw Hwy 395 closed above Bishop due to snow in August! I have long held the custom of carring winter gear in my pack all year long. Numerous times I have had to lead someone out of the backcountry or loan them gear because they were ill prepared. When I was coming down from Pine Creek Pass one summer a party was getting out of their car at the
trailhead dressed in T-shirts and shorts. They watched wide-eyed as a horse packer
went past them in a heavy slicker, with all the mule train packs wrapped in plastic.
They looked above - the sky was blue and not a cloud in sight. Finally I worked down
the switchbacks and walked right past them. I had on full gear, and snow was still
caked to my shoulders and top of my pack. Just over the first ledge a couple thousand
feet up it was snowing like crazy. Incidents like this have happened over and over
again. Sometimes the difference between fun and death can simply be a good raincoat,
jacket, and decent footwear.

[htswv]

I get to finally take my trip to the Sierras in early August! Anybody know if the mountains will still be snowcapped then?

[Curt Palm]

not snowcapped really more something like this on the higher peaks:


http://www.curtpalm.com/images/CampSite1000.jpg
this was early Aug. 2006 (edited typo)

[Fred L]

you got a Time machine Curt ? :D

Go back and corner the market on silver !

[tgtaylor]

For a peek at what the Sierra Nevada looked and felt like this past week between Kearsarge Pass and Mt. Whitney, check out the following report w/images posted by a PCT hiker:
http://postholer.com/journal/viewJournal.php?sid=6d9be7587d8a907f744f5d89e0b497e5&entry_id=8833

[John Kasaian]

I just returned from two days at Shaver Lake, which is tucked away up in the sierras midway between Yosemite and Kings Canyon. The skies were nice and dramatic! I even saw some snow flowers still in their splendor.

Reports from Virginia Lakes on the other side of Yosemite indicate that it is still very much Winter up there (approx 9,000'+) and the trout are hungry!

[Drew Wiley]

I just got back from the high country. Packed in with full winter gear and needed it.
Spent all day Sat hunkered down in the tent due to heavy sleet, snow, and hail. Was
camped at 10,000. Anything much higher is still under deep snow, and many stream
crossings are still tricky. A handful of hikers are getting through on the PCT/Muir trail but reporting waist-deep postholing on the higher passes, including Donahue
in Yosemite. The much higher passes in the southern Sierra like Muir and Forester
are going to be a real challenge, especially since the brunt of the storms is still
continuing down there. Ice axes mandatory at the moment. (I was packing out of Edison Lake, into the Silver Divide country). By the 4th of July a lot more people will start getting into the high country, just in time for millions of hungry mosquitos to greet them! But I love this time of year because no bugs, almost no people, and everything so crisp and clean, with huge waterfalls all over the cliffs. My light meter accidentally got soaked, so I had to estimate most of my exposures. Let's see how good my memory is for lighting conditions! One party of European climbers got up the trail behind us, and Sun morning managed to bag a tricky peak which I had the first ascent of forty years ago. A lot of fond memories in that part of the range!

[Drew Wiley]

John - I was just thinking, do you ever get up to Courtwright? It's only about half an
hour past Shaver along the Dinkey Creek road. Goes past a very photogenic grove
of giant sequoias, and Courtwright itself has the biggest collection of domes in the
Sierra. Wonderful place to park and dayhike or car camp, with all the photographic
opportunites of Tuolumne Mdws but none of the crowds. In August you get huge
thunderheads forming behind the domes. There is also a huge monolith below the
dam which is easy to walk to, popular with rock climbers. Drive across the dam for a peek down Lost Canyon or to visit more domes. There's even a giant meadow which you can day hike to, about three miles in, reminiscent of Tuolumne Mdw, where the odds are 50/50 you'd be the only person around. Nice views of the Leconte Divide on the way in, and many nice small meadows too, and a lovely waterfall not far from the sequoias. Magnificent dogwoods in early June along this road. Fall colors in the nearby Dinkey backcountry are incredible, but require more hiking, plus 4WD or a good pickup. (Courtwright road itself is fully paved).

[John Kasaian]

Drew,
I haven't had the pleasure of heading up that way in quite awhile, but it is indeed lovely country. A few years back I just missed hitching a ride on a helicopter to Edison before the road was opened for the season.

I still kick myself for that one!

[Jim Fitzgerald]

John - I was just thinking, do you ever get up to Courtwright? It's only about half an
hour past Shaver along the Dinkey Creek road. Goes past a very photogenic grove
of giant sequoias, and Courtwright itself has the biggest collection of domes in the
Sierra. Wonderful place to park and dayhike or car camp, with all the photographic
opportunites of Tuolumne Mdws but none of the crowds. In August you get huge
thunderheads forming behind the domes. There is also a huge monolith below the
dam which is easy to walk to, popular with rock climbers. Drive across the dam for a peek down Lost Canyon or to visit more domes. There's even a giant meadow which you can day hike to, about three miles in, reminiscent of Tuolumne Mdw, where the odds are 50/50 you'd be the only person around. Nice views of the Leconte Divide on the way in, and many nice small meadows too, and a lovely waterfall not far from the sequoias. Magnificent dogwoods in early June along this road. Fall colors in the nearby Dinkey backcountry are incredible, but require more hiking, plus 4WD or a good pickup. (Courtwright road itself is fully paved).

Drew, thanks for this information. This is an area the I have never been to either and based on your description it looks like I need to put this on my list. So many great places to explore up there. Some of the back roads can be very exciting from what you describe. Thanks.

Jim

[John Kasaian]

Right now Shaver Lake is full to the max but FWIW in late autumn the water level is usually quite low and the rock formations left, seeming to grow out of the mud flats are quite unusual and photogenic IMHO.

[Drew Wiley]

Yeah John, there is absolutely no drought in the southern half of the Sierra but the
northern half is a slightly differernt story. When I got back after dropping my Pentax
meter in a creek of snowmelt I put it into a couple of Ziploc bags filled with indicator
silica gel. The electronics are working again and the fog is almost all cleared up. Another week and I hope all will be well so I don't require an expensive repair. In the
meantime have a spare meter. Just wish I had time to print color but am trying to get
done a large installation of color prints, so the best I can do is a few b&w's on Sun
afternoons in the dkrm. Hope to start going up the hill again in the "post-mosquito"
season of Sept.