Overnight Backpack to Ten Lakes in Yosemite

Ten Lakes Pass view into Northern Yosemite
Ten Lakes Pass view into Northern Yosemite

It’s only June and I’ve already managed to squeeze in two overnight backpacking trips in Yosemite.  I hope this is the start of a good season! In late April I backpacked to Rancheria Falls, and this past weekend I visited Ten Lakes Basin, a good overnight destination off of Tioga Road.

The conditions this year are extremely dry, so the conditions we experienced were closer to an average July than early June. Rangers had warned that there would still be ‘plentiful snow’ and that the lakes were still iced over, but having driven by the pass already over Memorial Day weekend I strongly suspected they were exaggerating. They were. We had a beautiful visit to the lakes with just enough snow to keep the beers cold.

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Liberty Cap and the Rockslides: a Weekend in Yosemite Valley

Half Dome, April 12, 2013
Half Dome, April 12, 2013

April is a somewhat unpredictable time of year in terms of weather in Yosemite, so when I made campground reservations a few months ago I had no idea if I’d be snowshoeing or hiking. April is about the latest I’ll go to the Valley since I prefer to avoid it during the busy summer season, and this year it ended up being perfect timing. It has turned out to be a dry winter and with clear skies and forecasted highs around 70, I planned a couple of great Yosemite Valley hikes that would get us to some classic sights as well as away from the crowds. On Saturday we hiked the northeast gully of Liberty Cap to the summit, and on Sunday we hiked the Rockslides, the Old Big Oak Flat road that used to be the only road into the Valley.

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Yosemite Nature Notes: Horsetail Falls

“Yosemite Steve” (not to be confused with Yosemite Sam) has done it again with the newest Yosemite Nature Notes video. This one is all about the glowing Horsetail Falls, a phenomenon that happens during the sometimes serendipitous convergence of several components – time of year, angle of sun, clouds, time of day, and recent weather patterns. A couple of years ago I made the trek to Yosemite Valley to experience the falls, only to strike out and be frustrated with a cold drizzly rain. Someday I hope to see this beautiful sight, but in the meantime there are plenty of other beautiful Yosemite experiences to have.

There is also this excellent video from Steve. Enjoy!

Solitude in Yosemite Valley Hike #3: Old Big Oak Flat Road

Old Big Oak Flat Road and El Capitan
Old Big Oak Flat Road and El Capitan

The history of access to Yosemite Valley is interesting – highways 120, 140, and 41 have not always been there. One of the first paved roads into the Valley was the original Big Oak Flat Road (a history can be found here). It was a dangerous road and was eventually replaced with the safer tunnel design of the current road, and then eventually taken out via a major rockslide in the 1940s. Today this road is an afterthought, a forgotten footpath frequently blocked by rockslides and overgrown trees.

This road is quite visible from many points in the Valley. As you descend 41 from the Tunnel View, look across the valley at the slopes west of El Capitan. You’ll clearly see an old road cut through the terrain. It disappears in places (where it has been taken out by rockslides) but it’s easy to visually pick it out.

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