Our goal for the day was to traverse over Donohue Pass into Yosemite Wilderness, stopping short of Kuna Creek and the camping prohibition zone.
The Quick and Dirty:
Location: Ruby Lake to Lyell Canyon (over Donohue Pass)
Distance: 11-12 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Duration: N/A
The hike from Devils Post Pile to Ruby Lake was nearly all completely up-hills. Along the way, we passed Rosalie Lake, Shadow Lake, Trinity Lakes, and Garnet Lake.
The Quick and Dirty:
Location: Mammoth Mountain Adventure Center, Devils Post Pile to Ruby Lake
Distance: 12 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Duration: N/A
We drove two separate vehicles and parked them at each end of the trail for easier transportation. The drive was long and traffic was terrible, due to the National Park Centennial.
The Quick and Dirty:
Location: Yosemite Valley Happy Isle Trail Head, Mammoth Mountain Adventure Center
Distance:
Day 0 – Varies, Happy Isle Trail Head and Mammoth Lakes Adventure Center
Difficulty: N/A
Duration: N/A
After last years fires in the Sierras smoked us out of our John Muir Trail section hike, we got permits to attempt to do it again this year. Unfortunately, S could not make it this time and instead a few of my friends (A and E) joined me on the trip.
The schedule was fairly aggressive and it really pushed the hiking team. While S and I both comfortably hike 15-20 mile days, the other two have never done more than nine miles a day. We followed as closely to our original itinerary as possible, but having been issued walk-in permits for Half Dome, we accelerated our schedule to meet our permit date. The number of people on the trail during this time of the year also made it very difficult to find suitable camp sites.
A few quick notes: Yosemite recently changed nearly all of the names throughout the valley, I used an old map and it made it difficult to locate where I was going.
The Quick and Dirty:
Location: John Muir Trail (JMT), between Devils Post Pile to Yosemite National Park
Distance: Approximately 50 miles (+/- a few for Tuolomne Meadows)
Best Time: JMT suggested times (typically August through September)
Duration: Four days (+)
Permits and Restrictions: Permits can be obtained through www.recreation.gov. Make sure to obtain a fire permit online or at the ranger’s office if you plan on using a stove for cooking. A bear canister is also required for this trail and available for rental at the local ranger station. Permit pick up at Mammoth Welcome Center (night box options OK).
This post is a part of the series for backpacking at the northern portion of the Olympic Wilderness Area from Ozette ranger station to Shi Shi Beach. We had trouble finding good resources describing the all the high tide crossings between Ozette ranger station and Shi Shi Beach when we planned our backpacking trip and thought it would be useful to document all the crossings in a blog post for future use.
Before I dive into the specific high tide crossing areas, there are some good to know facts regarding high tide crossing throughout this trail outlined below:
Snapshot of a friendly hiker’s tide map
Hike Now, Work Later 