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Navy salad
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PostMon Oct 14, 2019 12:21 pm 
My family and I are heading to Yosemite for 4 days later this week. Does anyone have some suggested hikes for the area? I'm hoping for both: -- Easy hikes that most anyone could do; and -- Really beautiful hikes for my son and I to do. We're both in good shape, so a difficult hike would be ok (we're not specifically looking for hard hikes, but don't want to pass up a spectacular hike just because it's hard). Of course, a really beautiful hike that also happens to be easy is fine! Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostMon Oct 14, 2019 12:54 pm 
I've done a handful of hikes in Yosemite. Lots of great options. I'll just throw some out there, not really separated into easy or longer. Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne Cathedral Lakes--can do some off trail rambling around the base of Cathedral Peak, Echo Rocks, Budd Lake (and you can pick up an unofficial trail from its outlet that loops back down to near the trailhead). Clouds Rest Lembert Dome--there is a loop trail around it, but you can walk straight up it; it looks impossibly steep from below but it's the best kind of grippy rock, any decent boot will be fine on it Vernal Falls loop-up Mist Trail and down John Muir I meant to hit Glacier Point but didn't quite make it. I did do a nearby loop with Taft Point and Sentinel Dome. That's barely scratching the surface, but I think those are all the hikes I've done in Yosemite. I enjoyed all of them. You probably can't go wrong there.

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Navy salad
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PostMon Oct 14, 2019 3:38 pm 
Great suggestions, thanks!

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Navy salad
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PostSun Oct 27, 2019 12:33 pm 
OlderthanIusedtobe: We ended up doing the Vernal Falls loop (up Mist trail, down Muir) that you suggested. Great hike! A bit tougher than I expected from the description, but that just makes it better exercise! Thanks again!

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostSun Oct 27, 2019 2:12 pm 
up.gif Cool. Is there much snow down there?

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Navy salad
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PostSun Oct 27, 2019 3:18 pm 
No snow on the ground even where the hike crosses over the ridge near where it joins the Muir trail. Plenty cold though! But there was snow on the peaks, etc.

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80skeys
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PostThu Nov 14, 2019 7:01 pm 
Emigrant Wilderness is nice. It's about 20 miles north of Yosemite. I have backpacked it a couple times. There are lots of alpine lakes and, nice scenery and the times I've been there in the summer very few people on the trails.

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gb
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PostFri Nov 15, 2019 8:24 am 
Navy salad wrote:
No snow on the ground even where the hike crosses over the ridge near where it joins the Muir trail. Plenty cold though! But there was snow on the peaks, etc.
Out of curiosity how crowded was Yosemite and what date and day of the week was your visit? I haven't been in a very long time.

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80skeys
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PostFri Nov 15, 2019 9:14 am 
I have only been to Yosemite a couple times (not for backpacking) and it was crowded both times. This is the main reason I mentioned Emigrant Wilderness above. Even though it's not far from Yosemite, there's hardly anybody there. Also I should note that we didn't encounter any bears in Emigrant and we were there for 2 nights/3 days.

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Navy salad
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PostFri Nov 15, 2019 10:51 am 
We arrived on a Friday and left on Sunday. This is the only time I've been to Yosemite, so I have nothing to compare it to, but given how cold it was overnight, I was surprised how many people were there tent-camping. Also, there were lots of people on the easy trails, thinning as the hike started heading up. Also, it took something like 20 minutes to get a coffee in the morning if you made the mistake of ordering an espresso! Lots of people in the big cafeteria building at dinner time, but still plenty of room to find a table.

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rubywrangler
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PostMon Nov 18, 2019 11:30 pm 
I was in Yosemite 10/26 - 10/29 and the Tuolumne area was basically empty. I saw a handful of people on the trail to Clouds Rest and that was about it. It was great!! Stayed in Mammoth instead of camping due to single digit nighttime temps. Didn’t go to the valley.

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BigBrunyon
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PostTue Nov 19, 2019 12:02 am 
The hikes in the valley were too short and full of people strollin' not hiking for my liking! To get a respectable kill count on these trails (given the overall slow pace of the stroller crowd) you need to be prepared to be a running back trying to break that o line. This type behavior allegedly makes people uncomfortable but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do on those valley trails. Most hiking there dont know the etiquettes anyway

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostTue Nov 19, 2019 3:26 pm 
rubywrangler wrote:
I was in Yosemite 10/26 - 10/29 and the Tuolumne area was basically empty. I saw a handful of people on the trail to Clouds Rest and that was about it. It was great!! Stayed in Mammoth instead of camping due to single digit nighttime temps. Didn’t go to the valley.
Did you enjoy Bishop area?

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Riverside Laker
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PostTue Nov 19, 2019 4:18 pm 
I cycled from Lee Vining via Tioga Pass past Tuolomne Meadows to Olmstead Point about a week ago. Everything was closed at Tolumne and crowds were very light. Can't really call them "crowds". No snow in the mountains to speak of, so it must have been ideal hiking conditions all over the Sierra with nice daytime temps but brrrrrrr at night. Did some commando camping a bit north of Lee Vining, then later at a state park south of Reno. Most forest service campgrounds were closed -- one on the Tioga Pass road was still open for a few more days. Had Chile Cheese Bread in Bishop at Schat's Bakery! And a cinnamon roll. And a bag of chocolate chip cookies.

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Malachai Constant
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PostTue Nov 19, 2019 9:09 pm 
Love Schat’s always make a lunch stop there.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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