Wonders of Yosemite

This Yosemite backpacking tour begins with rendezvous in Yosemite Valley in the parking lot of Curry Village near the bear boxes at shuttle stop 14 at 6PM on Day 1. You will easily spot your guide waiting for you in a Wildland Trekking hat. We’ll conduct an orientation meeting, after which we’ll get settled in the Backpackers Camp a stone’s throw away from majestic Tenaya Creek and under the spectacular domes and cliffs of Yosemite Valley. We’ll enjoy dinner either at Curry Village or in camp.

• Shuttle Time: 90 min
• Hiking Mileage: 5.2 miles
• Elevation Gain: 1000 feet
• Elevation Loss: 1150 feet

This epic Yosemite adventure starts from stunning Glacier Point.  After a short shuttle to the trailhead we will descend into a drainage with views of many of the highlights of southern Yosemite Valley including Vernal and Nevada Falls, Tenaya Canyon and the Clark Range. We’ll camp next to a pristine creek with stunning views of Mount Starr King. It’s been a great first day, which we’ll celebrate with our first hearty backcountry dinner prepared by your guide.

• Hiking Mileage: 10 miles
• Elevation Gain: 2975 feet
• Elevation Loss: 315 feet

After an early wake up call, we eat a hearty breakfast and continue our hike up a pristine creek flowing from the high peaks of the Sierra towards the rocky ramparts of the Clark Range. On the trail we maintain a constant but manageable ascent as we approach a series of alpine lakes, the sight of an infamous plane crash in the 1960’s.  We will continue our ascent to a high alpine lake where we will set up camp and prepare for tomorrow’s climb over a stunning, remote mountain pass – in fact the highest trailed pass in Yosemite.

• Hiking Mileage: 8.3 miles
• Elevation Gain: 1820 feet
• Elevation Loss: 2470 feet

It’s another early start this morning as we traverse around the alpine lake and begin our ascent toward the high peaks. We follow in the footsteps of Ansel Adams, who originally scouted this route in the 1920’s and made the first ascent of nearby Red Peak (11,699′). Once at the pass, we pause to catch our breath in the rarified air at well above 11,000 ft. It’s almost all downhill from here to our campsite along a fork of the famous Merced River. But first, high above tree line, we trek through one of Yosemite’s most beautiful alpine regions with views stretching from the park’s northern borders to the jagged peaks of the Minarets, far to the south. Finally, descending into a lodgepole forest, we reach camp and can relax along smooth granite slabs and soak our tired feet in the ice cold waters of the Merced River.

• Hiking Mileage: 5.9 miles
• Elevation Gain: 90 feet
• Elevation Loss: 1570 feet

We have a mellower hike today with a moderately easy route to tonight’s camp, so we can linger a little longer and savor a relaxing breakfast and hot drinks around the morning campfire. Once on the trail we amble along the west bank of the Merced River enjoying the relatively level trail through the glacially smoothed landscape. After a scenic riverside lunch, the trail steepens a bit as we continue our descent toward a large backcountry lake surrounded by granite slabs and conifer forests, which we soon reach. After setting up camp among the granite boulders, we will have time to enjoy the area and the lake, perhaps take a swim or just lie back and watch the clouds float by.

• Hiking Mileage: 7.75 miles
• Elevation Gain: 325 feet
• Elevation Loss: 1360 feet

Today we pack up and hit the trail as we continue following the Merced River as it makes its way from the high alpine peaks to the floor of Yosemite Valley. We soon pass a set of waterfalls as we amble past the Merced Lake Ranger Station and then a little farther along the bustling Merced Lake High Sierra Camp. But, the sounds of the campers quickly fade as we contour the shore of bucolic Merced Lake. The granite cliffs become taller as the trail descends along the river and the cascades become more numerous until we reach the glacially smoothed Bunnell Dome, here we will set up camp as the setting sun’s rays shoot up canyon, illuminating the domes and high peaks of the Cathedral Range.

• Hiking Mileage: 8 miles
• Elevation Gain: 300 feet
• Elevation Loss: 2900 feet

Today, we sadly pack up camp for the last time and prepare for our last day on the trail. But, we’ve saved some of the best for last as we hike past many of Yosemite’s most iconic features, including Half Dome, Clouds Rest, Liberty Cap and two of the most photographed waterfalls in the world: Vernal and Nevada Falls. It’s almost all downhill and the miles quickly go by as our trail hardened muscles and our lightened backpacks make the hiking seem easy. Too soon we’re at the trailhead and Curry Village where we’ll have an early afternoon lunch and bid farewell to Yosemite and the great adventure that we had.