Yosemite or Bust

This weekend, Whit and I are headed up to Yosemite for some hiking in the High Country. Whit and I pulled this trip off last year around this time, so hopefully it's becoming a tradition.

Last year, we were in Yosemite for the third weekend in September, with the idea that we'd camp at our old stomping ground, May Lake. We did not plan for the fact that a random snowstorm would pass through the park and put a dusting of snow all over the campground. The hiking conditions were obviously nice and cool, but lacking any meaningful camping supplies for those conditions, we bailed from staying the night there. That weekend, Yosemite was also shutting down all of the concessions along Tioga Pass Road, including the Tuolummne Meadows tent cabins, the Ranger Station, and the general store. So we ended up driving outside of the park, hitting the hot springs near Mammonth Lakes, and heading to June Lake, where we stayed in an old motel with more than its fair share of Tibetan prayer flags decorating the front entrance. Definitely fun, but not the backpacking weekend we had planned.

This year, it's backpacking or bust. The current plan is drive up Friday stay at May Lake for the night, then to do the Ten Lakes trail.