40 Miles in Yosemite's Backcountry
- Rebecca Souther
- Jan 21
- 7 min read
I wrote this for another blog back in December of 2022. I still don't know why they didn't use it, and am excited to have my own space to share this story a little over 3 years later.
As the year ends, we often find ourselves reflecting on the goals and accomplishments we’ve set for ourselves the year prior while planning for what’s on the agenda for next year. To some, the first things that come to mind are usually career goals, fitness goals, or future investments. To the outdoors person, this means reflecting on the number of adventures taken, miles hiked, peaks bagged, or memories made over the course of the past 12 months while gearing up for another year of adventure. For me, one trip stands out as being the most memorable trip of 2022, and this was finally having the opportunity to go backpacking in Yosemite National Park’s backcountry for the first time towards the end of August.
Day 1, Arrival to Yosemite
After years of applying for permits and months of planning, we were finally ready for what felt like the Yosemite trip of a lifetime. We started our journey by entering from the east side of the park and picked up our permit from the Tuolumne Meadows Ranger Station. While we were there we were tested on our knowledge of the seven principles of Leave No Trace and went over why it's important to follow these standards in the backcountry with the Ranger on duty. From there we continued on through the park to Curry Village where we left our vehicles for the duration of our stay (after removing all food and any scented items) and made our way to our home for the night- the backpackers camp located behind the North Pines Campground. We received a warm welcome from our wonderful volunteer camp host, Cindy, who checked and made sure we had our permit and helped us fill out the camp registration forms. She was elated to share that the current low visitation during this particular August weeknight reminded her of summers in the park during the 70’s, and how she was creating a “take one, leave one” box out of a bear bin for hikers to take or leave extra gear or food they may or may not need. We were excited to contribute with any shelf stable snacks, meals or fuel, once we returned.
Day 2, North Pines Backpackers Camp to Little Yosemite Valley (LYV):
Mileage: 4.7 miles
We awoke at 2:30am, packed up our tents, assessed our gear and hit the trail by 3am to beat the 6am Mist Trail maintenance closure. Hiking the stairs up past Yosemite Falls with a full pack in the dark was intimidating but refreshing to feel the mist from the falls on our faces as we made our way up. We continued up past Nevada Falls and took a break while watching the Sunrise over the top of the falls & Merced River across from where we were sitting with the Liberty Dome towering behind us. Once we were ready to move on, we continued up the John Muir Trail arriving at backpacker's camp at Little Yosemite Valley (LYV) around 9:30 am. After finding a designated site, we set up camp utilizing the bear boxes provided and took time to hydrate and rest before heading back down the trail to the merced to filter water, cool off, and relax. We were debating whether we wanted to attempt the Half Dome on this day as our permit allowed flexibility, but decided to wait to summit this vast dome of granite on the third day of the trip after some R&R and a good night’s sleep.
Day 3: LYV, Half Dome, Dispersed Camp before Clouds Rest:
Mileage: 13.3 miles
Another 2:30am wake up call to make it to the base of the cables before Sunrise. Two of three members of our party were able to summit Half Dome as the sun rose over the valley while the third waited from the base of the cables after attempting this feat and realizing that they were not yet ready for this type of open exposure. Whether it was from the top of Half Dome or the base of the cables, you could feel Yosemite's magic come to life as the sun rose higher- soon becoming one of the most majestic sunrises I have ever seen. Once we regrouped at the base of the cables, we made our way back down to camp at LYV to rest and pack up before making our way towards Clouds Rest. We hit the trail towards Clouds Rest when a member of our party started experiencing foot pain. At this point smoke from a nearby wildfire started moving into the valley from the other side of the ridge causing some minor fear and anxiety between some members of the group. We checked the park’s website for any emergency communications before losing cellular service (with our Garmin Inreach handy) and continued on our way once we realized we were at a safe distance from wildfire. We made it a few miles shy of Clouds Rest and set up a dispersed campsite off trail once the pain became too much for our friend and their feet. Camp was erected fairly quickly beneath a grove of Sequoia trees on the flattest part of the ridge we could find where we boiled water for rehydrating our dinners as the sun set. The red glow from the fire became more prominent as the sun got lower and was somewhat magnificent to watch as the sky got darker and the glow from the fire on the ridge across the valley from us burned brighter.
Day 4, Dispersed Camp to Clouds Rest to Sunrise Lakes
Mileage: 9 miles
When we awoke the next morning the air was thick with smoke and our tent had a thin layer of ash resting on our rainflies. We had come to realize that visibility across the valley was less clear in the mornings, with the smoke from the fire rising up and moving out more towards the afternoon. After packing up and deciding to skip breakfast, we hit the trail for higher ground and cleaner air closer to the Clouds Rest summit. The ascent up to Clouds Rest felt like the most challenging part of our route physically because of the August heat combined with the weight of my pack and incline. We weren’t sure if we would come across filterable water sources between Half Dome and Sunrise Lakes this late into the summer season, so we made sure to fill an additional 9-liter dromedary while we were within reach of the Merced River to cover enough water for multiple days of hiking and meals in case of emergency. We finally made it to Clouds Rest around lunchtime, where we gave ourselves enough time to rest and refuel before heading back down towards Sunrise Lakes. Once we made it to the first lake along the trail, we found a gently used campsite off trail and set up for the night. We joked about it looking like a great place for a wild cat to hangout, which we should have known better while being out in the wilderness, as we were unaware that we would have an overnight visitor just a few short hours later.
Day 5: Sunrise Lakes to Tenaya Lake to Backpackers Camp
Mileage: 16.7
Between what we thought were mice/rodents scurrying around our tents throughout the night and the lack of knowing what else was out there, the prior night’s sleep was by far the most restless amongst our crew of adventurers. When we finally got out of the warmth of our tents and assessed the new day, it was obvious that a wildcat had sniffed around our tents overnight with the tracks it had left behind. We packed up our camp and filtered water from the nearby lake before eating breakfast and hitting the trail. Our first destination for the day was Tenaya Lake. We were elated to find a pit toilet for use (as opposed to digging holes) at a nearby parking lot in addition to wildlife proof dumpsters where we made sure to get rid of any waste we had accumulated (or came across on trail and decided to pack out with us). From there we found a shaded spot to lay and snack under while waiting for some of our clothes to dry after taking a dip in the lake. After a couple of hours of R&R, we filtered water and hit the snow creek trail towards Mt Watkins where we planned on making camp for the night. Once we got to the area that leads towards Watkins, we encountered dozens, if not hundreds of bear tracks near where we were planning on setting up camp for the night. At this point we were only 8 miles from the backpacker's camp and made the decision to hike out the rest of the way after our restless sleep and wildcat encounter the night before. Hiking down the snow creek switchbacks at the level of exhaustion we had reached in the dark of the night was one of the more challenging points of this trip mentally for me. Despite these hardships, being able to watch the sunset over the valley as the crescent moon became more prominent will live in memory as one of the grandest sunsets, I’ve been able to witness. We made it back down into the valley and arrived back at backpacker's camp around 10pm this night. Camp was significantly busier than it was when we had first arrived earlier that week as it was now the weekend but managed to find a spot away from other campers and filled out the necessary paperwork to be there before setting up our tents for the night.
Day 6: Depart Yosemite
We woke up to the thickest smoke we had encountered on our trip this morning. Smoke so thick you can barely see what’s in front of you and our throats burning from the exposure over the past several days. We packed up camp and said our goodbyes before our party split ways to exit the park in opposite directions. Usually, I take my time leaving the park but was somewhat eager to get out of the valley after being exposed to so much smoke. Once I left the Curry Village parking lot, I made my way over to the Village Store to check out the souvenirs that was on hand in case I wanted to bring home a piece of the park with me. From there I sat in my car for a good 15 minutes before I could start making my way out of the park, as I could not help but to find myself in tears over all I had seen, felt, and learned over the past week or so of adventures and still find myself daydreaming about this trip of firsts while trying locking in plans for future adventures.
Our Route via AllTrails:
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