2021 Yosemite High Sierra Camps

We begin the day on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), crossing the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, and continuing on some pretty rough terrain. The PCT crosses the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River and meets up with the John Muir Trail (JMT). We stay on the JMT until we reach Rafferty Creek Trail. This trail follows Rafferty Creek up the granite canyon all the way to Vogelsang High Sierra Camp (HSC). Rafferty Creek is generally pretty dry around July and we will need to hydrate plenty before the hike and carry enough water to last the entire day - Water bottles will assist hydration packs. Nearly the whole way there, Vogelsang Peak can be seen and is a monument of hope that we will get there. We will be looking for a good spot to set up camp somewhere around Fletcher Lake, which is a short distance from Vogelsang HSC. Side hikes for Day 2 are planned for Townsley Lake and Hanging Basket Lake, as well as a trip up to Vogelsang Lake for some lunch activities. There should be some fun activities as well as wonderful dinners to look forward to in the evenings at Vogelsang HSC.

We begin Day 3, as we did with Day 2, by eating a fantastic breakfast at Vogelsang HSC. After packing our camp into backpacks, we will follow Fletcher Creek down from Fletcher Lake to Merced Lake. On the way to Merced Lake, we pass Emeric Lake, which may be a suitable place to stop for lunch, however, anywhere along the creek will allow us to stop for food and refill our water supply. Day 3 should be fairly easy, as it is mostly downhill, following Fletcher Creek to the lake itself. Once we arrive at the backpacker camp, we can set up the tent and then see what wonderful foods we can find at the HSC. Side hikes for Day 4 are planned for a walk around Merced Lake and day hike up to Washburn Lake. Once again, we're looking forward to some fun activities and great meals for breakfast and dinner at Merced Lake HSC.

Day 5 is all about walking and we're going to need every calorie of our great Merced Lake HSC chef-cooked breakfast. This is going to be the longest day of the week for us, as this will be the greatest distance and the most elevation gain we hike this entire trip. The trail begins by hiking around Merced Lake and then descending down the mighty Merced River into Echo Valley. Instead of following the river down further, we will turn and hike up Echo Creek, staying with that only until it splits away and we continue on next to the Cathedral Fork of the Merced River. After about 7.5 miles, we split off from the river and head west through a pass, meeting up with the JMT on the other side. The JMT runs north-south through this section and we follow it south to Long Meadow, where Sunrise HSC is located. There are no side hikes planned for Sunrise HSC. We will enjoy the sunrise and gut-filling breakfast in the morning before departing for Tuolumne Meadows and the Dog Lake parking lot.

After enjoying a beautiful sunrise (Oh. My. God. It's not called Sunrise Camp for nothing!) and breakfast, Day 6 takes us back to Tuolumne Meadows and back to the car. Backtracking a bit up the trail we walked into the camp on, we begin by hiking back north on the JMT, up and out of Long Meadow and past Columbia Finger. As we hike down through Cathedral Pass, we pass the Cathedral Lakes, which will be the perfect lunch and water refill spot. After lunch, we continue on our way down (and up and down) the JMT until we get to Tioga Pass Road and Tuolumne Meadows.

This is where I might leave the kids and the backpacking gear and take myself two-and-a-half miles back to the Dog Lake Parking Lot to pick up the car. That really depends on how we feel! I'll be following Tioga Road east for the majority of the hike, only veering off as I approach Puppy Dome and Cracked Boulder. At this point, I will be hiking on the PCT once again until reaching the parking lot.