50 Best Short Hikes: Yosemite National Park and Vicinity. Elizabeth Wenk
2 quarts per person. In summer I include a jacket in my backpack when above 8,000 feet, where winds are stronger and thunderstorms more likely to build. During spring and fall I carry a warmer layer at all elevations. The tiniest of first-aid kits can simply contain a mild pain reliever (such as aspirin or acetaminophen), a few Band-Aids and larger bandages to cover a wound, and a roll of sports tape to hold bandages in place or cover a developing blister. Mosquito repellent is often an appreciated addition to your luggage, especially at the higher elevations in June and July and in Yosemite Valley in spring.
Avoiding dangers: During the spring, summer, and fall months, Yosemite is a fairly benign location, with mostly pleasant weather. However, there are environmental hazards of which you should be aware. Most injuries to park visitors occur because visitors ignore or are not familiar with warning messages issued by Mother Nature. Below is a brief overview on how to avoid common dangers.
CLIFFS AND WATERFALLS Cliffs and steep granite slabs occur throughout Yosemite, including along many of the trails described in this book. There is nothing inherently dangerous about any of the hikes described, but poor judgment can take you too close to an escarpment. There are many drop-offs and unfenced (or poorly fenced) vista points, so don’t clown around near an edge. Don’t step forward or backward while staring through a camera viewfinder (or at a camera screen). And if you feel uneasy about the terrain you are on, turn around.
The tops of waterfalls require special attention, for the water-polished rock upstream of a waterfall is exceptionally slick, even when dry. People have slipped on this rock and slid into the watercourse and over the edge. Many have swum in the water upstream of the falls, been caught by an unexpectedly strong current, and been pulled over the falls. For this reason Emerald Pool, at the top of Vernal Fall, was closed to swimmers in the 1990s.
ALTITUDE SICKNESS The walks around Tuolumne Meadows and Tioga Pass are at quite high elevations, and the air’s oxygen content is considerably lower than at sea level. People not accustomed to high elevation are susceptible to altitude sickness. The best way to avoid it is to drink plenty of water, eat food, and walk slowly. Mild altitude sickness presents itself as a headache and a generally unwell feeling. With these symptoms it is safe to slowly continue to your destination. However, you should retreat to lower elevations if nausea persists or you feel that you are having an intensely difficult time breathing.
LIGHTNING Thunderstorms are a regular summer occurrence around Tenaya Lake, Tuolumne Meadows, and Tioga Pass. If it is going to be a stormy day, clouds will begin to build up in the late morning or early afternoon, leading to mid- to late afternoon rain, hail, and lightning. You should avoid all open, exposed landscape, especially summits and exposed slabs, once you see the tall, dark thunderheads building. The sky can quickly transition from scattered clouds to a vicious storm. If you find yourself in an exposed location when the storm begins, stay out of shallow caves and away from overhangs. Then get in the lightning position, both to reduce the likelihood of a direct strike and to reduce the seriousness of any injury you may sustain. The National Outdoor Leadership School recommends squatting or sitting as low as possible, on a pile of clothes, and wrapping your arms around your legs. This position minimizes the chance of a ground current flowing through you. Close your eyes and keep your feet together to prevent the current from flowing in one foot and out the other.
STREAM CROSSINGS Of the walks described here, 14 have a stream crossing without a constructed bridge. Many of these are trivial to hop across, but several require balancing on a log or rocks, a long leap, or wet feet. What can be trivial for most of the year can be frightening and dangerous during the week of peak flow, generally in June or early July. As you approach a crossing, keep your eyes alert to spur trails, indicating the most-used crossing point, often a downed log that is slightly upstream or downstream of the trail. If nothing is immediately obvious, take a few minutes to hunt for a safe, dry crossing before jumping into the water. If you must wade a river, find a sturdy stick or hiking pole, or join arms with a hiking partner to help maintain your balance. Bare feet are OK for a sandy river bottom, but keep your shoes on if it is rocky; you are much more likely to slip if your feet are uncomfortable and you lack a firm stance. When water flows are high, expect wet feet en route to Lukens Lake (Hike 24) and Mono Pass (Hike 38). It is inadvisable to ever enter a swiftly flowing large stream, including the Merced River in Yosemite Valley, when in flood or at high flow.
RATTLESNAKES Western rattlesnakes, venomous vipers, are common up to elevations of 8,000 feet, although they can be found as high as 11,000 feet in midsummer. A triangular head; a regular pattern of beige, brown, and black splotches on their back; and a tail of rattles identify the species. That said, do not pick up any snakes, as rattlesnakes can vary considerably in color and young individuals do not yet have rattles. These rattlesnakes are not aggressive and give the characteristic tail shake—or rattle—to alert you to their presence. However, they will bite if threatened and when curled have a strike range of several feet. Note that most snakebites occur to people handling the snake or to rock climbers unknowingly placing a hand on a snake-containing ledge.
DEER AND BEARS It is natural to be a little intimidated by Yosemite’s black bears, but they have caused no fatalities and few injuries in Yosemite. All they want is your food. Be sure to store unattended food in bear lockers and keep your lunch and snacks with you at all times. If a bear does get hold of your food, it is hers; don’t try to reclaim ownership of it. On the other hand, the seemingly harmless deer have actually caused several fatalities because people are more likely to attempt to retrieve stolen food from a deer. Heed the advice of signs throughout the park: don’t approach or feed wildlife. Note that all bears in Yosemite are American black bears, but they range in color from light brown to black.
WATERBORNE ILLNESS Water in Yosemite’s streams and lakes may be contaminated with the protozoa Giardia, Cryptosporidium, or with various disease-causing bacteria. Although these contaminants are rare, it is advised that you do not drink untreated water, and instead fill your water containers from taps around the park. The closest water taps to each trailhead are indicated in the trail descriptions.
WINTER WEATHER From November–April, and sometimes even until June, the high-elevation reaches of Yosemite are subjected to strong winter storms, dumping many feet of snow in 24 hours. The roads accessing these regions are closed in winter, so you will not experience quite these conditions. However, the same fronts pass through Yosemite Valley and Wawona, with the colder storms dropping snow and the others drenching rain. During these months, be sure to read the forecast. Unless you have excellent raingear and a heightened sense of adventure, it is best to venture no farther than the well-trodden tracks to Bridalveil Falls or to Lower Yosemite Falls on particularly stormy days.
LEAVE NO TRACE
Yosemite National Park is a national treasure and needs to be left the way you found it—leave only footprints and take only photographs, as the saying goes. You have likely chosen to visit Yosemite so you can unwind from daily life in a spectacular natural setting with limited signs of human visitation, and the next hiker wants to do exactly the same thing.
Most simply, leave no trace means that you take away all your trash, including toilet paper. Human garbage is the ugliest of sights in a wilderness area. But the phrase means more.
Leave no trace means:
Leave the flowers attached to their roots. Nothing is sadder than watching a person yank off a woody stalk of rose spirea from atop Lembert Dome, clearly unaware of how long that branch took to grow, or seeing someone collect an enormous bouquet, only to cast it aside an hour later when it inevitably starts to wilt.
Leave the rocks and pinecones for the next person to look at and enjoy. Let your child carry them for 5 minutes, but then place them back on the ground.
Don’t create new trails or widen existing trails, even if this means getting your feet wet when the trail is boggy.
Decide not to follow use trails, even those described in this book, when they are boggy to avoid creating deep troughs. Constructed trails are hardier under these conditions.
Keep wildlife wild by not