[pct-l] Yosemite Alternate Route

[Dave Osborn]

Hey all,
I posted this about two weeks ago, but I don't think the email went through.  
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PCT Yosemite Alternate Route

On my second PCT hike in '05 I took a number of alternate routes to spice up the hike and see some new terrain.  This route through Yosemite turned out to be my favorite sections of my hike that year & one of my favorite hikes ever.  It allowed me to thruhike the JMT during my flip-flop PCT hike, finishing both trails on the summit of Whitney.  I figured that I would share the route in case its appealing to other hikers who like to wander off the proverbial 'beaten path' once in a while... 

***I hiked this alternate SOBO, but I'll detail it in a NOBO direction since most PCT thru-hikers walk the PCT NOBO.  A PCT thruhiker's permit is only good for the PCT corridor.  You will need to get applicable Yosemite backcountry permits for this alternate.  I hiked this route in ideal conditions in late September.  Parts of this route are very remote and hardly ever traveled (there is no tread on some of the backcountry 'trails' in places).  Use your best judgement & hike at your own risk, as always.***

(1) JMT Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite Valley:  Highlights of this approximately 30 mile section include:
    (A) Cathedral Peak & Lakes.  Astoundingly beautiful area.  I spotted a California Condor in a tree just beyond the lakes in '05!
    (B) Clouds Rest (Potential side route off JMT)
    (C) Half Dome: spectacular wired ascent to the summit of perhaps the most famous granite dome in the world.  The views from the slab (called the "diving board") which overhangs 4,700 feet above Yosemite Valley are stupendous.  (The final four hundred foot nearly vertical ascent up the backside summit of Half Dome on steel cables is NOT recommended for those who suffer from acrophobia!)
    (D) Nevada & Vernal Falls:  If you like amazing waterfalls, it doesn't get much better than this.  Vernal Falls is best viewed from Mist Trail, a highly recommended alternate on the JMT.

(2) Yosemite Valley : The JMT terminus is at Happy Isles. 
    (A) Curry Village:  About .7 NW of  Happy Isles.  Awesome place to stay for thru-hikers.  Clean, very reasonably priced tent cabins with linens (upscale compared to VVR) with AYCE meals!  There is even an Outfitter next to the dining hall.  Very hiker friendly.
    (B) Yosemite Village: (1 mile NW of Curry Village) Good (but pricey) store for resupply; PO; Ansel Adams gallery; movie theater.

(3) Yosemite Falls Trail: This starts at the famous rock climber hangout 'Camp Four' - about .7 mile west of Yosemite Village.  Hike past Yosemite Falls, at 2,425ft the highest waterfall in North America. [In 1869, John Muir stood near the top of the falls with his toes dangling over the edge - once you see where he did this, the only reasonable conclusion was that he was completely insane :-) ]

(4) Hike north past White Wolf  down into the Grand Canyon of  the Tuolumne.  At Pate Valley in the Canyon, cross bridge and head NE.  In a few miles, there is a fork.  The trail heading east up Rodgers Canyon past Rodgers Lake will reconnect to the PCT (at PCT Data Book mile 969.9) or  the trail to Table Lake, Pleasant Valley, and finally Bear Valley will reconnect to the PCT in Lower Kerrick Canyon (PCT mile 980.2).  I took the latter route.  These 'trails' are seldom used through here, so there are places without tread.  

Note: Nearly all of the trail intersections are marked by black NPS metal signs.  However, the mileages on these signs are underestimated by at least 15%.  I ran into an old horse packer at Pate Valley.  He told me that his grandfather was commissioned by the Park Service to calculate the mileage in the Yosemite backcountry in the 1890's.  He was given an old bicycle wheel odometer (like the one Myron Avery used on the AT).  Being a cowboy, his grandfather dreaded having to walk all the rugged trails, so he cut two wooden poles, attached the wheel to the poles and dragged it behind his horse.  Problem was he couldn't negotiate the sharp switchbacks with this contraption.  So he attached a rope and lifted the wheel up off the ground to make the sharp turns without getting off his horse!  So... he missed quite a bit of terrain and the Park Service has never bothered to fix the mileages except on the well traveled trails.

I do not have the mileages for this alternate route, but I would estimate that its about 35 miles longer than the official PCT route.  Yosemite Valley is extraordinarily beautiful, despite the hordes of tourists.  When I walked across the Valley floor, I was so spellbound by the towering granite cliffs above that I hardly even noticed all the people scurrying around down below. 

Happy Trails!
freebird