jeffrey ni.: October 2024

This was originally going to be a longer post, with each day of backpacking written out in a more narrative format but many months have passed since I started the draft and I'm not sure I will have the time to really write this out. For now, just to get something out, I'm going to bullet-point out the main things I remember from each trip and call it a day.

Yosemite: Snow Creek to Mt. Watkins, Cloud’s Rest

July 19-21, 2024

Day 1: Mirror Lake up Snow Creek, to Mt. Watkins (9 miles, 4,900 ft elevation gain)

First multi-day backpacking trip I've ever gone on, and last backpacking trip was back in 2022.
Was originally supposed to go with co-workers but they had to back out of the trip a week before; I decided to go anyways since I could get a permit
Drove into Yosemite from the bay the morning of, starting at 5AM
Got permit and started hike around 9:30 AM, I really wanted to get moving as quickly as possible to beat the heat; it was supposed to be 100F in the valley in the afternoon. I hiked about 1.5 miles extra from the parking lot to the Wilderness Center, but caught a bus to the Ahwahnee to start the hike.
Heading up Snow Creek trail in the heat was not easy. I should have drunk more water on the way up and at the stop at the creek bridge; I was definitely dehydrated in the last day. No reason not to drink more water when there are so many sources!
Ate lunch at the Snow Creek bridge and soaked my feet in the creek. Don't let your feet soak for too long if you still have hiking to do!
Camped at the top of Mt. Watkins and had a burst of hail before the sun set. Then all calm and clear through the night.
Could barely sleep for some reason, only really got an hour or two of good sleep near the end. Probably nervousness.

Climbing out of the valley on the Snow Creek trail.

Top of Mt. Watkins

Small hail storm before sunset.

Full moon at night.

The next morning.

Day 2: Mt. Watkins to turnoff past Cloud's Rest (12.2 miles, 3,100 ft elevation gain, 2,600 ft elevation drop)

Surprisingly not tired in the morning
Hiked to Tenaya Lake and got more water and went for a short swim
Pretty much no mosquitoes. I was here a month before to day-hike Cloud's Rest with friends and the mosquitoes were pretty much hell on earth. I had easily more than 30 bites per arm.
Went over Cloud's Rest, had lunch at the top, and then headed down a bit to my next campsite. I could have definitely made it all the way back to the valley the same day, but my trip was supposed to be multiple nights. :)
Again, I had trouble sleeping but didn't feel tired. Saw some people hiking up to Cloud's rest at night, which is honestly a great idea to avoid the heat of the day
Could see the headlamps of people going up Half Dome in the early morning

Lake Tenaya

Sunset and Half Dome.

Hikers summitting Half Dome before sunrise.

Day 3: Turnoff from Cloud's Rest to Happy Isles (8.5 miles, 5,600 ft elevation drop)

Definitely should had drunk more water the previous days, was feeling dehydrated in the morning
Booked it down to the Cloud's Rest/JMT junction to refill on water at Sunrise Creek
Had very normal descent into the valley via the Mist Trail, saw one rattlesnake on the way down from Nevada Falls.
Ate the Curry Village pizza and had an ice cream at the end :)
Quick swim in the Merced river to cool down from the afternoon heat and then drove home

Kings Canyon: Rae Lakes Loop

August 9-11, 2024

Day 1: Road's End to Woods Creek/JMT (15 miles, 4,600 ft elevation gain)

Realized I forgot my hiking poles the night before when I reached Fresno. I was able to buy a set at Walmart the morning I headed out to the trailhead.
Reached Road's End and got my permit after listening to the ranger's bear warnings.
Started my hike around 9:30 AM; wasn't sure if I was going to stop at the South Fork of the Kings River crossing at Upper Paradise Valley, or make it to the JMT Woods Creek bridge
Ate the first quarter of my sandwich about 8 miles in. I just wanted to keep climbing up higher to escape the heat. Saw one rattlesnake during this segment.
Got to the South Fork of the Kings River crossing around 2PM and ate another quarter of my sandwich. Decided to push on to the JMT crossing.
After about 15 miles for the day, and I was ready for a rest. The campsites around the bridge were quite nice. and there was a bear box I could put my bear can into. There were many other campers there, either doing the JMT or the lake loop. I ate the last half of my sandwich and washed off in the river. It was still hard to fall asleep; not sure why.

Start of the hike from Road's End.

The Sphinx in the distance.

Brought along Chiikawa again for this hike.

Wood's Creek bridge crossing. Fun bridge to walk on.

First night's camp.

Day 2: Woods Creek to Upper Rae Lakes (6.7 miles, 2,400 ft elevation gain)

A shorter day for my second day, just a short jaunt to Rae Lakes.
This east edge of the loop was the most beautiful part of the hike: after this trip I have become a sucker for alpine lakes. After climbing past 10,000 feet, nothing really compares to the lush alpine lakes surrounded by the towering mountains.
I thought about climbing up into the Sixty Lakes Basin but decided against it half way up the trail into the basin. (added +1 mile, 200 ft) I just wanted to relax at the lakes.
I set up camp just before the junction into the other basin around the Upper Rae Lakes and dipped into the lake to clean up.
Again, it was hard to fall asleep, and I took some photos and a timelapse of the Milky Way over the Painted Lady. It was really interesting to see the moonlight on the mountain disappear as the moon set too.

JMT trail sign.

Fin Dome over Dollar Lake.

Creek crossing just south of Dollar Lake.

Rae Lakes.

Milky Way over the Painted Lady.

Day 3: Upper Rae Lakes to Road's End (18 miles, 7,400 ft elevation drop)

"Woke up" (not really sure how much I slept) around 6AM to an incredible sunrise looking over Upper Rae Lakes.
Started out early around 7:30 AM to get over Glen Pass before it got too hot and to get back to the trailhead at a reasonable time (~20 miles ahead)
Took my time climbing Glen Pass, which turned out to be not that bad. Reached the top around 8:50 AM. Ran into a person who also worked at Apple at the top of the pass.
Began my long 7000 ft. descent back to Road's End. Great views of the valley and the waterfalls along Bubbs Creek.
Finished around 5 PM and started driving back. Got ice cream at Kings Canyon Lodge and took some photos around the General Grant tree.