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First time to Yosemite--Advice?

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grant kendrick · · northampton, ma · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 100

My daughter and I are making our first trip to Yosemite, leaving on Thursday and staying through 6/8. I have a couple of guidebooks and have looked on line to make some tentative plans about camping and climbing. but would welcome advice from the locals.

--We fly into San Francisco Thursday afternoon. My plan is to pick up our rental car, go shopping for supplies, then drive toward Yos and find a place to bivy outside the park, then get up early and try to get a site at Camp 4 on Friday morning. Does that sound like it would work? Any Forrest Service or BLM land that you would recommend?

--For climbing I thought we'd go to Manure Pile the first day to get a feel for the rock and the grades. If it goes OK, we're eying Snake Dike, East Buttress of Middle Cathedral and Nutcracker. Maybe Steck-Salathe if all goes well. Any other suggestions for great routes or areas of easy 5.10 or under climbing?

--We'll want to spend a few days seeing the sights and relaxing. Any recommendations for great hikes or wonderful swimming holes to lounge by?

Thanks for any guidance you can give us; I'm pretty excited to finally get to see the place!

FrankPS · · Atascadero, CA · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 276

Personally, I would avoid Camp 4, but that's just me. Small campsites. packed with people and limited facilities. I'd go to North Pines campground, Lower Pines, etc.

Braille Book is a great, stout, 5.8 climb, with a fairly strenuous 1.5 hour uphill approach.

Kyle Goupil · · Salt Lake City · Joined Sep 2012 · Points: 905

Camp 4 will be your best chance of getting a campsite in the valley. I would say to get to Camp4 extremely early and hopefully you will get a spot. I do not know of any camping outside of the valley but i know there is a decent amount, I am just not aware of it. The Pines campgrounds are sold out several months ahead of time, especially the time when you will be there. Sometimes you can get lucky if someone doesnt show for their reservation, but I wouldnt count on it.

Not sure what you and your daughters experience is with trad/granite/crack but Swan Slab is the best beginner spot to go to for beginners. Lots of easy, one pitch, zero approach climbing. Church Bowl has some good easier cragging for beginners as well. The Five Open Books area is so great for easy multipitch too. Manure Pile has Nutcracker and After Six/Seven which are super quality.

EB of MC is quite committing and a long day. If you're not super confident about it maybe try something like Central Pillar of Frenzy, Super Slide, or The Surprise for a longer/little more challenging route.

Rest Day: Anywhere along the Merced is a great swimming hole! So many good spots. Every hike is amazing. Many many many spots to just relax and have a good time.

Have a great time! I lived and worked in Yosemite for two summers. There is no place like it.

Charlie S · · NV · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 2,391

Church Bowl is good and has a number of options.

Snake Dike: prepare for about 12 hours. I have a GPS track and some other advice if you're interested. It's an awesome hike with some climbing. The position can't be beat either.

Glowering · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 16

This link has loads of info: supertopo.com/climbingareas…

As you drive up after you pass Chinese Camp and Don Pedro reservoir (almost empty) on highway 49/120 on the way in take a right on Old Priest Grade Rd. It's a steep/fun/windy shortcut. At the top of it is Old Priest Cafe. GREAT place for dinner/lunch on the way in or out.

You can do dispersed (no facilities) camping on the last road on the left before you enter the park from the North on 120 which is Evergreen Rd. (this road heads down to Hetch Hetchy) or on the one on the right Hardin Flat Rd (there are multiple right turns onto Hardin Flat Rd. take the last one before the park entrance. This area burned two years ago so it's not very scenic now. No fires without a permit which you can get in Groveland, a town between the park and Old Priest Grade Rd.

Driving in from the north park entrance there is a gas station in the park on the turn off for highway 120 into Tuolumne Meadows (about halfway to the Valley from the entrance) that takes credit cards. You may want to top off your tank

To get spots in Camp 4 you need to be in line really early. How many spots they have open up are based on how many people leave. So you never know. Best to get there early. If you don't get a spot at camp 4 try the campground office in the Curry Village parking lot to see if someone didn't show up for a reservation.

The link will cover climbing. But there's plenty of 1 pitch climbs to get used to the rock. Munginella is a good 3 pitch 5.6. Bishop's Terrace is a fantastic 2 pitch 5.8.

Short walks to Lower Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Falls, and Mirror Lake. Rent a raft and float down the river. Walk to the base of the Nose of El Cap.

On the road heading South out of of the Valley past the parking lot for Bridalveil is the classic Yosemite panorama view Tunnel View (by the big tunnel). Go up there and ask someone to take your picture with your daughter.

If you go through the tunnel you can keep going up to Glacier Point. Killer views of Half Dome etc. But it's about a 45 minute drive. Good for a rest day activity. You can also hike out to Sentinel Dome, Taft Point, and the Fissures. It's cooler than the valley, so a good place for hikes if the valley is too warm.

Two more things to add: 1. you probably won't have enough time, but the next thing to do would be to visit Tuolumne Meadows. The road is now open. It's a 1.5 hr drive from the valley, so an all day trip (or preferably two days). But it's a world class climbing area in it's own right. And the domes and Tenaya Lake are almost as incredible as El Cap and Half Dome and the waterfalls, etc. of Yosemite Valley.
2. After you enter the Valley on a two way rd it turns right over a bridge and turns into a one way rd. Keep an eye out on your right for Fern Spring. You can soak your feet and hands in the cold water after climbing. And I've filled up my water bottles direct from the spring.
BTW tap water in the valley is better than any water you can buy, so if you bring water for camping just bring a gallon and refill the bottle from a tap.

JeffL · · Salt Lake City · Joined Jun 2012 · Points: 65

EB of middle cathedral is one of my favorite routes in the valley. The walkoff descent is no joke and many people epic on it. I hear there's a new rap descent with a single 70m rope? Do some research, just know that I've simuled the route in 3 hours and taken another 3 on the descent. Many false trails and cairns.

As for Steck-Salethe... you better make 5.10 chimneys and 5.9 ow feel casual before you commit to that. Either send NEB of higher first, and at a fast pace, or train on generator crack

will ar · · Vermont · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 290
grant kendrick wrote:If it goes OK, we're eying Snake Dike, East Buttress of Middle Cathedral and Nutcracker. Maybe Steck-Salathe if all goes well.
Not sure what your experience is, but the first routes you listed off are probably good options. Snake Dike is a lot of fun, but wouldn't be that classic if it wasn't on half dome.

Steck-Salathe is not only much longer than the other climbs, but also much harder and seemingly at your limit (based on your profile). If you're looking for a really long day maybe think about royal arches. If that isn't enough you can link it with north dome.
flynn · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2002 · Points: 25

Definitely check out Tuolomne. It's well worth making/taking time for.

Fairview's Great Pumpkin is a less-traveled, thoroughly delightful 5.8.

Hike in to Cathedral Peak while you're up there.

In the Valley, Nutcracker was great: classic, diverse, steep and sustained. We also had way too much fun on Grack Center.

Days off? Take 'em! We hiked the Tuolomne Grove of Big Trees (sequoias), and finished destroying our list of synonyms for 'big.'

Have fun!

grant kendrick · · northampton, ma · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 100

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions/feedback, exactly what I was hoping for! Just packing up now, weather looks really good, getting stoked!

Muscrat · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 3,625

All good info. Did anyone mention that early at camp 4 is like 3a.m.? I have gotten in line midweek (less crowded) at 5a.m. and been shut down. Count the # of people in front of you, check the sign in the window which tells you how many spaces are opening up that morning. Also be aware that you and daughter (age?) might be assigned different sites.
Did no one mention Serenity- Sons? The cheapest 10.d around (a few well protected moves at .d, the rest 10.b and easier). Start EARLY and expect to jam up on belays, but one of the best around.
Oh, while i am at it, the best 5.6 ever is the Grack, if you are comfortable, easily simuled, easy to pass the knots of people; truly 5 star. Yeah, it's 5.6, but. Climb it by moonlight, no crowds, beautiful view of the campfires below, etc.
If After Six/Seven are crowded, C.S. Concerto gets you up the first 2 pitches past the jam. Excellent 5.8 second pitch. And do the last pitch alternate, going up strait from the belay at 5 over the imposing looking roof (5.8)
Expect crowds on every line in Chris Mac's books.

SRB25 · · Woodside, ca · Joined Nov 2014 · Points: 5

Good info muscrat, grack is worth it and moonlight is a good idea. Grant PMd you regarding I have a site in the pines walking distance to the easy end of the valley. So message me back if you two want to share the site. No need to bivy outside the park. Let me know. Safe travels.

Scott O · · Anchorage · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 70
grant kendrick wrote:My daughter and I are making our first trip to Yosemite, leaving on Thursday and staying through 6/8. I have a couple of guidebooks and have looked on line to make some tentative plans about camping and climbing. but would welcome advice from the locals. --We fly into San Francisco Thursday afternoon. My plan is to pick up our rental car, go shopping for supplies, then drive toward Yos and find a place to bivy outside the park, then get up early and try to get a site at Camp 4 on Friday morning. Does that sound like it would work? Any Forrest Service or BLM land that you would recommend? --For climbing I thought we'd go to Manure Pile the first day to get a feel for the rock and the grades. If it goes OK, we're eying Snake Dike, East Buttress of Middle Cathedral and Nutcracker. Maybe Steck-Salathe if all goes well. Any other suggestions for great routes or areas of easy 5.10 or under climbing? --We'll want to spend a few days seeing the sights and relaxing. Any recommendations for great hikes or wonderful swimming holes to lounge by? Thanks for any guidance you can give us; I'm pretty excited to finally get to see the place!
One of these things is not like the others. Steck-Salathe is an intense and committing route that has completely worked over some of the stronger climbers I know.
If you want a Yosemite hard route, look to something like Serenity-Sons of Yesterday, which will be a technical challenge but less committing. Also consider the East Buttress of El Cap.
All of the rest that you list are really fun routes. Steck-Salathe is no joke.

It's absolutely worth your time to drive to Tuolumne and do the SE buttress of Cathedral Peak. Also consider adding Royal Arches to your list, but don't underestimate the time commitment - start early. The same goes for Snake Dike. Car to car, that is a LONG day - I'd start hiking by 5 AM.

If you're coming in on 120, there are a number of forest service roads or at least pull-offs where you can crash for the night within a few miles of the park entrance. Most will be on your left.
Scott O · · Anchorage · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 70

Oh, also look at Central Pillar of Frenzy. Really fun route with awesome views of El Cap.

I think somebody above mentioned Braille Book - another solid route, though that slick offwidth scared the shit out of me.

mark felber · · Wheat Ridge, CO · Joined Jul 2005 · Points: 41

Braille Book is excellent, although the approach is rather stiff. If Braille Book is too crowded, Regular Route on Higher Cathedral Spire is a good second choice. The climbing's not as good, but you finish in a really cool location. If you do Braille Book, make the hike to the summit of Higher Cathedral Rock and check out the view. Of the nose.

I would choose NE Buttress of Higher Cathedral Rock over Steck-Salathe. Neither climb is easy for the grade, but NE Buttress of Higher Cathedral has a somewhat shorter approach, and if you've done Braille Book you'll have seen the approach and most of the descent.

I would choose Church Bowl / Bishop's Terrace / Jam Crack area over Manure Pile Buttress.

Serenity to Sons is an excellent choice. The 5.10d section is very short, and if you don't feel up to it you'll still have done two pitches of good climbing.

Old Priest Grade Road is a stiff climb, make sure your rental car is running well before you head up it.

Have fun!

Crotch Robbins · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2003 · Points: 277

If you really want to climb Steck Salathe and want a less commiting warmup to test your readiness try linking NEB with Braille Book. If you can get both of those climbs done onsight in the daylight you will probably be fine on Steck Salathe. And if you only manage one of the routes you've still climbed a mega classic.

Patrick Deliman · · Bear valley CA · Joined May 2015 · Points: 150

Another camp option. If your ok with driving 30 minutes each morning to the park. Look up Briceburg Canyon (merced wild and senic river) off of 140. Only ten dollars a night and no crowds right on the banks of the merced river. I really like these camp grounds. There is only oak trees at here. A different atmosphere than valley camping.

just a thought

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Northern California
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