Tuolumne Meadows Yosemite Bro-cation

Nick, one of my friends and roommates from college at Kentucky, plans some kind of outdoorsy 'bro-cation' hiking trip every year.  For one reason or another, I have never been able to join him.  About six months ago he started tossing the idea around about a Yosemite National Park trip over Labor Day.  Since I was already in California, I knew that I had to commit.  I invited my friend Tim along since he recently moved to the west coast, which ended up being a fortuitous decision.

The crew at the trailhead

Tim's roommate, Pat, was keen to go and he is a rep for North Face.  We were able to get a 'wilderness pass' to Tuolumne Meadows through his contacts in the industry.  Apparently there is a lottery and no guarantee that you will get a pass to the area you want.  It's how the park limits the amount of traffic and abuse the park receives every year since the tourism demand is so high.

Along with Nick and one of his friends from DC, we also had my old UK club soccer friend Jon on the trip.  Tim and Pat drove up from San Diego County while the rest of us flew into San Francisco.  We stocked up at REI for food and odd items we were going to need for the next 3 days.  I've never used dehydrated meals so I relied on the other guys' advice to get what I needed... GU, Powerbars, etc.

The trip into the park took about 4 hours, starting off on interstates and slowly winding down to small country roads until you get into the park.  I think it was $20 per car (but make sure you save your receipt to prove you paid as you leave!).  We had to pick up our wilderness pass and bear proof food canister at the main ranger station.  That area is packed with people because Half Dome and El Capitan, the two most famous features of the park, are nearby.  It would've been cool to stick around and take some pictures, but we were on a tight schedule.  It was an hour to our trail head and the sun was starting to go down.

I won't get too detailed on the directions for the trail - you can find those here.  So we set off from the Dog Lake Trailhead which was already above 8,000 feet.  It was dark when we got going (see pic above) and starting to get cold.  It took us about an hour to hike the mostly uphill trail to Dog Lake where we decided to camp for the night.  I have done some hiking, but not a lot with a pack on my back.  And doing it all with just a headlamp to guide my feet was a new experience.

We found out that fires were strictly prohibited at 9,600 feet... and although our campsite wasn't that high up, there was a severe forest fire warning and NO fires were allowed in the park that weekend.  So we pitched our tents and I put on all of my clothes that night.  It was still August but the temps dipped below freezing (our water bottles were solid in the morning).  I had an appropriate sleeping bag for the weather thanks to Pat and North Face and had it cinched so only my face was exposed.  Throughout the night my nose would get cold and I would tuck into the bag.  Then it would feel suffocating and I would have to come up for fresh air.  Repeat that all night and it didn't exactly make for a fitful rest.

Dog Lake

The morning was crisp but as soon as the sun came over the trees we were in shorts and on the trail.  Here's the sight we woke up to at Dog Lake.  We went from there up some pretty steep trails.  Within the first mile or so I realized that my cotton socks were starting to give me blisters.  Big mistake.  Luckily, one of the other guys had an extra pair of moisture wicking socks that I could use.

We had a water pump purifier that saved us from having to lug around too much water at one time.  The trail had some pretty steep uphill climbs but they were always followed by sloping downhills and creeks, so we were able to refill our water and rest.  By mid-afternoon we made it to our destination - Young Lakes.  They're a series of three tiered lakes (Upper, Middle and Lower) nestled right into Ragged Peak of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Tim swimming in Lower Young Lake

We were all pretty exhausted and although it wasn't hot we were sweaty and in need of a shower.  Without those kinds of amenities, the next best thing is taking a dip in the lake.  The only problem was that these lakes are filled with snow melt and we guessed around 45 degrees.  Refreshing, but quickly too cold for comfort.  See the next post for details on the rest of the trip.