[Philmont]: Yosemite

Hello All. Several people asked for a summary of my Troop's recent trek
to Yosemite. Here is a "quickie".

We did a 17 day trip to California as our Philmont "make-up" trek. We
flew in and out of Oakland, and rented vans for transportation.
Included in the trip was a six day, 55 mile trek in Yosemite. The trek
was an on-the-fly replacement for a 66 mile trek, that we were forced to
abandon due to half a dozen small wildfires burning in the Park when we
arrived. For Yosemite afficionados, the trek was as follows:

Yosemite to Little Yosemite Valley; Side-Hike Half-Dome
Little Yosemite Valley to Merced Lake
Merced Lake over Vogelsang Pass (10.7) to the edge of the Tuolluome
Meadows Exclusion Zone.
Edge of Exclusion Zone through Tuolluome Meadows to Upper Cathedral Lake
Upper Cathedral Lake over Sunrise Peak to Little Yosemite Valley
Little Yosemite Valley to Yosemite

In 17 days in California, we had a few fluffy clouds on one afternoon;
quite a contrast to Philmont this summer! Temperatures during the trek
ranged from the low 30's at dawn to the mid-90's at mid-afternoon. The
trails were virtually all rather wide, ideal for caterpillaring.
However, 6 weeks of no rain and extensive use by horses and mules also
meant most trails were about 3 inches deep sand and quite dusty - most
of the Crew wore bandannas over their mouths for a little relief.

We were required to carry bear-cannisters. However, all of the
established campsites had large bear-boxes, and usually two or more per
site (our personal max was six at one site). However, many bear-boxes
had at least some trash in them. When necessary (two nights), we also
hung a bear-bag for our non-food smellables, using the old tree-to-tree
technique.

Most campsites were also close to water - either a stream or a lake -
and swimming was encouraged; very cold water in some places. Despite no
rain in six weeks, every creek was running, every lake was full.
Purified water is available at the "High Sierra" camps (these are
commercial camps dotted throughout the Sierras, run by the NPS;
backpackers may visit and usually have tenting sites nearby). We used
Polar Pure when purified water wasn't available. Most sites are well
treed with a combination of Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir; higher
altitude sites had some Aspens and (I think) Yellow Jack Pine mixed in.
  Most sites in the more popular camps have a moderate level of impact.
  Quite surprisingly, most camps had a highly advanced, solar-powered,
self-composting latrine.

We were repetitively warned about bears, rattlesnakes, and mountain
lions, and saw not a one. Some skat though. My Scouts were less than
enthused at our insistence on the buddy system for all away-from-camp
activities (including pooping in the woods where latrines were
unavailable), but they grudgingly agreed that it was prudent.

The biggest threats to our food were Stellers Jays (highly aggressive)
and a large ground squirrel with a gray-white mane, equally aggressive
(don't know the formal name of them), both of which would be on your
food in seconds if you left it unattended. In addition to the
bear-boxes and bear cannisters, the Rangers strongly recommend leaving
all pockets on backpacks unzipped, so the various critters can nose
through all your stuff to their heart's content. A zipped pocket will
(apparently) be accessed via the "chew-through" technique, as the local
wildlife hasn't yet cracked the secret of zippers (we didn't test the
statement).

The scenery was everything it was promised.

We met about half a dozen Scout Troops during our trek, a mix of locals
and "out-of-state". All of the "out-of-staters" had at least some
Philmont experience.

All-in-all, a very pleasant (but tough) alternative to Philmont, for
those in need.

- Dr. Bob

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Received on Fri Aug 13 22:28:24 2004