High Sierra Topix

Ha, newbee here and to hiking

We go to San Francisco from Florida to visit family each year and have enjoyed the scenery at Yosemite and Sequoia. This year we would like to try a two day one night hike and see the Sierra Mountains. Any ideas of going to the Thousand Island area? We are new to this type of hiking. One issue is that we are traveling to San Francisco this year in April normally in July. I know that this is probably not the best time of year, but we are willing to try. Thanks for any suggestions.

The mountains will still be snowed in at that point so backpacking is a no go.

I think based on your trip I have two suggestions:

1) Drive to either Yosemite NP or Sequioa NP. Car camp or get a hotel. Day hike/snow shoe/cross country ski depending on where you go and how conditions play out.

2) Do a backpacking trip on the coast. The whole coastline from Point Reyes to Big Sur has a number of options for quick 1 night backpack trips.

Hi Mad3654,

Welcome to HST! You will have to come back at another time later in the year
since the 1000 Is Lake area will be covered by several feet of snow and Reds
Meadow Roads will be closed another 2-3 months depending on the snow levels.
The only place I can recommend you visit this time of the year as an intro
to the Sierra is Yosemite Valley, if you can get a place to stay. It is a 5-6 hour
drive from SFO and spending a night checking out the scenery in the Valley is
magical.

Point Reyes National Seashore is real close to San Francisco and a great place for beginning backpackers. A good over night trip would be from Bear Valley to Wildcat Camp. You can loop the route -Bear Valley Trail to Coast Trail and back via Glen Camp. At low tide you can walk the beach to Alemere Falls. Weekend permits are hard to get unless you reserve ahead. If you are mid-week, then no problem- I have never had a problem getting a walk-in permit.

A nice April hike in Yosemite would be the Snow Creek Trail to the rim. There is a flat buttress at the rim that has some nice camping with a great view of Half Dome. This is south facing and free of snow. You can stay in the backpackers campground in Yosemite Valley (if it is open - may be open end of April but not early April) or camp at Camp 4 (no reservations needed).

Another possiblity is from Hetch Hetchy to Rancheria Falls. It should be snow free too.

Thanks very much for the great suggestions. I will look into each one of them. The coast sounds like a good idea.

Thousand Island Lake is definitely out, but you can still get a taste of the Sierras. One suggestion would be a winter visit to Yosemite area. Some trails in the valley floor might be open for shorter day hikes, and if you've never been there you'll love the scenery (plus you'll be reminded why it's so nice living in Florida w/o snow).

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/winter.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Although it sounds like time is very limited this year another suggestion for a future trip in April would be one of the desert areas like Death Valley, Joshua Tree or even Palm Springs. Lots of nice day hikes and the weather can be pretty nice.

Wandering Daisy wrote:Another possiblity is from Hetch Hetchy to Rancheria Falls. It should be snow free too.

Hetch Hetchy road is closed indefinitely due to road damage (major landslip). Apparently it may not be re-opened in time for Memorial Day weekend. According to one report from someone on-site:
"My guess (only a personal guess) is that the road will not open to the public until mid-summer....like July-ish. Depending on the length of construction, I wouldn't be surprised if it were closed beyond July"

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/conditions.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,61986" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;