Tioga Pass

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Wandering Daisy
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Tioga Pass

Post by Wandering Daisy »

I just drove back from Tuolumene Meadows yesterday. They are doing a lot of construction. In fact when I came out after 9 days they had towed my car from the parking lot at the Wilderness Center. It took me a mile of extra walking and almost an hour to find my car. Wilderness Center staff said they towed my car to Dog Lake parking lot (I think this is a new lot; I do not remember ever seeing this before) but when I got there- no car. A construction boss found my car up at the construction parking lot.

Many parking lots are being re-paved. The road to the trailhead to Waterwheel Falls is closed. There are many one-lane sections with delays. Cars are parked along the roads, making it really tight to stay in your lane, and large RV's go over the center line. If possible going up from Lee Vining is better if you have a permit to backpack out of Tuolumne Meadows. Also fire damage along the road down by White Wolf, which road is also closed. In fact many side roads are closed.
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rlown
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Re: Tioga Pass

Post by rlown »

Bummer.. This was a good year just not to go. Lots of road construction going on everywhere. Fires. Smoke. Drought. Sucks.

Gonna post a TR?
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Wandering Daisy
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Re: Tioga Pass

Post by Wandering Daisy »

Yes I will post a report. Actually it was a good trip with only the last day with poor visibility. Got caught in the big storm, but it did clear the air really well. Caught some nice fish in Evelyn (thanks for your advise!).
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SSSdave
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Re: Tioga Pass

Post by SSSdave »

Not finding one's car where left is an ultimate bummer everyone worries about when finally approaching trailheads on trips. I hope there was a sign where you left your vehicle indicating where they were towing cars to lest one's worrying explode? This summer I've been with rlown "...just not to go..." as this year has proven to be the poorest for backpacking in my lifetime beyond early July.
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Wandering Daisy
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Re: Tioga Pass

Post by Wandering Daisy »

No sign posted at Wilderness Center, staff told me the car was towed to another parking lot, but it was not there either. Thank goodness for the friendly construction fellow who knew about the towing and found my car for me. Wilderness Center staff could care less- they had a highway sign in the middle of their parking lot for a month saying when to get out but I just thought it was stored there and did not look at it. Construction fellow said even if I read the sign, it would not have helped because they were ahead of schedule and only had to give NPS 48-hour notice. I was just glad I did not come out end of the day when nobody was around. I did not have to pay for towing- it was billed to NPS.

When I drove to the trip it was early AM and the traffic was not bad at all, but going back early afternoon it was jammed with cars and people. Perhaps as Inyo opens there will be less tourist pressure on Yosemite.
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moonburn
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Re: Tioga Pass

Post by moonburn »

When I got my permit there in mid-August and asked the ranger about parking at the Wilderness Center lot, he advised against it, saying "they could start construction here at any time, we have no idea when." It does look like they have a lot of much-needed parking lots that should be ready by next season, but I wish there had at least been a notification on the NPS site about the delays.
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Sierra Miguel
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Re: Tioga Pass

Post by Sierra Miguel »

Wandering Daisy wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 8:56 am Dog Lake parking lot (I think this is a new lot; I do not remember ever seeing this before)
It's been there a long time. It's on Google Street View for seven years.
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wildhiker
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Re: Tioga Pass

Post by wildhiker »

I believe I used the Dog Lake parking lot for a trip in 1991.
-Phil
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Wandering Daisy
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Re: Tioga Pass

Post by Wandering Daisy »

I have walked the road from the Wilderness Kiosk to the lodge parking lot and never noticed another lot before. But perhaps it seemed "new" to me because it was just paved with fresh painted parking lines- perhaps enlarged too and a big new rock wall has been built between it and the highway.
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