Backcountry Yosemite - includes related articles on Yosemite National Park

Sunset, May, 1990

High Sierra Loop: stay in a tent cabin, or pitch your own From windswept passes near timberline to shady lake basins thousands of feet below, the High Sierra Loop makes a nearly 50-mile circuit through the diverse Yosemite high country around Tuolumne Meadows. Camps (with tent cabins and backpacker sites) lie within a short day's hike of one another. The entire loop takes six days to complete, with one night at each of the five outlying camps, but you can either extend your stay at any of the camps or do only part of the loop for a shorter outing. The High Sierra Camps offer woodstove-heated tent cabins with comfortable beds and linens, showers and toilet facilities, hearty breakfasts and dinners, and, if you request them, box lunches for the trail. All you need to carry is a day pack with extra clothes, toiletries, and personal gear. If this appeals to you, you're not alone; reservations are in great demand and are taken in early December for the next summer. Cancellations do sometimes open slots during the season; call (209) 454-2002. Or you can try to reserve space on a seven-day, naturalist-guided hike, or a four- or six-day saddle trip. Backpackers camping on the loop can reserve dinner or breakfast at the camps, which will also store food overnight for you so it won't attract bears (otherwise, be sure to use the cables or hooked poles provided for hanging your food). The campsites have potable piped water. We list camps counterclockwise from Tuolumne Meadows; distance given is from the previous camp on the route.

Glen Aulin (7,800 feet: 7 1/2 miles from Tuolumne Meadows Lodge): virtually level hike along Tuolumne River leads to camp (eight tent cabins) at base of thundering White Cascades. More waterfalls downriver can be visited on day-hikes. May Lake (9,270 feet; 8 1/2 miles): nine tents on shore of tree-ringed lake at foot of Mount Hoffmann; also accessible via short hike from trailhead off the Old Tioga Road. Rent rowboats for $5 an hour. Ridge behind camp is great for sunset-viewing. Sunrise (9,400 feet; 8 1/2 miles): route follows the Old Tioga Road to modern road and Tenaya Lake, climbs steeply to Sunrise Lakes, continues to nine-tent camp at edge of Long Meadow. (Or take 8 miles of John Muir Trail from Tuolumne Meadows.) Merced Lake (7,150 feet; 10 miles): lowest and largest (19 tents of the camps. Good fishing nearby; rowboats for rent. Bears. Vogelsang (10,300 feet; 7 1/2 miles): two routes lead from Merced Lake, each a long climb to near timberline. Fletcher Peak stands high above 12-tent camp and nearby sites around Fletcher Lake. Good base for exploring alpine lakes. Descending to Tuolumne Meadows, 7-mile trail traverses a flowery meadow with distant views of Ragged Peak and Mount Conness.

Where to stay

Campgrounds. A walk-in campground (50 sites, $7 a night) at the west end of Tenaya Lake is open June to October--first-come, first-served. At the much larger drive-in campground (330 sites; $10) at the east end of Tuolumne Meadows, Ticketron reservations are required for half the sites; the others are available for same-day reservations (spaces go early). There are also 25 sites ($2) for backpackers.