Location Notes

Main Features

Beyond
the
PCT and TYT
Our feature trails across this section of our Tahoe to Whitney hike, the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trail routes, track through this section of the North Yosemite Backcountry depicted above. Yet this map is much larger than required to understand those routes. The unified TYT & PCT routes enter this map on the upper Left (Northwestern) edge crossing to where they exit off its lower Right (Southeast) edge at Tuolumne Meadows. There is a heck of a lot of fine terrain surrounding the line of our main TYT-PCT route across it.

Three Lines of Influence
Though this map covers our PCT and TYT routes across the North Yosemite Backcountry the importance of this map is in showing how the line of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne runs roughly parallel to the line of our PCT-TYT route above it, which runs roughly parallel to the line of the Sierra Crest above our PCT-TYT route.

These three lines of the Sierra Crest, the line of our trail, and the line of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River all run roughly parallel to each other. The lines of the Sierra Crest, the PCT-TYT, and the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River are strongly linked together by the series of massive ridges and deep canyons running South by the compass down the Western Flank of the Sierra Crestline from the Sierra Crest into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River.

The map above depicts our PCT-TYT trail across North Yosemite, the whole length of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, and the majority of the Sierra Crestline wrapping around it, all tied together by the fifteen to twenty mile lengths of the canyons and ridges that tie them all together into a logical zone of exploration.

This overview shows us that we have a series of 4 trails running down the canyons between the ridges that connect the PCT-TYT to the Grand Canyon to potentially explore. Despite the abundance of trails running down-mountain, we only have two trails climbing over the Sierra Crest from the line of the PCT-TYT.
The trail running up Kerrick Canyon from the combined routes of the TYT-PCT in the center of the North Yosemite Backcountry crosses the Sierra Crest over to the East Flank. The trail up Kerrick Canyon not only leads over the Sierra Crest to the Hoover Wilderness Trailhead at Twin Lakes, but we can find our way from Buckeye Pass into the top of the West Walker River Watershed too.

Our only other trail to the East Flank off the line of the TYT-PCT exits the upper section of Virginia Canyon for trailheads at Green Creek or Virginia Lakes.

The reasons for this large scale regional map are twofold:
First, to get as wide a context on the North Yosemite terrain and mountains as possible.

Bensen Lake Loop
Second, the map above puts the Twin Lakes Trailhead over on the East Flank of the Sierra in the Hoover Wilderness into context with our long trails across and around the North Yosemite Backcountry, specifically the Bensen Lake Loop.

Wide and Narrow
Perspectives
Click-Click
Well, this map above imparts excellent context if you click the map to find the underlying detailed maps covering the North Yosemite Backcountry, then follow that up by clicking the labels, red dots, and arrows on those detailed maps pointing to the maps of the surrounding terrain.

Hoover Wilderness
and
Hall Research Natural Area
on the
East Flank
Our next 30 minute backpacking map to our South covers the Green Creek and Virginia Lakes Trailheads in the Hoover Wilderness on the East flank, and those trails leading Southwest and West from Greek Creek and Virginia Lakes, respectively, into the top of Virginia Canyon to connect with our PCT-TYT route.

The Virginia Canyon to Tuolumne Meadows 30 min map also depicts the Lundy Canyon and Saddlebag Lake Trailheads accessing the Harvey Monroe Hall Research Natural Area and the East Flank of Mount Conness. Although the Lundy Canyon and Saddlebag Lake East flank trailheads link with each other, they don't offer trail access to our PCT-TYT through-route running down Cold Canyon.

Click The Maps
Click the PCT-TYT route on map above in Virginia Canyon to see detailed maps to our East of the Green Creek and Virginia Lakes Trailheads in the Hoover Wilderness. Click Virginia Canyon map lower down in Cold Canyon to see the detailed map of the Lundy Canyon and Saddlebag Lake Trailheads in the Harvey Monroe Hall Research Natural Area.

Hetch Hetchy Roadmap

Mapping, Mileage,
and
National Forest Information

The elevation information below highlights the visual presentation of this precipitous terrain above.

We are hiking through the Southern Half of the well-named "Five Canyons of the North Yosemite Backcountry," also know as "The Washboard."

The elevation figures below indicate our route rapidly ascends and descends a series of closely spaced High Sierra ridges just below the Western flank of the Sierra Crest.

This segment of our trail is composed of harsh climbs and steep descents, at least until we hike South into the bottom of Virginia Canyon.

Though we have another climb South up to the top of Cold Canyon, the terrain is noticeably moderating, and once we reach the top of Cold Canyon we face a long downhill hike to Glen Aulin.

Click the red dots to see the trail guide entry for that location, and click the main route of the combined PCT-TYT for the underlying highly detailed 7.5 minute topo map.

USGS Topo Hiking Maps

Bridgeport Calif, 30x60 Topographic Maps, 1985

Yosemite Valley, Calif, 30x60 Topographic Maps, 1976

Compass Offset
Magnetic North is 16 and 1/2 degrees
East of True North

scale
1:100 000

Contours
50 meters

Backpacking permitting authorities:

National Forest, Northeast of Yosemite
Toiyabe National Forest

Wilderness Area
Hoover Wilderness

Toiyabe Ranger District
Bridgeport

Hetch Hetchy Surface
3797 feet

Wilmer Lake
7946 feet

Seavy Pass: 9120 feet

Bensen Lake: 7581 feet

Bensen Pass: 10160 feet

Matterhorn Canyon: 8480 feet

High Point South of Miller Lake: 9560 feet

Virginia Canyon: 8560 feet

Trail Guide, Section

Backpacking
Emigrant Wilderness
and the
North Yosemite Backcountry
TYT and PCT

Map Credit

U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior
The
USGS

USGS MAP LOCATOR

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USGS Topographic