Trail Guide
WEST

Little
Yosemite
Valley
to
Merced Lake

30 min
MAP

Central
and
South
Yosemite
Wilderness

Resupply

North
Tuolumne
Meadows

South
Yosemite
Valley

Sierra
Weather

North
Yosemite
Weather

The Big Picture
So far our hike South across the length and width of Yosemite has brought us through the brutally difficult terrain of the North Yosemite Backcountry, down to Tuolumne Meadows (resupply), after hiking South from Sonora Pass across the remote and stunningly beautiful terrain of Emigrant Wilderness wrapping around North Yosemite. We found the rigors and beauties of the Emigrant-North Yosemite Backcountry to be in a class of their own, unique and unmatched, yet still well complimented by the rest of the Unique Sierra Nevada terrain we find between Tahoe and Whitney.

It is hard to pick favorites when each section is so beautiful, each in its own unique way.

The Golden Triangle
From Tuolumne Meadows we turned Southwest, off the line of the Sierra Crest, following the classic line of the John Muir Trail down to Yosemite Valley, rather than its more traditional role as the route climbing steeply to Half Dome and Tuolumne Meadows.
Now, after visiting Yosemite Valley, we're returning to the Sierra Crest and the remaining length of the John Muir Trail to Mount Whitney. But, we're going to find a different route to hook back up with the route of the John Muir Trail along the Sierra Crest, than the standard JMT we hiked down to Yosemite Valley.

On the last page above and the next couple of pages below we are tracing out our completely different route back out of Yosemite Valley to reconnect with the route of the JMT in Lyell Canyon, but a short distance South of where we first turned off the Sierra Crest in Tuolumne Meadows to follow the JMT down to the valley. It's actually simple.

Our alternative route returning to the Sierra Crest started back out of the Happy Isles JMT Trailhead in Yosemite Valley, but we broke off the JMT above Little Yosemite by following the Merced River up to the historic Merced Lake High Sierra Camp.
Just above Merced Lake we are going to find the trail climbing to Vogelsang High Sierra Camp situated on the South end of the Cathedral Range. From Vogelsang we have two routes dropping into Lyell Canyon, the one to the Northwest down Rafferty Creek brings us to the floor of Lyell Canyon 1.46 miles South of Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Boundary, while the trail Northeast via Evelyn Lake drops us into Lyell Canyon 5.6 miles South of Tuolumne Meadows.

We'll take the route suiting our trip. Local loop hikers will likely hike back to Tuolumne Meadows through Tuolumne Pass, while long distance hikers will take the trail bringing us further South towards our next resupply point at Reds Meadow.

This nifty alternative route back up to the JMT via the Merced River over the Cathedral Range via Vogelsang explores the other side of the heart of the Central Yosemite Wilderness, the one we looked into as we checked out the route of John Muir Trail dropping down into Yosemite Valley.

The salient reality of this section of trail from Happy Isles Trailhead in Yosemite Valley to Vogelsang High Sierra Camp is that we are going to be climbing 23 of the roughly 26 miles from the Happy Isles Trailhead in Yosemite Valley to where we finally intercept the John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon. The unceasing tempo of work along this route's constant climbing are mostly punctuated by lengths of even steep climbing.

Yosemite Valley
to
JMT in Lyell Canyon

The revealing statistic of this section of trail is...

We are climbing a total of 6365 feet crossing the 19.85 miles of trail from the 4035 foot elevation Happy Isle Trailhead of the John Muir Trail in Yosemite Valley to the 10400 foot high point of our trail crossing the Cathedral Crestline above Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.

MILES
and
ELEVATIONS

Thankfully, the majority of our hike from Yosemite Valley to Lyell Canyon is following the fairly gradual grade of the course of the Merced River from Nevada Falls to Merced Lake. The steeper parts of this hike are our initial short but brutally steep climb out of Yosemite Valley up to Nevada Falls, and then the longer steep climbing segment North out of the Merced River Canyon up to and over the Cathedral Crest.

This page below covering the trail from Merced Lake to Vogelsang High Sierra Camp covers the vast majority of the second steep climb out of the Merced River Canyon from the Merced Lake Ranger Station up to Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.

The Little Picture
So far along this section of trail we made the steep climb to Little Yosemite Valley out of Yosemite Valley. Little Yosemite Valley is the point where the John Muir Trail climbs North out the Merced River's Canyon and from where our alternative route to catch the JMT in South Yosemite continues upriver following the Merced River East up its steadily ascending granite canyon towards Merced Lake.
On this page below we are going to execute the final steeper climb of this section by hiking up to Vogelsang High Sierra Camp from the Merced Lake HSC.

Climbing
Departing Merced Lake we hike upriver through a forest-filled teardrop shape reminiscent of the same type of granite configuration Merced Lake sits in, but one that is biologically older, apparently, as this upper basin has already sedimented-in and reforested.
We hike through this teardrop-shaped forest towards the trail junction under a fold running up the Southwest facing Flank of the Cathedral Range, which offers our trail access climbing up into the gash cut by Fletcher Creek and its glacial antecedent, giving us the foothold climbing up this North wall out of the Merced Canyon up onto the meadowed levels of granite, like a series of tilted steps of relative flatness running up on the uppermost flanks as we follow Fletcher Creek approaching the majestically carved granites of this section of the Cathedral Range's Crestline. At Vogelsang High Sierra Camp we find two trails North to the John Muir Trail, one higher up, and the other lower down, Lyell Canyon.

Trails into Lyell Canyon
The trail through Tuolumne Pass to our Northwest follows the Rafferty Creek cut in the terrain down to the John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon at a position 1.43 miles South of the Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Boundary. The other trail, the trail to the Northeast brings us around Evelyn and an unnamed Lake before passing a junction leading up to Ireland Lake, as it continues to descend to the John Muir Trail at a position much further up Lyell Canyon than Rafferty Creek, a position on the JMT about 5.6 miles South of the Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Boundary.
We will be hiking the trail down via Evelyn Lake bringing us to the JMT much further up Lyell Canyon, because our backpacking plan is to continue South on the JMT, first down to Reds to resupply, then continuing on our way South to end our Tahoe to Whitney backpacking trip through the Whitney Portal.

Up and Down

Maps and Miles

Tuolumne Meadows Area Map
15 minute topo hiking map

Miles

Yosemite Valley to Lyell Canyon
MERCED LAKE CAMPS
Miles and Elevations

Merced Lake to Vogelsang
High Sierra Camps
A delightful hike through a series of Natural Delights with a substantial physical challenge presented by continuous climbing. To make good great we find we are spending these calories climbing into a fantastic channel of granite running up mountain between the Southwest Flank of the Cathedral Range and the Northwest Flank of the Clarks Range.

Well, channels, actually. We find we have a choice between one of the two granite channels climbing the Cathedral's Southern flank. The great ridge capped by Vogelsang and Fletcher Peaks on the Cathedral Crest is itself flanked and drained by Fletcher Creek to its Northwest and Lewis Creek to its Southeast, wrapping up around it like the tines of a wishbone from where the creeks divide. Each creek also offers a trail route up to the Cathedral Crest along its respective gorge under opposite flanks of the Vogelsang Massif.
Both routes re-converge at Vogelsang High Sierra Camp. The Western route up Fletcher Creek is a bit longer, climbs a bit less along its length, and does not climb as high as the Eastern route up Lewis Creek. The steeper, more direct route up Lewis Creek also climbs higher as it passes over Vogelsang Pass before descending into Vogelsang High Sierra Camp from the East past Vogelsang Lake. The route up Fletcher Creek climbs gently into Vogelsang from the Southwest.

The video above follows our route up Fletcher Creek.

7.75 miles
in
13:29 minutes

Re-Crossing
The Cathedral Range of Yosemite

Merced Lake Backpacker and High Sierra Camps are a little physical and administrative cutout in the Central Yosemite Wilderness. Merced Lake's federal facilities are nestled in on a thin rock ledge extending off the Northeast edge of the almond-shaped granite bowl containing Merced Lake.

After finding the little, almost triangular thumb of densely forested terrain sticking out into the West end of Merced Lake Once our Eastbound trail hikes into the bowl it is restricted to the thin ledge of trail between the Northern Shore and the cliffs rising from near the water's edge until we approach the High Sierra and Backpackers Camp.

We can see the invasive progress of waves of marsh, meadow, and forest are moving steadily downstream from Merced Lake's East Shore as we approach the federal facilities. We can also see the facilities are located as far above the East Shore of the lake as possible while still being in the bowl.

top of page

Hiking upriver, East, into Merced Lake Federal Facilities.

Right, South to the Merced Lake High Sierra Camp.

Access,
History, and Perspective
on
Yosemite High Sierra Camps

Merced Lake
Miles Sign Posts

Re-Crossing
The Cathedral Range of Yosemite

7320 feet

12.1 miles East of Yosemite Valley

16.54 miles West of John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon

to
Merced Lake High Sierra Camp
0 miles

to
Vogelsang High Sierra Camp
7.75 miles
Via Fletcher Creek

Tuolumne Meadows Area Map
15 minute topo hiking map

Miles

Yosemite Valley to Lyell Canyon
MERCED LAKE CAMPS
Miles and Elevations

top of page

Miles East
Upriver from Merced Lake.

Continuing East
Upriver
from
Merced Lake Federal Facilities

Backpacking
UP
Southwest Flank
of the
Cathedral Range of Yosemite

The gentle climbing portion of this hike continues as we make our way from the lower almond-shaped basin holding Merced Lake up into the much larger almond-shaped upper basin above it along the course of the Merced River.

We have a gentle climb over a thin arm of low granite reaching South to close the narrow gap between the upper and lower basins. The Merced River makes it way into Merced Lake in the lower basin by wrapping around the South end of the arm to cascade into the expanding meadow and forest trying to fill the Merced Lake Basin before flowing into Merced Lake.

top of page

Our route pushes us down to the edge of the Merced River cascading into the lower basin as we make our way around the South end of the granite arm and into the bottom of the upper basin.

Above is ono of our views as we hike upriver out of the Merced Lake Federal Facilities Cascade into the upper basin towards the Merced Lake Ranger Station, which is located at the trail junction ahead, roughly halfway across the length of the larger upper basin.

Peak 8834 to the Northeast as we hike into the second, Eastern bowl

Hiking up through the pure granites of the canyon of the Merced River so far we've seen that its been carved into a series of "bowls and chutes" that creates an undulating, serpentine course through the dense granite. I figure the serpentine route is likely a product of differentials in rock hardness balanced against various down-mountain angles the massive weight of the ice was perched, against the various rates of snow deposition. The final shape of this canyon was a product of all these forces all mediated by the mysteries of fluid dynamics, gravity, and fundamental materials sciences writ large.

Hiking up the Merced River Canyon to this point from Yosemite Valley we've seen long chutes of deep, pure granite gorges running like a chain through the rock connecting one little teardrop of a valley to the next. Here, rather than a green valley followed by a deep granite canyon to the next tiny green valley, we get this quick but grand, "double-kiss" of these two sweet granite ovals filled with blue and green cut through clean granite in quick succession.

I can imagine how they looked when they were both fresh and newly cut, full of sparkling blue water in our ancient past. I can also see in my mind's eye how they are going to look when the lower valley eventually fills in the distant future too, when they are finished with their transformation into two ovals of glorious green in the surrounding great gray granascape.

The cycles of life are as much successions of light, color, and shape, -an engine of perpetual beauty- created by the dispossessions and successions of perfect physical design principals as much as they are a display of the fundamental forces, forms, and successions of life.

We study these things in the sky, in the terrain, in the water, and in colleges.

We are walking through a display of their integration over the ages.

Horse pasture East of Merced Lake High Sierra Camp.

I wanted to pick up the trash, but instead I anchored it under the branch for the return of the staff who left it there. They would likely burn it, or horse-pack it back to the stables for proper disposition.

A Piece of Trash too Far
Me, I did not need firestarter, nor did I need to burn it, nor carry trash from Yosemite to Reds for any reason. So I stabilized it for proper disposition by the folks who left it there.

Page Index

Hiking East through the Forest in the Basin upriver and East of Merced Lake.

Approaching the Westernmost of three bridges over Lewis Creek before arriving at the Merced Lake Ranger Station and its trail junction.

Bright morning sky profiles this Chipmunk moving quickly straight up the tree.

Reflecting on Darkness, Light, and the Auditory Delights of the water for a fleeting moment.

I find the sweet sounds of river running down mountain are mutually complimented by the shadows dancing to its delightful song between its shimmering reflecting lights.

Page Index

Two more follow the first in quick succession.

The braiding of the creek here is likely a function of the depth of the sediment-fill of this basin, cut into regular channels by heavy episodes of runoff running down the mountain and cutting multiple channels during heavy thaw episodes.

Merced Lake
Ranger Station
Trail Junction

Re-Crossing
The Cathedral Range of Yosemite

7250 feet

12.97 miles East of Yosemite Valley

16.54 miles West of John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon

to
Vogelsang High Sierra Camp
12.97 miles
Via Fletcher Creek

Tuolumne Meadows Area Map
15 minute topo hiking map

Miles

Yosemite Valley to Lyell Canyon
MERCED LAKE RANGER STATION
Miles and Elevations

top of page

Miles to Vogelsang and Tuolumne Meadows High Sierra Camps from the Merced Lake Ranger Station.

The rust-through on the painted sign makes it hard to read, so here's the sign's numbers:

Babcock Lake 2.9
Emerick Lake 5.0
Bernice Lake 6.0

Vogelsang HSC 6.8
Tuolumne Meadows 13.4

Hiking North from our position at Merced Lake Ranger Station is by far our quickest route to reconnect with the route of the Pacific Crest & John Muir Trails along the Sierra Crest. We do have another, but much longer alternative route from here. The route continuing up the Merced River and over Isberg Pass brings us down around the South end of the Ritter Range to Devils Postpile and Reds Meadow.

Also bit of wisdom to note from this sign is a perfect example of why you don't paint steel, unless you are going to constantly scrape and paint it. Why? because painted steel always rusts through.

Miles sign for distances West from Merced Lake High Sierra Camp.

Merced Lake .8
Nevada Fall 10.4
Yosemite Valley 13.9

At the Junction
Merced Lake Ranger Station

Re-Crossing
The Cathedral Range of Yosemite

top of page

The Merced Lake Ranger Station.

We Climb North
towards
Voglesang High Sierra Camp

Re-Crossing
The Cathedral Range of Yosemite

We essentially climb until we reach the crest of the Cathedral Range
7.52 miles North and xx feet above our current position.

top of page

Lower Lewis Creek above Merced Lake Ranger Station.

Trail climbing up to the Lewis-Fletcher Creeks divergence.

First we get views South out of the Canyon we are climbing into. Then we climb high enough that we get fantastic views within the canyon, until we get even higher, and our views South out the top of Fletcher Creek's canyon approaching Babcock Lake encompass the whole Clarks Range wrapping around the South Yosemite Wilderness.

Page Index

Climbing above forest and terrain to get our first long view down the Merced River Canyon.

To our Northwest, our climbing Right, we pass under the base of this.

Peak 8834 above the combined Fletcher-Lewis Creeks flowing down to the Merced River, between us and that block of granite.

But to its East stands the great cone of granite that dominates this segment of trail, Peak 9288.

Peak 9288 to our Northwest defines the terrain and the line of our route.

Our trail will traverse along the edge of the Vogelsang Massif as we are now, with the destination of passing through the gap between the mountain's ridge-arms under the far-bottom Right, the South edge of Peak 9288 above.

We are going to pass along its base between it on our Left and the edge of the Vogelsang Massif coming down from our Right, from the South side of the gap almost pictured above.

Above we are actually traversing Northwest along the Southwestern nose of the Vogelsang Massif. That great granite rock we are looking at above over there runs up to Rafferty Peak on the Cathedral Crestline. Our route is following the easiest line climbing to the Cathedral Crest between these two mountain ridges, Rafferty and Vogelsang, descending off the Cathedral Crest.

We're going to get some good views of these massifs rising to ascendancy.

Upward Ho!

Fletcher Creek and Lewis Creeks Converge
our climbing trail
Diverges

8160 feet

14.03 miles East of Yosemite Valley

11.92 miles West of John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon

to
Vogelsang High Sierra Camp
1.05 miles
Via Fletcher Creek

Tuolumne Meadows Area Map
15 minute topo hiking map

Miles

Yosemite Valley to Lyell Canyon
FLETCHER-LEWIS CREEKS
Miles and Elevations

Page Index

Fletcher-Lewis Creeks trail junction.

Lewis Creek drains the Southeast flank of Vogelsang Peak while Fletcher reaches up to drain its Northwest flank. The creeks join in the channel to our Left, below the base of the shining rocky knoll facing us.

Trail junction between Lewis and Fletcher Creeks above Merced Lake.

v

Tuolumne Meadows via Lewis Creek and Vogelsang Pass.

Page Index

Lewis Creek, Yosemite.

Page Index

8120 feet

14.18 miles East of Yosemite Valley

11.76 miles West of John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon

to
Vogelsang High Sierra Camp
5.66 miles
Via Fletcher Creek

Tuolumne Meadows Area Map
15 minute topo hiking map

Miles

Yosemite Valley to Lyell Canyon
LEWIS CREEK FOOTBRIDGE
Miles and Elevations

Page Index

Looking up Lewis Creek from the bridge.

Our trail continues Northwest. now traversing along Fletcher Creek.

Set of ascending peaks rising to Peak 9890 to our Northwest.

Fantastic line of Peaks leading up to the Rafferty Peak segment of Cathedral Range.

Page Index

Climbing and looking Northwest along the very Western nose of the Vogelsang Massif-ridge arm up around to the Northwest flank of the Vogelsang Massif, first by the short trail to Babcock Lake.

Clarks Range beyond Merced River Canyon marking out South end of Yosemite National Park.

Mount Clark on the far Right, Gray on the middle-Right, and the oblong lobe of Red Peak in the rough middle of the image.

Switchbacks and crossing sheer slabs climbing along Fletcher Creek.

Amazing upper gorge flattening out into expansive, if not vast sheets of granite, under Peak 9288 and Babcock Lake.

Page Index

Stacked Granite
Carefully selected and collected, then painstakingly bedded for stability, then chipped and fitted into place. The best examples interlock and reinforce themselves when under pressure, becoming stronger under heavier loading.

Yosemite Trail Crews kick ass.
Old School High Altitude Masons who pass skills through generations of trail workers who's generations of work we see laid out at our feet.

That always makes a part of me feel good, on or off the trail.

The Trail Is.

If not, we got route.

Trail Crew Forum

Finally our climb moderates into interwoven stringy strands of sickly lodgepole pines invading the gently ascending meadow.

This high meadow/forest flat lays between the Rafferty capped ridge arm we are looking at to our North, and the ridgearm topped by Vogelsang and Fletcher Peaks, around who's base we have been following the line of our trail, rising to our Right.

A not too healthy forest. Lodgepoles are subject to "runs" of blights, which takes out a strip of forest every now and again, and prone to avalanches during Winter. Yet the last couple of decades of slow but steady drying, of shortening Winters and lengthening of Fall into Winter appears to have seriously strained all the layers of forest, each at its own favorite altitude.

The lodgepoles seem to be suffering.

Re-Crossing
The Cathedral Range of Yosemite

8880 feet

15.83 miles East of Yosemite Valley

10.11 miles West of John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon

to
Vogelsang High Sierra Camp
4.02 miles
Via Fletcher Creek

Tuolumne Meadows Area Map
15 minute topo hiking map

Miles

Yosemite Valley to Lyell Canyon
LEWIS CREEK FOOTBRIDGE
Miles and Elevations

Page Index

Babcock Lake Trail Junction.

Hiking North into the Babcock Lake trail spur, off to our Left, from Merced Canyon.

Babcock Lake miles to Tuolumne Meadows.

We will hike into Lyell Canyon to the South of Tuolumne Meadows, rather than to TM.

Page Index

Southwestern nose of a great blade of granite rising out of the terrain as a shark fin breaks the ocean surface.

A big old rocky shark fin.

Fletcher Creek.

The closer we get to look at the various organic terrain features, such as meadows, forests, and Fletcher Creek, the more clearly we can see that they are all living on a very thin layer of organic material atop underlying granite.

The trees grow as if out of rock, the creek flows on solid rock, the meadow seems little more than a thin mat stretched out over a solid-rock dance floor.

Rock-Rock-Rock!

The thickness of the life that lives on the thinness of the organic layer up here is an impressive testament to the power of life.

Page Index

Vast granite block rises above Emeric Lake, dividing it from our trail.

Climbing North out of the top of the meadow above Babcock Lake brings us to the base of an impressive block of granite. We see that our trail bends up and around where Fletcher Creek flows down around the Southeastern flank of this massive block.

Great block of Granite above Emeric Lake.

Things like this just make us feel good.

Flat flowing water.

Fletcher Creek below Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.

The East end of Peak 1008 is dropping into the middle-Left above, while Fletcher and Vogelsang Peaks are rising out of the middle-Right.

Fletcher Peak beyond Fletcher Creek, hiking North towards Vogelsang High Sierra Camp nestled in just below the crest of the Cathedral Range.

Hiking North under fantastic views of the most distant circular mass of Fletcher Peak beyond Vogelsang Peak's West flank.

We can see the whole form of Peak 1008 rising in the middle-Left distance.

The Summit and Northwestern flank of Fletcher Peak behind Vogelsang's Northwestern face and crestline.

Vogelsang High Sierra Camp is roughly located between the bases of the two peaks.

Looking Northeast across the Cathedral Range.

Tuolumne Pass on the Left of Peak 1008, the rock rising in the middle of the image, while our Route into Lyell Canyon pass to its Right, between it and the line of Vogelsang and Fletcher's faces.

We can also cut around the backside of 1008 to Tuolumne Pass from Vogelsang High Sierra Camp, as well as directly from the junction just ahead of our current position.

Peak 1008 detail.

Trout swimming slowly away from my disturbance across expansive pool along Fletcher Creek.

The trout was not freaked out nor disturbed, but just applying some safety margin to the situation. Deer behave the same way when they detect low-priority threats; they move away at leisure.

Fish actually have more capacity for aggression than non-rutting Bucks and most unprovoked deer. I figure it's a product of the Trout's predatory behavior patterns: Trout observe carefully, move to optimal positions or patrol ("fishing"), and strike! Trout have amazing hunting skills and styles, all part of both hunting prey while avoiding becoming prey

Trout avoid and hide from larger predators as they hunt the smaller.

Trail South to Merced Lake from Vogelsang via Fletcher Creek.

We're looking back at the granite feature dividing the trail from Emeric Lake, laying on the Right, the opposite Western side of the sloping dome in the middle-Right of the image above.

Page Index

Looking Northeast across the top of the Vogelsang Massif.

Rafferty Peak rising to the West of Tuolumne Pass, to the Northwest of our position approaching Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.

Fletcher Creek ford at the junction of the spur trail to Emeric Lake in the foreground.

Peaks 1008 on Left, Fletcher distant, and Vogelsang Near-right.

Crossing the ford moving upstream we encounter the Emeric Lake junction to our Left, leading .4 of a mile Southwest to Emeric Lake. Emeric Lake is positioned on the Northwestern base of the great granite block our route followed Fletcher Creek around its Southeastern flank.

Just steps ahead the trail forks Northwest and Northeast.
Northwest, to our Left, we find the most direct route to Tuolumne Meadows passing under Rafferty Peak through Tuolumne Pass.

Northeast, to our Right, is the trail to Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.

Page Index

Emeric Lake, Tuolumne Pass, or the trail to Vogelsang confront us crossing Fletcher Creek approaching the Cathedral Crest.

The trail splits around the rock ahead-center, and a spur trail branches off to our West, Left to Emeric Lake.

The sign on our near-Left specifies the miles South down to Merced Lake, and then West down into Yosemite Valley. Let's take a look at it.

Trail sign specifying almost a half mile Southwest to Emeric Lake.

The trail to Tuolumne Meadows through Tuolumne Pass veers to the Left, the Northwest. Above is the miles sign to Tuolumne Meadows from the Emeric Lake trail junction via Tuolumne Pass.

This would be the most direct route to Tuolumne Meadows for those returning to TM for another resupply before continuing South on the John Muir Trail. Or this trail potentially brings those backpackers hiking great loops around Yosemite to either their halfway point or their final destination, depending if your start point was from Tuolumne Meadows or Yosemite Valley.

Here our trail forks off to produce two parallel trails running Northeast. We are veering to our Right, taking the Southeastern trail running up to Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.

The trail to our Left is for those hikers intent on reaching Tuolumne Pass without visiting Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.

Approaching
The Cathedral Range Crestline

9400 feet

17.75 miles East of Yosemite Valley

8.19 miles West of John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon

to
Vogelsang High Sierra Camp
2.10 miles
Via Fletcher Creek

Tuolumne Meadows Area Map
15 minute topo hiking map

Miles

Yosemite Valley to Lyell Canyon
BOOTH LAKE TUOLUMNE PASS
Miles and Elevations

Page Index

Local Cathedral Range Backpacking Loop
Our route through Vogelsang High Sierra Camp to Lyell Canyon is designed to intercept the John Muir Trail to follow it out the South end of Yosemite. The miles to Tuolumne Meadows specified above are by hiking North from Vogelsang High Sierra Camp through Tuolumne Meadows. That is virtually the same route as the second route above. We can alter this from an out and back hike centered on Tuolumne Meadows into a loop.

Either of the two routes above can swing us back to Tuolumne Meadows by distinct routes. Rather than cutting over to Tuolumne Pass from Vogelsang High Sierra Camp to return to Tuolumne Meadows, we can hike Northeast down to the JMT in Lyell Canyon, and return to Tuolumne Meadows by hiking North from there.

These two routes to Tuolumne Meadows from Emeric Lake or Vogelsang High Sierra Camp can joined together to make a nifty little backpacking loop out of Tuolumne Meadows.

I have our distance from our position here at Emeric Lake trail junction to Tuolumne Meadows via Vogelsang HSC to Lyell Canyon at 13.8 miles. Adding these miles to the 8.8 miles specified from Tuolumne Meadows via its namesake pass on the second sign above creates a backpacking loop 22.67 miles in circumference.

The Vogelsang Massif rises to our Southeast.

Our trail angles Northeast to the base of the Vogelsang Massif.

Rocky flat extending off the base of Vogelsang's rising face.

Rafferty Peak appears almost directly to our North off our Left shoulder across the rocky flat.

The right-side of the base of Rafferty marks the location of Tuolumne Pass on the Cathedral Crestline.

Profile of Vogelsang Massif to our Southeast.

Page Index

Waterfall along a source of Fletcher Creek out of Vogelsang Lake.

We hear the rush of water of one of the founding branches of Fletcher Creek coming down through the forest wrapping around the mountain to our Right, the East, drawing our attention to the pretty little waterfall.

The sound, the creek and its waterfall draw our attention to one of the sources of Fletcher Creek is Vogelsang Lake nestled in the gap dividing Vogelsang and Fletcher Peaks below Vogelsang Pass.

Fletcher Peak stands out as we hike North into Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.

Vogelsang High Sierra Camp
Four-Way Trail Junction
Cross Roads

10120 feet

Miles and Elevations

Yosemite Valley to Vogelsang High Sierra Camp

Continuing North from Vogelsang on either of our two Northbound trail options brings us into Lyell Canyon. The nature of our trip typically determines which route is appropriate.

The trail Northwest through Tuolumne Pass brings us to a point lower down Lyell Canyon and closer to Tuolumne Meadows, while the trail Northeast drops us higher up in Lyell Canyon, which is closer to Donohue Pass, for those of us continuing South. Our next resupply out of Yosemite Valley will be in Mammoth Lakes via the Reds Shuttle. And, I've also got a resupply bucket at Reds Meadow.

Which route you prefer depends on what you're doing.

Local Backpacking Loops
Local hikers completing a loop out of Tuolumne Meadows through Vogelsang High Sierra Camp will pick the route suiting their rotation. Your route will be the one you did not use hiking into Vogelsang.

Here's the situations from the

Rafferty Creek trail junction along the John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon

Ireland Creek trail junction along the John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon

Long Distance Backpackers
Longer-distance hikers connecting Yosemite Valley with Tuolumne Meadows have the options of the longer, more scenic route Northeast, which passes by numerous lakes before following Ireland Creek down to the John Muir Trail about four miles higher up Lyell Canyon than the Rafferty Creek route.
This route into Lyell Canyon via Ireland Creek gets good views of Amelia Earhart Peak and the spur ridgeline it throws off the Cathedral Crestline terminating in Potter Point towering over the bend in Upper Lyell Canyon around the base of its girth.

South to Mount Whitney
Long distance hikers planning on moving South out of Yosemite National Park will hike Northeast to put themselves higher up Lyell Canyon via Ireland Creek as it is the most direct line towards our Donohue Pass exit out the South end of Yosemite.

Miles and Elevations
Yosemite Valley to Lyell Canyon
@
Vogelsang High Sierra Camp

Miles
NORTH
from
Vogelsang High Sierra Camp

Four-Way Trail Junction
Cross Roads

Miles
SOUTH
from
Vogelsang High Sierra Camp

About Yosemite Backpacking Miles

Figures From
Yosemite Steel Plate Miles Signs

About Yosemite Zero Points

Page Index

We note a staff tent cabin off from the main camp as we approach.

It looks like a fantastic place to spend Summer nights.

We note the corral as we hike North into Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.

Being so close to the Tuolumne Stable only makes it necessary for a long day trip to supply
Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.

Vogelsang High Sierra Camp main buildings.

The terrain has a worn-out look from decades of hooves and heels cutting the fragile groundcover.

Access,
History, and Perspective
on
Yosemite High Sierra Camps

Page Index

Four-Way Trail Junction
Cross Roads

Yosemite Steel Plate Miles Signs

Zero Points

Miles Figures in the Sierra Nevada

Page Index

Great carin at Vogelsang High Sierra Camp trail junction.

Page Index

Above we see the most direct route to Tuolumne Meadows to the Northwest pointed at Booth Lake, before the trail turns Northeast for the hike through Tuolumne Pass into the headwaters of Rafferty Creek. We'll follow Rafferty Creek down to its junction with the John Muir Trail 1.46 miles South of the Tuolumne Meadows wilderness boundary and 2.07 miles South of the Store, Post Office and Grill facilities.

This would not be the trail for us planning on hiking South along the John Muir Trail out the South end of Yosemite. Our plans are better served by following the trail below, to the Northeast, to drop into Lyell Canyon via Evelyn Lake to follow Ireland Creek down to the John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon 5.63 miles South of the Tuolumne wilderness boundary, which is 6.24 from the Post Office.

This sign notes the miles Northeast from Vogelsang High Sierra Camp to Tuolumne Meadows via Lyell Canyon.

MILES and ROUTES
I have it at 6.09 miles from this Vogelsang junction to the John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon. From that position it is 6.45 miles South on the John Muir Trail to the Southernmost Yosemite Boundary at Donohue Pass, or 6.24 miles North to the Tuolumne Meadows Store, Grill, and Post Office.

Miles and Elevations
JMT
Tuolumne Meadows to Reds Meadow

Miles from Vogelsang to Merced Lake via Emeric and Babcock Lakes, which would be back to Merced Lake the way we came.

Page Index

Next
Vogelsang High Sierra Camp
to
JMT in Lyell Canyon

Page Index

Setting Up
To Exit the South End of Yosemite

Down!

On the page above we've climbed from Merced Lake to Vogelsang High Sierra Camp atop the Cathedral Range.

Next we will make our way down its Northeastern facing flank into Lyell Canyon where we join with the John Muir Trail at the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp junction 5.6 miles South of Tuolumne Meadows.

Once we pick up the John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon we begin hiking South to Donohue Pass and out exit out the South end of Yosemite National Park.

Local hikers can point themselves North down Rafferty Creek to end local hikes at Tuolumne Meadows.

top of page

Backpacking Trail Guide

PCT-TYT North

Little
Yosemite
Valley
to
Merced
Lake

Backpacking Trail Guide

JMT South

Vogelsang
HSC
to
Lyell
Canyon