Here’s the thing about Yosemite: Most backpackers compete for coveted permits to hike in the park’s core area between Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows, including Half Dome—and ignore much of the best backcountry in the park. This nearly 87-mile hike meanders around the biggest and loneliest chunk of wilderness on the Yosemite map: the vast realm of deep canyons and high peaks north of Tuolumne Meadows.
This area of the park harbors canyons strewn with rock gardens beneath 12,000-foot peaks; three 10,000-foot passes; an alpine lake with a sprawling, sandy beach that looks like it belongs in southern California; the incomparable Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River; and the summit often described as having “the best 360 in Yosemite.”
If your goal is not to see Yosemite’s most famous and popular highlights, but rather, to explore areas that are just as amazing but off the radar of most backpackers—meaning fewer people and less difficulty getting a permit—this is the trip for you. This e-book covers everything you need to know, including expert advice on the ideal time of year, how to obtain a popular wilderness permit and deal with bears and elevation, travel logistics, gear, and safety, and it lays out a day-to-day itinerary plus four alternate itineraries—three of them shorter.
Watch the video below and read my full story about this trip, “Best of Yosemite: Backpacking Remote Northern Yosemite” (which is premium content, requiring a subscription), with many photos from this trip, which is described in much more detail in this e-book; or see the photos in my story “Backpacking 150 Miles Through Wildest Yosemite” (which is free for anyone to read), about this trip combined with a second, 74-mile hike in Yosemite’s largest chunk of wilderness.
Purchase this e-book NOW to begin planning this one-of-a-kind backpacking adventure through remotest Yosemite!
Want to get 20% off on this e-book and my e-book to that 74-miler mentioned above, “The Best Backpacking Trip in Yosemite?” Purchase my e-books bundle “Two Great Backpacking Trips in Wildest Yosemite.”
Add These Expert E-Books to Your Order!
The Best Backpacking Trip in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains
Possessing national park-caliber scenery without the crowds and competition for permits, this 36-mile hike through the heart of Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains will take you on a grand tour of some of the very finest mountain lakes in the Sawtooths, hiking below numerous long, jagged ridgelines and across four mountain passes over 9,000 feet.
Two Great Backpacking Trips in Wildest Yosemite
Ready to explore the remotest and most spectacular backcountry in Yosemite? These two hikes of 74 miles and nearly 87 miles wander through the biggest, loneliest, and most remote chunks of wilderness on the Yosemite map, south and north of Tuolumne Meadows.
The Complete Guide to Backpacking the Teton Crest Trail in Grand Teton National Park
Few wilderness backpacking trips in the country measure up, step for step, to a multi-day trek along the incomparable Teton Crest Trail in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. Variously 35 to 39 miles, depending on the route you hike, the TCT delivers a consummate backpacking experience.