|
Granite
Creek to Yosemite Valley Backpacking Trip October 2008 |
||||
|
|
||||
|
Yosemite National Park, at 761,266 acres or 1,189 square miles, just isn't big enough for one of our epic hikes. This year we decided to start miles outside the park boundary and work our way in from the south. This map shows our approximate route. We started at the Granite Creek Campground which is at the lower end of the black dotted route shown. Granite Creek Campground is a primitive campground with a few picnic tables and a couple of outhouses. I didn't see anything as sophisticated as running water etc. There are many roads into this area and our first pick was not the fastest, but probably the shortest. My mapping software just doesn't understand things like nicely paved versus four wheel drive fun. Although the way we went in was not particularly nasty, it did add some drive time. We originally planned this trip for September 27th, but days before we were going to head out and in the middle of packing, Andra got sick. Dave had recently had to cancel as he forgot his High School reunion was on the 27th. I looked at the calendar and realized no other time all the way to the end of the year worked for taking vacation time, so I took the time off from work anyway. With this in mind, I decided to leave all the gear half packed in the living room and see if Andra got better. I figured that leaving a bit late might be an option and better than not going. Over the weekend, Andra was not doing well. She was very glad I had talked her out of just going anyway. As Monday came around she felt a bit better, and we started talking about attempting a Wednesday start. Tuesday I called Dave and told him the whole story. The delay had inadvertently solved his scheduling problem and he wanted to go. Andra was feeling better so we started coordinating and trying to finish off the packing. This late in the season there was only one ranger station open. It was south of our entry point so I asked Dave to grab the backpacking permit on his way to meet us. When you call and ask for permits this late in the season, they always give you the impression they think you're a little nuts. They say things like, "If you decide to pick up your permit" and "You're going where?" or my personal favorite is when they call you for the eleventh time to say "Are you sure you're going? Do you mind if we just pin your permit to the ranger station door?" Well the grand plan was to leave my car at the exit point and take Dave's to the entry point. Dave spent all night packing and without sleep drove straight from L.A. starting at about 3am. Andra and I took off from Roseville and drove directly to the valley floor. Despite trying to leave plenty of time, we arrived at the Yosemite store about 30 minutes late. Even leaving at 3am and reaching the ranger station as they opened, road construction had Dave arrive about an hour after our intended time. We left my car near Happy Isles and headed down toward Fish Camp. From there we turned off on the road showing the "most direct route." Starting an hour late, we discovered that the drive in was taking longer than we expected. Had we taken a more "paved road," it still would have taken quite a bit of time. There is just no fast way to Granite Creek Campground. When we arrived there was a dry creek bed on one side with warning sign about it being a dangerous creek crossing and no tow service available. We wandered around the empty campground and could not find the trailhead. I finally walked up the dirt road, crossing the creek, and continuing for about a quarter mile beyond before I saw a sign saying "trailhead," with an arrow pointing even farther down the dirt road. I walked back to the campground and reported my findings. We got back in Dave's truck and drove through the dry creek and eventually found the trailhead. Although the creek was dry it was a substantial waterway. I could easily see that in the spring, crossing in a vehicle would be insane. With our rush to reach the trailhead, we were still impressed with the beauty of the drive in. This looks like a great area for future exploration! |
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
||
