Yosemite in early October

This is one of my favorite times in Yosemite. The bugs and crowds have dropped off. The weather is typically great (cool but not cold) for hiking. I would expect high sierras daytime will be 50-65F. The heavy winter rains have typically not started though you might get an afternoon or night shower (or snow when it's colder). The only warning I would give is that the night can get cold: last year we saw a low of 10.2F one night at the end of Sept at ~8K ft.

very special. you can almost have it to yourself. it can snow at the drop of a hat., but aside form that .. it's a magical time.

I searched and found quite a few references for Yosemite.

Which one is the one you wish you would have gotten after you'd gone?

We were there last year Sept 26 to Oct 08 and at night to us it was cold. Average nights were 28* to 33* upper in the Valley not so bad…average 35* to 40*

Also be prepared to have to travel up to Hwy 120 for first come first served campgrounds, if you do not already have reservations. Which it did snow, and they do close the road, but it was only for a day. The Hwy 120 stayed open till Nov 27 last year in fact.

All the valley was full when we were there, including Camp 4 which was a surprise to us.
Most of trails are pretty empty though :)
and its beautiful with some areas in full fall colors.
Only I missed seeing the waterfalls active, down to trickles for some of them and others completely dry.

Just a hint Tuolumne Meadows store and gas station are usually closed by September 15 sometimes sooner, as well as the campground.

>>> We were there last year Sept 26 to Oct 08 and at night to us it was cold. Average nights were 28* to 33* upper in the Valley not so bad…average 35* to 40*

Will give my Hoody and JRB NS a good test : )

I'm planning to use Contrail and/or Vapr Bivy for shelter.

I havent looked into permits, maps, h2o avail, etc yet, but I will work something out.

I was in Sequoia NP last May. Lots of snow still around higher places. We car camped and day hiked. I'm guessing the chilly temps will be the same but there wont be the sound of swollen creeks to sing us to sleep.

Probably will be 2 of us for 3-4 nights or 2 for 1-2 nights and me solo for 2-3. My plans for now will have to be flexible.

Found this on the NPS site for Yosemite…

http://home.nps.gov/archive/yose/rptFullTrailheadDates.htm

Looks like there are plenty of October possibilities.

Will have to do some reading.

The Jeffrey Schaffer book "Yosemite National Park – A Complete Hiker's Guide" (http://www.wildernesspress.com/book173.htm) is the gold standard for Yosemite backcountry trail descriptions. This book also contains trails north and south of Yosemite, but you'll want Ben Schiffrin's Emigrant Wilderness book for better coverage of northern Yosemite and the Emigrant and Hoover Wilderness areas. (Interestingly, Schiffrin's book includes several cross-country routes in northern Yosemite that aren't in Schaffer's book.)

One more comment–generally, overnight parking is not allowed on the Tioga Road after October 14, so doing even a simple overnighter without logistical support after this date is difficult. Most eastern trailheads outside the park (Hoover Wilderness, Silver Lake) can still be used, and these can have the added treat of aspens changing color. There are also the lower western trailheads at Hetch Hetchy, Cherry Lake, and Wawona, not to mention the Valley itself.

Thanks Aaron

Ordered Schaffer's book

Schaffer's book is great, but there are 83 hikes included. It looks like I will miss most of the crowds because I am going during weekdays in early Oct.

I'd like to narrow the 83 hikes down to a List of 10.

Please help me formulate my Top 10.

Thanks.

I recently checked the trail conditions for Yosemite – I attached the link. Sounds like creeks are drying up after the dry winter – you might want to call the park in advance to find out about conditions along your route.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/yose/wilderness/trailconditions.htm