Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Day hike Tuolumne Lodge-Yosemite Lodge?

I am planning on day hiking from Tuolumne Lodge (in the Yosemite high country) to Happy Isles bus stop on the Yosemite valley floor. Then I plan the next day on hiking back the same way I came. One way distance is 27.5 miles.

Has anyone done this, either as a day hike or multi-day backpack trip? I've hiked sections of the trail, but never the whole thing. From what I have experienced, the trail conditions here are great, but I may be wrong. Any comments from experienced people would be appreciated. Thank you.

I'm not exactly sure where the Lodge is - is that the tenting camping resort just east of the Tuolomne Camp ground? Sounds like a long two day hike to me.

I would guess that you have done the Happy Isles portion before but frankly, I found both routes down from Nevada Falls "not much fun." One trail has a lot of pavement/asphalt giving my feet a real pounding and the other has the TALL steps where my knees and thighs were battered.

Some sections are really quite pretty and a lot is embedded in forest without many views. Cathedral Lakes area is very nice. Little Yosemite Valley is nice. I've hiked from Reds Meadow back to Happy Isles.

Have a good one.

Howdy--you must have iron legs but if you can do it....I might suggest making it a loop...Tuolumne (8800 feet)--up fletcher creek---boothe lake--merced lake--little yosemite (6000 ft)----down the mist--to the valley(3700)-good trail but if you add in the 1500 foot elevation gain and 6500 down--it will feel like 30 miles--a bit long for me but---If you use the free bus to Tenaya--- take the sunrise trail---clouds rest----little yosmite--it is only 23 miles. you might consider going back this way--however----If I may suggest--get someone to meet you in the little yosemite valley campsight--with a sleeping bag and dinner--and then avoid the trip down to the valley---makes the entire trip do-able in two days. Its not the distance---it is formitable but--it is the stairs on the mist trail that kill you....Distroys the knees.....but.. All the trail is great---mostly it is the freeway of trails---well marked--best Yosemite has to offer---Enjoy the 14 switchbacks at Bunnel Cascade--the elevator ride trail-drop coming down to Merced Lake(Going up this is a mother!)--and doing clouds rest(Best view of the park). Two days---what a concept.....

Candace, I have friends who have hiked TM to the Valley in a day by various routes and it's no big deal for a fit hiker. Going the other way is harder since you have a larger altitude gain. And of course if you get to the Valley and don't want to hike back, you can take a bus back to the Meadows.

You can expect excellent trail conditions the whole way.

There are loop alternatives which might appeal to you. Here's one: Take the shuttle from TM to the west end of Tenaya Lake, hike the Sunrise trail over Cloud's Rest and then continue to the Valley. The next day, hike the Muir Trail on the way back like you planned.

I personally find the John Manure Trail to be less scenic and less fun than some of the alternatives. But if your heart is set on TM to the Valley and back without auto or bus assistance, then it is the easiest and most direct way.

Sounds like fun.

Candace,

Two weeks ago I dayhiked from Happy Isles to Tuolumne Meadows on the John Muir Trail as part of an 11 day journey on the JMT. The trail is in excellent shape. There was no problems with creek crossings or mosquitoes in this segment as was experienced farther south. If you take the JMT, the distance might be more like 24 miles as opposed to 27 miles. (Of course there seems to be some question as to where the JMT actually runs in the Tuolumne Meadows area.) I am sure you know that the elevation of Happy Isles is about 4000 feet, whereas that of Cathedral Pass is nearly 10000 feet.

If you do not already have a reservation to stay overnight on the Valley floor, there is seldom a problem crashing at Camp 4. I just throw down my sleeping bag in an inconspicuous spot after nightfall. The store in Curry Village is open until 10 pm and showers in Curry Village are free. The cafeteria in the Yosemite Lodge is open until 8 or 9 pm and is just a few hundred feet from Camp 4.

Happy travels to Happy Isles, Jim F

PS- As followup to a recent discussion, I hiked the JMT (211 miles) in running shoes without problems. I saw others doing the same.

Candance,
Did this as part of a longer run. Left Happy Isles at 4 AM and arrived at the Visitor Center in Tuolumne Meadows at 10 AM. Was by the cutoff to the lodge in about 7 hours total. It is about .75 miles to the lodge from the JMT at this point. Great trail all the way. Your first day should be considerably easier than the second.

Thank you for all the input, I really appreciate it. Is there a restaurant or buffet at Curry Village? Similar to the cafeteria adjacent to Yosemite Lodge? I will be plenty hungry after this hike. Thanks again.

There is a walk up hamburger and pizza stand in Curry Village plus the dining hall (buffet but only during dining hours). That is still a little walk from Happy Isles.

Scott M.,

You're probably an ultra-marathoner so going 27 miles uphill (from Happy Isles to the Tuolumne Visitor's Center) in 6 hours is no big deal.

But why?

The whole objective of taking a great trail like this is to relax and enjoy the scenery.

For that, expect to go at a pace of 2 to 3 miles per hour which would result in a trip of 9 to 13.5 hours. Taking a detour over to Cloud's Rest (well worth it) would add another couple of hours.

Hi Whitwalker,

Everyone is different and everyone should hike their own hike. Some go slow, some medium-paced, and some people go at breakneck speed throughout an entire hike. When you write, "The whole objective of taking a great trail like this is to relax and enjoy the scenery," that holds true for you and for many other people. In fact, the majority of hikers would agree with you.

But some people are just naturally made to go faster and could not enjoy a slow pace. I don't even think it's a matter of choice, it's just an inherent thing. If I had to take 20 hours to do Whitney I would lose my mind. A super-fit trail runner would think 8 hours is a pathetically slow pace. Everyone is different in their hiking philosophy. There's a happy medium somewhere in there for all of us.

It is possible to relax and enjoy hiking while doing it fast. It's also possible to take in the scenery and enjoy the experience. Many people, myself included, use long hikes like Whitney or rim to rim at the Grand Canyon as measures of ones fitness and how time diminishes your physical capabilities. It's a challenge to push yourself and try and improve your times, year to year.

I follow the adage, "Hike your own hike" and enjoy hiking as fast as possible. If I see less, so be it, It would be impossible for me to slow down or do it lesiurely. Allow me to use an automobile analogy: does someone driving through Yosemite see more and retain it better when driving 50 MPH as opposed to 30 MPH? In a week's time, I bet it's all equal.

Candace,

I think you would have enjoyed reading a thread on the old board that went on for weeks about the ability of some people to excel at altitude. I even drew the multi-time winner of the "marathon" up Pikes Peak into the conversation. I totally agree with your philosophy. (I'll date myself by saying that my first ascent was in 1972, and use it for an excuse for why I'm slow even when I want to go fast.) There are times when I want to test my fitness (although I'm very slow by elite standards) by "ripping" up the mountain.

Richard is right, I remember the thread he was talking about. There was also a similar thread earlier this year by an ultra marathoner named Deborah who made it up and down Whitney in a sub 8 hour time. I am not physically git enough to go fast but I admire those who can. Heck, who wouldn't want to complete Whitney in 8 hours if they could, as opposed to 18 hours? Less sun exposure, less mental fatique and so forth.

The slow hikers always seem to complain about the fast ones: "slow down, you're not enjoying the scenery," and so on. One thing I've never noticed is the fast hikers telling the slow ones to "go faster, you'll enjoy it more if you're more physically fit." The slow ones can't go faster and the fast ones don't want to go slower. It always amazes me when hikers suggest to other hikers what pace to go. This is an individual sport, live and let live.

We hiked this section of the JMT starting Thurs night around 6:00pm and finished at Happy Isles 3:15am Friday. Reason for the strange time is we were accompanying a friend who completed the south-north JMT in under 4 days (new record as far as we can tell). As Peter was on the tail end of a 220 mile push, this was not a "fast" section so 9 hours is not break-neck speed. 2 years ago when I did the JMT, I did the uphill section - Yosemite to Tuolumne - in approx 8 hours, again not hammering just steady walking with a few downhill shuffles. The trail is in good shape with lots of water along the way. The night sky with Mars shining brightly Thurs was incredible. Have a great couple of days hiking.

daskew, I had a hunch that was you that passed us coming down Island Pass Thursday morningwhile we were going up. Six of us just got back from a great backpack from TM to devils postpile at a leisurly pace. Maybe I will now be able to recognize you next year at trt50. ( I bonked but finished the 50k. Try again next year.)
Yes, there many ways to enjoy a back country trip.

Brian M.

Candace,

I did hike from Tuolumne to Happy Isles. What I
did was - left my Bay Area home around 3:30 am, arrived at the Valley & took the hiker bus to Tuolumne Meadows Visiting Center. Started hiking back down at 11 am & arrived at Happy Isles at 7 pm. Once past Cathedral Lake & before you reached Little Yosemite Valley, saw more deer than hikers. It was quite tough on my feet walking down the rock stairs along Mist Trail, esp when it was also jam-packed with hikers.

I am what you call "wkend athlete" - sit all day working at a desk job & exercise during wkends. So, I never thought of day-hiking from Happy Isles to Tuolumne. Just not fit enough to day hike 27 miles, mostly uphill.

When you are in Tuolumne area, I hope you can find the time to hike the Waterwheel Falls trail. I hiked it in separate trip. Forgot the trail distance, but it is not long. Round trip took me maybe 4 or 5 hrs with plenty of time for pictures, enjoying the scenes, lying down & soaking up the sun. If I remember right, you hike next to 4 or 5 cascade waterfalls. Forgot the names, something like Tuolumne Fall, California Fall, LeConte Fall, Waterwheel Fall. It doesn't have the crowd that you would run into at Mist Trail.

I day-hiked Mt. Whitney in 1998 & 2000 & found the hike more challenging than other day hikes in Yosemite or the rim-to-rim Grand Canyon hike.

Happy hiking!

Thanks to everyone for their stories and assistance. I'll be doing this flip-flop hike this week and I will be interested to see how it compares to the Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim, which I've done, and Whitney. I'm assuming it will be much easier.

The ranger I spoke to, as well as a topo map I have, say the distance from Touloumne Lodge, where I will start, is 27.5 miles one way. Yet others says it's only 22. That must be leaving from the Sunrise trailhead, as if you're going to Cloud's Rest. Well, I'll find out soon enough. Thanks to everyone once more.