I love checking out the Gaylor Lakes Basin as soon as Tioga Road reopens for the season. Will the lakes still be iced over? Will those lakes hold beautiful reflections? Will I see pika? Yes, yes and yes! Where: Yosemite National Park and a smidge over into Inyo National ForestDistance: 6.17 MilesDifficulty: ModerateElevation Range: 9,943′ – 10,817′Elevation Gain: 1,356′Date: June ...
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Hiking to Snowy Gaylor Basin
Tioga Road had closed due to a storm but would it reopen before an even bigger storm was due to dump serious snow? The short answer is yes it did, for about 2 1/2 days, and I couldn’t wait to get up there to see if those Gaylor Basin lakes were icing up. Where: Hoover Wilderness, Inyo National ForestDistance: 3.06 ...
Read More »Tioga Road Has Reopened: Hiking to Gaylor, Granite Lakes & the Old Mining Town of Dana City
That day when Tioga Road opens up in spring should be an official holiday. I celebrated that special day by taking a road trip from Entrance Gate to Entrance Gate, admiring the views and saying hello to old friends like Tenaya Lake and Tioga Pass. I also had a wonderful hike to the Gaylor Basin with icy lakes and Pikas, ...
Read More »Hiking From Tioga Pass to Gaylor Lakes, Dana City and Gaylor Peak
I hiked alone but I wasn’t by myself. I walked in the footprints of miners dreaming of hitting a huge ledge of silver, building a town in the Tioga Pass area at 10,760′ elevation to support their mining operations but that town was only there for about 4 years. Oh, and that part about not being by myself? Besides the ...
Read More »Hiking From Tioga Road To Gaylor, Granite Lakes & the Old Mining Town Of Dana City
A huge ledge of silver is said to run along the Tioga Crest, enticing many to search the area, hoping to strike it rich with their mine. The Sheepherder Mine was one of those mines, discovered and rediscovered. The community of Dana was one of those towns, said to have had up to 1,000 people living in it at the ...
Read More »Hiking Through July Snow To Gaylor, Granite Lakes & The Old Mining Town Of Dana City
First day that Tioga Road was fully open and we headed to lakes that we hoped would still be iced over, even in July. Lots of history in this area and I can’t help thinking of the people who made that history. As we know, most miners did not strike it rich and some do not have happy endings. I ...
Read More »Hiking to Gaylor and Granite Lakes then up to the Old Mining Town of Dana
Some of us snowshoed, some of us hiked and all of us postholed and sank through the spring snow on our way up to beautiful frozen lakes in the Tioga Pass area with blue sky and white puffy clouds to add some sparkly to the day. Where: Yosemite National Park, Inyo National Forest Distance: 4.98 Miles Difficulty: Moderate Elevation Range: ...
Read More »Snowshoeing up to Gaylor, Granite Lakes and Dana City in July!
Snowshoeing in the Tioga Pass area in July? Yes indeed! How else could we travel across the solid snowfields full of suncups to some beautiful lakes and the old mining town of Dana City? Where: Yosemite National Park, Inyo National Forest Distance: 5.3 Miles Difficulty: Moderate Elevation Range: 9,945′ – 11,025′ Date: July 5, 2017 Map: Falls Ridge Quad Dog Hike? ...
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