Late July Yosemite and Monache Trip

[Robert J. Yates]

Its the 2007....... part hiking, part climbing, part wheeling, part camping Yates Family Adventure

On Saturday July 28th, Tricia, myself and our 3 kids will depart la Verne and head up to Yosemite where we have a tent cabin reserved in Currie Village for 3 nights. We will be traveling in my TJ and Adventure Trailer along with Kendra's XJ.

On Sunday morning July 29th, myself, Kendra and Garrett (Tricia's oldest) will hit the trail for Half Dome. We will make the 11 mile hike ito the the base of the granite dome where we will set up a mini base camp. Around 3-4am, we will depart under whats left of the full moon for the chain stairs up Half Dome where we hope to summit in time for the Sunrise. We will then return to Currie Village and the tent cabin by Monday afternoon for some rest and a decent dinner.

On Tuesday morning (July 31), we will depart Yosemite and head for Monache Meadows which is located past the Black Rock Ranger Station off Sherman pass Road in Eastern Sequoia NF. We will be spending 3 nights in Monache.

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If you are interested in climbing Half Dome with us, you are more than welcome as long as you are prepared. Since we will be spending approximately 40 hours on the trail, you will need a backpack, sleeping bag, food and capability for water filtration and storage. A headlight would be a plus in case the moon does not want to cooperate. You will however, need to make your own lodging/camping accomodations in Yosemite as we are maxed out with 5 of us in 1 tent cabin and cannot spare any room.

It is expected that you will also be in decent physical condition to do this hike/climb. It is 11 miles to the base of Half Dome and then straight up the chainstairs to the summit!

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If you want to pass on Half Dome (don't blame you LOlz), and wish to wheel Monache with us, we can make arrangements to meet at the Black Rock Ranger Station Tuesday (July 31) early/mid afternoon or in Monache itself if you are familiar with it.

For those that are not familiar with Monache, it is a true gem in the high sierras'. There is 4 wheeling, fishing, hiking, mtn. biking and lots of room to spread out and enjoy the silence. The So. Fork of the Kern River runs right through the middle of it. I am hoping that on Tuesday, the campsite at the north end of Monache is free but if its not, we will be camped in the trees before the trail drops down into the river flat. I'm attaching a few links that give directions and personal perspective/trip reports of the area......

http://www.4x4now.com/sf0297.htm

http://www.climber.org/DrivingDirections/monache.html

http://www.kernvalley.com/news/monache.htm

http://www.ericrench.com/FOURWHEEL/S...UG03/index.htm

Again, if you wish to join in on this portion of the trip, we are glad to have you along as long as you are properly prepared ie. your vehicle is in good working order with recovery points, spares specific to your rig and you carry appropriate food, water and camping gear.

These trails are not difficult but they are very very remote. Please do not rely on me to pack for you or be able to fix your rig. I won't leave anyone stranded but you do need to be self sufficient.

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Lastly, some of you may recall a trip Kendra and I did years ago right after she got her drivers license. A trip into Monache behind the wheel of her own Jeep is a memory we both treasure. We are looking forward to rekindling that memory along with making new ones with the folks we have added to our family. See you all on the trails.

http://www.jeepbbs.net/forums/showth...hlight=monache