Backpacking Ansel Adams Wilderness
Reds Meadow to Tuolumne Meadows
Introduction
This is a trip report for a 4 Day Backpacking Trip in Ansel Adams Wilderness starting at Reds Meadow Resort and ending at Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park. This trip goes through spectacular places like Garnett Lake, Thousand Island Lake, Donohue Pass and Lyell Canyon.
Planning:
We booked our permits 6 months in advance from www.recreation.gov starting trailhead North of Devils Postpile and ending at Tuolumne Meadows. We prepared home cooked food for dinners on trail as we find them cheaper and more flavorful as compared to the pre-prepared meals.
The Trip:
Day 0: Drive to Reds Meadows Resort.
We had reserved a room at Reds Meadows Resort right on John Muir Trail which we were about to hike on for this trip. We met with our friend at China Camp just outside Yosemite. We left his car at Tuolumne Meadows Trailhead and took our car to Mammoth Lakes. This trip is a point to point trip and hence we had to shuttle our cars. We arrived at the resort in the evening around 6PM and then packed our backpacks to get an early start the next day.
Day 1: Reds Meadows to Rosalie Lake:
Had a hearty breakfast at the Reds Meadow Resort and parked the car at Rainbow Falls Trailhead and started our journey. Rosalie Lake is about 9 miles from the trailhead and the trail is pretty much in the forest with a climb of about ~2200ft. It was a hard first day with not many views along the trail to keep us motivated.
We reached Rosalie Lake around 4:00 PM and there were many good camping spots along the lake. After setting up camp we had dinner and chatted for about an hour. The sunset was dramatic with multiple colors everywhere.
Day 2: Rosalie Lake to Thousand Island Lake:
After the first day of hiking and not much of open views on trail we were thinking that this trip might not be as scenic as we had expected but we were completely wrong. From this point onwards the trail just blew our mind. We woke up at around 6:00AM and had breakfast and some coffee. Started hiking around 8:30 AM and today we had to hike ~8.7 miles with 1600 Ft elevation gain. The trail after Rosalie Lake drops down a series of switchbacks into Shadow Lake which is beautiful.
After Shadow lake the trail starts climbing up near a stream with some snow covered high mountains seen through trees on the other side. Soon we had climbed high enough to a beautiful meadow just before descending to Garnet Lake.
Right after climbing a small pass near the meadow we got our first glimpse of beautiful Garnet Lake and Mt Ritter and Banner. We descended towards Garnet Lake and decided to take a snack break and soak in the hypnotizing scenery.
We started climbing towards a small pass across from Garnet lake on the other side.
Soon after crossing the pass and passing Ruby lake it started raining and hailing as we approached Thousand Island Lake. Hail and Clouds made the stream crossing before Thousand Island Lake look dramatic.
Thousand Island Lake was a sight of beauty for sure. Such a huge landscape with high mountains surrounding. Banner peak is the most prominent peak seen from here and it is huge.
Soon after the clouds cleared we did some laundry and went near the lake shore to enjoy the views. The 360 degree panorama views on Thousand Island Lake were the highlight of the day. Soon we realized that doing laundry was a bad decision as clouds started rolling in again and it rained heavily for 45 mins before sunset. Everything was soaking wet and we only had one dry pair of clothes. Had dinner and went to bed worrying about the wet clothes we had to carry the next day.
Day 3: Thousand Island Lake to Lyell Canyon.
On Day 3 we had planned to go over 2 passes Island Pass and Donohue Pass a total of around 8 miles and 1600ft elevation gain and 2200ft loss. Hike out of Thousand Island Lake was very pretty. Island pass is a mere 400ft elevation gain from Thousand Island Lake and it is an extremely beautiful spot overlooking Thousand Island lake and Banner peak for the last time. From here on, we descended into Rush Creek. On reaching the creek we took a small snack break before starting our climb up to Donohue Pass. Climb to Donohue Pass is scenic with meadows, streams, wild flowers and mountain backdrops throughout. We took many pictures and videos along this stretch as everything around us was just too beautiful. We finally arrived at Donohue Pass and entered Yosemite National Park. Looking on Yosemite Side and also hearing from fellow hikers about the beauty awaiting us on the other side we were very excited.
We started descending into Yosemite and the trail blew our minds. Seemed as if we had entered a fairytale land with Glaciers and an absolutely gorgeous stream flowing from it. I called this place Heaven on Earth and I did not want to leave that place. We took a nice long coffee break and then continued on towards Lyell Canyon.
Leaving the Glaciers behind we were now looking at this beautiful Meadows in Lyell Canyon. Ideal location to set up Camp.
This was our last night of the trip and so we decided to descend all the way to the Canyon, about 2000ft to have a short last day and drive back home. We arrived at huge meadows at the bottom of the Canyon and set up Camp.
Day 4: Lyell Canyon to Tuolumne Meadows:
This was the easiest day of the trip with 8 flat miles along the Meadows. We saw a variety of wildlife, Deers and Coyotes. We had heard from groups hiking in the opposite direction about how Coyotes were trying to scare a Bear Off. We could see Coyotes howling but could not spot the Bear.
The hike was pretty much next to Meadow and streams.
We were nearing the end of the trip and started planning on what food to eat after returning to civilization. This has become a normal part of any of our multi-day trips to discuss food on the last stretch of trail. Finally we arrived at Tuolumne meadows and then started driving back to Rainbow Falls trailhead to pick up the other car.
And we did have a hearty lunch in Mammoth Lakes.
Final Thoughts:
We absolutely love outdoors and being in the wilderness. Looking forward to more such adventures next year and the year after and on and on.
Please practice leave no trace principle while out there in the wilderness so that others that arrive after you are going find the place as it was. Take only memories and leave only footprints.
Leave no trace principles:
https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/
Feel free to reach out to us for suggestions or questions or any help for your next trip. We will try to help you as much as we can!
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