Places Yosemite or Glacier

“Hello Everyone

My friends and I are planning a backpacking trip and we are split on which place to visit Yosemite or Glacier. The trip would probably be the middle of June and I know that might be a little early for Glacier High Trails but might be less crowded for Yosemite. Nobody in our group has ever visited either park. We are probably looking to spend 6 or 7 days and we are not positive if we will have a vehicle the entire the trip.

And just a little bit more we just regular backpackers not mountaineering or necessarily high country or demanding on peak bagging.

thanks for the help and suggestions its appreciated”

“Emigrant Wilderness may be a better hike in June. You'll want to stay below treeline.”

“June's a little early for Sierra high country unless you are comfortable traveling on snow at the passes and higher altitudes. But, there are a lot of trips that are below 10 K. Big water and big mosquitos will be your primary concerns.”

“Try Desolation too, by Lake Tahoe. You can get away from most people in a longer day of bping. :Permits required, no fires, dogs on leash. El Nino this year, so things out west may be slow to open.”

“I did a Desolation hike about the same time of year, and recommend this as a great compromise. Yosemite at altitude will have deep, and probably wet snow, given the warm temps, and it's a slog to get through that. Gaiters help.”

“Desolation is my backyard. If you have any questions, post up. I have done most of that wilderness and there are some outstanding long hikes to be done. It doesn't have the altitude and mass of the Eastern Sierra, but it is stunning.”

“Glacier is very questionable in June. Two years ago Going to the Sun road didn't even open until the middle of June. However, we haven't had much snow on the eastern side of the park this year so you might be fine.”

“I cannot vouch for many Natl Parks - I have dogs.

The Sawtooth Wilderness and/or White Cloud Peaks should be mostly accessable mid-June. Try there.

Sawtooth Valley National Recreation Area, ID.”

“would be easier to get at Yosemite, but you could follow gojo lead and go to the Sawtooths .All the above are in one word (BEAUTIFUL)
last edited: 1/26/10 8:46:52 AM”

“One year I had to go into the Yolla Bolly Middle Eel Wilderness in mid July due to too much snow down my Mammoth/June Lakes. When I did hit June Lakes/Silver Lake TH in Oct. that year, still snow up higher that had not melted off, Elizabeth? above Thousand Island had only thawed out a quarter and was refrozen when Pooch and I had lunch above it. Went back down to Thousand Island for the night.”

“The Chief Mountain area of Glacier NP (NE corner) is clear earlier than most of the rest of Glacier. A lot of people hike there in June. Alternately, you could do the northern part of Yellowstone, in the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone. It's beautiful and also dries out earlier than much of the rest of the Rockies.

Since this is an el Nino year, Yosemite is likely to be snowier than usual. The Hetch Hetchy area might be clear earlier than the higher country.

The Sangre de Christos Range in southern Colorado would also be a possibility, or the Sandia mountains near Albuquerque.”

“Have you considered the Uinta Range, UT?
More southerly climes. Good elevation. Nice walk from what I hear. They are the largest east-west oriented mountain range this side of the Alps - I do know that :)”

“I've been to both Yosemite and Glacier and I think both are worth visiting in a lifetime, but if I had to choose one, it would be Yosemite. More diversity in my opinion and more beautiful. In fact I want to go back in late June 2011 so I can see bigger falls than the ones I experienced in September. Also as others have said, we couldn't get the permit we wanted in Glacier even though we applied 6 months in advance, and once we got there we realized transportation around the park wasn't as good as it was in Yosemite and Yellowstone, there are no buses that run up the west side of Glacier. But really you can't go wrong with either, each is different and has something unique to offer.”

“Thanks everyone for all of the ideas. Now comes the research and decision making. That is really early for both places I understand. I will have to do some more research around my travel time from work.

I just came to the ideas of these parks from the notoriety from magazines and past forum discussions.

Is late June early July the time that both of these parks start seeing more visitors as the trails opening? Or is it more around middle july you think?

Also Yosemite would allow multiple airports where glacier would allow? Billings? Spokane?

thanks again everyone”

“If you do go to Glacier, and you're a meat eater, you need to go to Babb and eat at the Cattle Barron Supper Club. Best steak I've ever eaten and I've eaten a lot of them.”

“You would fly into Great Falls (1.5 hrs.) or Kalispell (30 min.) to get to Glacier.

How long ago Dub? Everyone here says that it isn't good anymore.”

“The best June hike I've done was in the Pecos Wilderness in New Mexico (near Santa Fe).”

“It was 2007 I think. We got in line after getting off the trail around 4:30 and wondered why there was a line, just assumed that it was the only restaurant around. A local told me the line was because it was the best steak I'll ever eat. Having had some expensive steaks from many many states and in other countries, I laughed. After tasting the steak I couldn't believe that a ridiculous looking establishment in the middle of no where could have a steak like that, it was amazing. It cost around $27 for the meal and you got a 2lbs ribeye cooked to order, marinated and seasoned, a potato baked and covered in a ranch like dressing with bacon and some other stuff, steamed vegetables, and a salad. It was heaven.”

“Have you been to Argentina? They have the best steak.”

“Picked up some nice filets from Costco the other week. YUM!”