Snow Camping at Crane Flat
After completing a snowcamping course with the local Sierra club branch (snowcamping.org) last year, I was eager to get out to try some snowcamping. As it turned out, the days I had available were unseasonably warm, making my solo trip not a “real” test of my new snowcamping skills. Temperatures were in the 40’s (°F. / 4-8°C.) for those few days, and the campsite I found had a flowing stream nearby, meaning I didn’t need to melt snow for water. Nevertheless, with waypoints from a group trip that I had to cancel, I explored the area on snowshoes and attempted my first solo snowcamping in my lightweight summer tent.
Location (Red icon) of Crane Flat in Yosemite National Park, California
GPS Track of my snowshoeing routes and campsite
Day 1: Tuolumne Grove and Tunnel Tree hike, Tioga Pass road to campsite: 5.4 miles - 8.7 km
Before heading to my campsite, I started the day with the short hike to the Tunnel Tree and the Tuolumne Grove of giant Sequoias. The trail was well travelled and had quite a few folks on the snowy trail. I used microspikes instead of snowshoes, which worked fine.
Returning to my car, I gathered my backpack and snowshoes and set off down Tioga Pass road to head to my campsite. The Snowcamping.org group had made a campsite in the area a few weeks prior, and were kind enough to send me their tracks when I had to cancel that trip. Reaching the turn-off, I carefully stepped my way up the hill off-trail to find a nice elevated spot on a hill with a small creek running nearby.
The nearby creek offered flowing water, so I could use my filter instead of having to boil water. I made sure to bring the filter into my tent overnight so it didn’t freeze. With my new Thermarest Neoair XTherm NXT, I was plenty warm overnight in my 15°F down bag.
Day 2: Tioga Pass Road snowshoeing: 5.4 miles - 8.7 km The next morning I had a leisurely breakfast and puttered around the campsite, exploring the hill and experimenting with guylines on my tent. Before noon, I set off to snowshoe up Tioga Pass road, thinking first I might complete the loop around the area on the fire road. There weren’t a lot of expansive views on this part of Tioga Pass Road, and the warm temperatures made the snowshoeing somewhat slushy and tiring. I saw no one else on the trip, just footprints of humans and a few critters. The “fire road” at the turnoff was narrow, slushy and full of hidden potholes, especially further down the trail. I opted to turn around and snowshoe back the way I had come, rather than completing the loop.
Day 3: Tioga Pass Road to Trailhead Parking: 2.3 mi - 3.7 km
After another leisurely breakfast, I packed up and headed out on my snowshoes, pleased that I had managed my first solo snowcamping trip, albeit a very easy one, with success. I stopped to take photos of unidentified critter tracks in the snow, possibly a fox or a bobcat?
My first “test trip” solo snowcamping was successful, and I was glad I had the chance to see the Tuolumne Grove and the Tioga Pass Road in the winter. I would have preferred colder weather to truly test more of my skills, but was glad to have had a successful adventure. Hopefully I’ll be able to get out more in coming winters to experience the beauty of snow-covered wilderness. The Crane Flat area made for an easy and scenic area to experience snowcamping for beginners.
Photos by Cris Lewis; Sony Alpha 6600, 18-135 mm Sony lens
LOGISTICS
The over night parking location is not clear for this area. A ranger at the entrance station told me I could park near the trail head (as long as it was not in a plow turnaround area). Signs in the main parking lot for the Tuolumne Grove clearly prohibit overnight parking.
The season and locale was such that bear-proof containers were still required in this area, although I saw no signs of active bears.