Yosemite and Sequoia or Washington and Oregon?
 

Going in June 2010 for 10 days.Would love to hike Half dome,but don't like crowds.And Memorial weekend 2010 falls on May 31 ,so we would go on June 7 which is closer to summer and more crowds.
Or should we fly to Oregon and hike mt St Helen to the crater,see Columbia river gorge,Mt Baker and Mt Rainier and than fly back to Fl from Seattlle?
I am still in early stage of planning.We love spectacular hikes like Grand canyon rim river rim,Old Rack mountains,Angel landing at Zion,Subway at Zion etc.
So which itenerary you think would be more exiting?

My first thoughts were:

Check to make sure the cables on Half Dome are up before you go.

If you don't like crowds, Yosemite Valley in the summer might not be the place for you. June 7 is early enough so it won't be as crowded as it will be a month later, but there will be plenty of folks. If staying in the Valley, you will notice things quiet down significantly in the afternoon as day visitors leave and in the early mornings before the day visitors arrive. Late afternoon and early morning are my favorite times to take a walk into the meadows in the center of the valley. My expeience has also been that once you get away from the hotels and campgrounds in the Valley it is a quite peaceful and lovely place. The ever changing views and perspective of the Valley walls from a walk around the Valley is something to be experienced.

I haven't been to any of the places in Oregon and Washington that you mention, so I can't compare, but if spectacular day hikes are what you are craving, there are tons of them in Yosemite Valley including, but not limited to Half Dome.

Hiking up Yosemite Falls
Panorama Trail into the Valley from Glacier Point

If the Tioga Road (120) is open into Tuolomne Meadows while you are there, some worthy and favorite hikes from the road are North Dome, Clouds Rest and Mt. Hoffman. It might be a bit early for Mt. Hoffman and there might still a bit of snow on Clouds Rest, but check conditions while you are there.

I think that you are going to have to weigh your desire to hike Half Dome with your aversion to crowds and see which wins out :) Access to Half Dome is through Yosemite Valley and the valley is quite crowded in the summer. If you decide to go, make sure it is mid-week so as to minimize the number of people there.

If you are a backpacker, then you've got a second option. I know several people who have backpacked into the area near Half Dome and camped there, and then gone to the top of Half Dome as a day hike from their camp. It worked out well because they were able to get to the top of Half Dome before the hikers starting from the valley floor got there. Plus they spent a minimal amount of time in the valley and avoided crowds almost entirely.

Sequoia NP is great - not really crowded at all, even in the height of the summer. There are people on the main roads and on the main hikes, but it is really easy to leave them all behind.

Good advice from iamq. The crowds in Yosemite are in the valley; once you get more than a mile up the trail there are not many people. We hiked up Half Dome in the middle of summer and found about the same number of people on the trail as we found on the Grand Canyon trails. You're definitely not alone, but it wasn't "crowded".

We hiked up Cloud's Rest, also in mid-summer, and had the trail pretty much to ourselves. That is a glorious hike---I much prefer it to Half Dome.

One way to avoid the crowds in the valley is to get a backpacking permit and camp up in Little Yosemite Valley. You can ascend both Half Dome and Cloud's Rest from there.

As for Washington and Oregon---if you go in late May/early June, both Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier will be under snow. Lots and lots of people go up Mt. St. Helens on Memorial Day weekend. And on Mother's Day there is a tradition to ascend wearing a dress:

http://www.northwestmagazines.com/no...others-day.php

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/mt...2007/614910446

One person described it as "climbing with 600 of your best friends". Not for someone who doesn't like crowds. But if you go Memorial Day or later, the quota system is in effect. It used to be limited to 100 people per day; I don't know if that still holds true. Most people use snowshoes or skis with climbing skins for the ascent, and then ski down.

As for Mt. Rainier---you can hike on the snow as far as Camp Muir at 10,400 feet without a climbing permit. That is a wonderful hike when the weather is good. I've done it on skis in mid-May; lots of people do it in boots too. In early June you would likely still be on snow the whole hike. This is a challenging and spectacular hike, probably about as tough as Half Dome in terms of elevation gain but not as long in mileage. There is one steep section where you have to kick steps.

Mt. Baker would still be under snow too. Early June is actually prime backcountry skiing time up here; the high trails don't open up to hiking until later. I've skied up near Mt. Baker as late as mid-July, and a couple of years ago the trails were still under snow until August.

So unless you want to hike and climb on snow---Yosemite is a better choice for that time of year.

Sorry november_moon---I didn't see your post while I was writing mine. You gave great advice too!

Information on applying for a backcountry camping permit for Yosemite:

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildpermits.htm

Yes enzian, isn't the view from Clouds Rest just breathtaking? Since you are higher up than Half Dome, the views are very different, dare I say better? Hiking up the final ridge/saddle amazing.

Hi Bill---not just the views: I like the whole hike better. And I love hiking/scrambling up the rocks at the top---much more fun that those #$@!!* cables. And from Cloud's Rest you are looking DOWN onto Half Dome, a thousand feet lower.

We went from Tenaya Lake, so we also avoided that long sandy stretch thru Little Yosemite--we called it "the beach" but it gets tiresome. I don't know that one could do that in late May.

We only saw 5 other people the whole day; one was a trail runner who was going from Tuolumne over Cloud's Rest and then down to the valley that day.

Thank you all for great advice.I have been doing some research about accomodation at Yosemite and those are my options for 7 of us.Only 3 or 4 people would be avid hikers,so we need comfortable stay for rest of the family.I was looking for convenient and also relaxing accomodation and this is what I found if somebody stay there or very close and could have some feedback.Would be appreciated.
http://www.vrbo.com/111490
http://www.vrbo.com/128685
http://www.vrbo.com/141500

The first and third are in Yosemite West which would be about a 20 - 30 minute ride into the Valley and about 40 minutes up to Glacier Point.

The second one is in Foresta, which is off Highway 120 before it enters the Valley. Some of the rentals in Foresta acutally have a far off view of the Valley.

Between the two locations, I would pick Yosemite West as it is sort of midway between the Valley and Mariposa Big Trees.

It's too bad you're not staying in the Valley.

Well, Enzian, it looks like the OP changed her mind about Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker after what you wrote, but I am very interested. Backcountry skiing looks like a great way to extend the ski season.

Is there any particular area you would recommend to first-timers? We are expert skiers, but haven't tried the "earn your turns" thing. We do have some vacation planned in early June and could use that.

So your choice is Yosemite, good. About Sequoia: there is Kings Canyon park next to it, and it's simply spectacular! Don't miss the great veiws, make it to the John Muir rock.

Hmmm, Nora_S. I wouldn't recommend just going out and trying backcountry skiing without a guide or someone who knows what they are doing. You need avalanche awareness training, and need to carry transceivers and know how to use them.

You might see if there is someone in your area who can get you started.

Once you know what you are doing, if you want to come over and give it a try, there are several areas on Mt. Rainier that offer great June skiiing with no route-finding challenges and little avalanche hazard. One is Edith Creek Basin up at Paradise---just park up there and follow the others. Or ski down the closed road to the hairpin turn and hike up from there to find a slope to your liking. Another would be Mt. Ruth on the other side of the mountain, once highway 410 opens. You park at White River campground (if you can get that far) and hike into the Interglacier area. Mt. Ruth beckons---it is obvious. There is a creek to cross and hopefully you can find a snow bridge.

You won't be alone in either place, but it's not crowded either.

I wouldn't go up to Muir Hut or the Muir snowfield without a guide who knows the way. The skiing up there is very easy, anyway--it's a very gentle slope most of the way.

Early June might be the best time to hike Half Dome. This is when I did it some years back. If you are there during the week, the weekend crowds won't be there and the summer season really starts a week later. Also, in June the falls are full and the days are long. This is important if you are going to hike Half Dome in one day. And, finally, there's less chance of thunderstorms then than in mid-summer.

Cloud's Rest is great too as others have said but unless you are in absolutely terrific shape, it's a backpack trip. Besides, you can't buy a t-shirt afterwards that says you climbed Cloud's Rest.

Dayenu - thanks for the tip about Muir Rock. I've never been there but will check it out on my next trip to Cedar Grove. It sounds like that would be best in August when the swimming is most tolerable.