Backpacking Guide - Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

Sierra Rec Magazine Trip Review

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park Sierra Rec Magazine, 2018 – Backpacking in Yosemite is a life goal for many who visit this pristine granite palace in the High Sierra. As a beginning backpacker, I was overjoyed to learn in March that we had secured 6 passes into the Yosemite Wilderness for my first backpacking experience ever. Young Lakes is a beautiful set of three high alpine lakes sitting just over 9800′ at the lowest level and 10,250′ at the high lake with views of Mt Conness, Ragged Peaks and Shepard’s Peak highlighting the panoramic skylines.

Lower Young Lake just before Sunset.

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

The hike into Young Lakes is approx. 7 miles and can be accessed by two main routes with three starting trail-heads. The Dog Lake route or the Toulumne Meadow Route.

On our trip to Young Lakes we had access through the Dog Lake upper route that climbs up behind Lambert Dome to Dog Lake than follows the range as it crosses several meadow and creek regions along the Eastern most r idges of Yosemite National Park.

The route was challenging to a group of beginning backpackers as the climb to start the trip was advanced as the elevation change to Dog Lake from the parking lot made us wonder if we could actually make it. As our group traveled this route we found a brief stop at Dog Lake allowed us to adjust our packs, grab some fuel for the remaining five mile hike and enjoy a beautiful location that is less visited than you might think being so close to Toulumne Meadow.

Dog Lake in Yosemite

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

After Dog Lake, the next 4 miles are a gradual climb as you cross through two creek meadows and the views of Yosemite National Park and the Cathedral Range start to appear behind you all the while Ragged peak expands in the horizon. The final mile into Young Lakes has you decline and then climb again up to the Lower Young Lakes around the backside of Rugged Peaks

Young Lakes Lower Young lake is the most popular camping destination of the three locations (Probably because it is also the first lake and you are ready to be done for the day) Plenty of camp spots to choose from, we lucked out with a spot directly below ragged peak which not only provided a great location with a sandy beach area just below camp, but a spectacular place to watch sunsets as Mt Conness and the remaining rage glowed in the sunset sky.

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

Our first evening was a special night for us, as nobody in our group had ever backpacked before in Yosemite. We set up camp, made ourselves dinner and then headed down 200 feet to the lake for an evening of fishing and relaxing along the shore. Just before sunset, I got the idea to climb up the mountain a bit to get a better shot (picture above), great idea as the shot was perfect, but then I scared out my firstever Yosemite bear. Ok lets be honest he scared me off the mountain was more like it.

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park Sunset was spectacular as we sat along the shore briefly talking about the days hike and just being mesmerized by the jumping fish and glowing reflections in Young Lake.

We wondered what the stars were going to look like that evening knowing all to well that either we were going to sleep like babies because of the long day of hiking or the fact that I saw a bear that close to camp if we were going to sleep at all.

I had decided to hammock camp to save a little pack weight so as I lay awake most of the evening waiting for the bear to visit, I can tell you that the stars were absolutely stunning in the dark night sky. A quick visit by a raccoon about 2 am in the morning woke everyone in camp, but all was good on our first night at camp.

The next morning we were up early to see sunrise adn start planning our days adventures. The bear had visited the beach below camp, but we believe he skipped camp.

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park The group had agreed that our day at Young Lakes was going to be individual adventures instead of a group itinerary. Paul was staying behind to fish and swim all day, Ken was taking a medical relaxation day, as the cramps in his legs were pretty severe the night before. Jacob was taking his boy on a rockhounding adventure around all the lakes and myself and Tom were headed to Upper Young Lakes with an open itinerary based on how the day presented itself. (originally I had plans to hike out to Roosevelt Lake but decided I was not up for another longer hike that day.)

The trail up to the Middle-Young lake and Upper Young lake followed the northern shore of the lakes and meandered a bit as it left the lower lake. A pleasant forested stream area with plenty of wildlife on your hike up to Middle Young. Middle Young was beautiful as well, it has a large marsh area on the south shore that invites exploration and there were several camp spots located on the Northshore area.

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park The trail up to Upper Young lake is a bit steeper and will give you a choice of following the waterfall up through a series of trail switches & well-traveled area where bushes have been trimmed enough to keep finding the trail through the rocks, it is a bit steep but easily traversed. Or to head up the hill a little further north, honestly, we followed the waterfall and never located the other trail coming down.

Upper Young Lake

By far my favorite location on this trip, the upper lake set at the base of the mountains and supported a high alpine meadow on the Northern edge of the lake and a granite basin of rock on the other three shore lines. The water was so clear and cool, inviting us in for a swim. When I reached the lakes edge I took off the boots and put my feet in the water, layed back on the grass and took a nice high alpine nap in teh crisp blue sunlite sky. After an hour nap adn a couple dips in the lake Tom and I explored the Northern basin behind the lake which was a very dry area leading to the base on Mt Conness and looking across Yosemite to Shepherds Peak.

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park On the trip back we circles the upper lake on the Eastern edge finding a Rock cave that look like it was straight of Yogi bear cartoons and one of the strangest rock phenomenons we have ever seen. About 20 feet out in the lake is a huge squarish boulder, under the boulder was a square platform that looked man-made that made us believe that the rock was at some point trying to be transported across the area. As we approached the rock area, we started to believe it was a stone platform, but it had 90 degree corners, so we had to jump in to verify, and sure enough the rock structure had actually landed squarely on another rock roughly the same diameter with nearly perfect 90 degree corners on three sides. As we explored the southern shore we found several other square rocks with perfect fractured angles. And looking up determined that the fascinating rock structures had come from above and were probably forced out by ice dams we assume.

On the western shore of the lake you find a rugged area that gives you multiple spots where you can look down on both the middle and lower lakes with ragged peak in the back drop. This iconic Young Lakes shot is a most find for photographers.

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park It was not easy for me to leave the upper lake. I wish I had brought my hammock and camp supplies as I would have stayed there the second night. A little less protected from the wind, but hands down the most beautiful of the three, plus far fewer people.

Exiting back to Tuolumne Meadow That night we all gathered again for dinner and a great game of UNO along the lake shore as we watched sunset again and Jacob and his son talked about a sunrise dip in the lake. Fast asleep on night two nobody cared much about bears or racoons any longer. It had been a great day and it was a little sad to think we would be leaving in the morning.

I woke a couple times that night and watched the big dipper scroll across the sky along with one of the best shooting stars I have ever witnessed. But overall I sleep well and loved sleeping in the hammock. We all ate breakfast and started packing up camp, as we wanted to make it down so we could see a little more of Yosemite before we left.

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park The trip back we decided to complete the loop and took the trail directly to Tuolumne meadow, great choice as is was basically a 6.5-mile slow grade downhill hike with only one small climb. We all agreed we would not have wanted to walk in this way, as it never flattened out over 6 miles.

The Cathedral Range

Leaving the forest for the first time and seeing the Cathedral range from the trail was a great site coming down. We were soon back in the meadow and working on getting the cars picked up and the bear canisters returned.

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park

The Trail out of Young Lakes to Tuolumne Meadows

We would finish out the trip with a visit to Olmsted Point, a swim in Tenaya Lake and a big juicy cheeseburger in Lee Vining. We can’t wait to return for our next adventure, and I will definitely return to Young Lakes.

Backpacking Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park