by adrianhoff » Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:50 am
What route? The Merced Lake to Vogelsang trail splits two miles above the High Sierra camp. Not much difference in length, but the outer (Lewis Creek) trail is steeper. If you do a loop — down one and up the other — stopping points will depend on the direction of your loop.
The previous post makes sense. Merced Lake’s shoreline is a great place to explore with a camera. But you can’t camp there. And, unless you’re strong hikers, Tuolumne to Vogelsang to Merced Lake and back in four days doesn’t leave much time for wandering around the lake. Just catching a quick glimpse of it from the trail before heading back probably isn’t worth the effort — especially if you’re doing a loop, Turning around at the Lewis Creek / Fletcher Creek trail junction eliminates a very steep one-mile trek to and from the flat, forested area around Merced Lake.
I do this hike as part of a longer loop. If Merced Lake is my stopping point I stay in the backpacker’s area next to the High Sierra Camp. Otherwise I stop mid-way between Little Yosemite Valley and Merced Lake, and then about mid-way between Merced Lake and Vogelsang. I’ve not looked into restrictions on camping near the HSC. There are plenty of flat places with access to water in the forested area between the lake and the steep ascent going back towards Vogelsang. But the whole area is within one mile of the HSC and may be restricted.
Once you hit that steep ascent, probably the first decent campsite with water on the Fletcher Creek trail will be at the Babcock Lake cutoff. On the Lewis Creek trail you’ll start seeing places you could pitch a tent (with water access) about a mile past the split with the Fletcher Creek trail. There’s a nice spot near your first major creek crossing (outflow from Florence Lake) with a giant cascade nearby.
Beyond that, there are several places you could stop before reaching Vogelsang lake. Likewise, on the other trail there are adequate campsites between Babcock Lake and Vogelsang. If you plan to maximize mileage and stop when tired or when darkness approaches, you aren't limited to the above mentioned sites.