Trip advice

[Rx88]

Planning a trip for next late spring summer looking for some input from people that have been there and suggestions. There are so many places I want to go so it makes it hard to decide at this point. I’m considering either Yosemite in late may, glacier in late June, Rocky Mountain in late may early June, or possibly grand Teton that way I could also do Yellowstone. It would be a week long trip lots of hiking my concern with Yosemite is the crowds that it attracts. It would be me and my wife going so it would be nice if there were other attractions to do too to switch it up over the week

Any input would be greatly appreciated even if it not one of these


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LarryBoy]

Any of those destinations in late may/early june would see considerable snowpack still. Ice axe, spikes, and self-arrest training is mandatory for anything in the upper elevations. Think of it this way - in a typical snow year, even PCT hikers, who are on a race against the clock to get to Canada before it snows, don't typically enter the Sierra before about the second week of June. Granted it was a big snow year this year, but I know a couple different people who went to Yosemite this year and came back disappointed because nothing was open/accessible yet.

I personally find the Memorial Day time of year to be one of the most difficult to time correctly - the desert is getting warm, and the mountains are still by and large snowbound. You might try some of the High Desert areas - say, Bryce Canyon in UT, which is anywhere from 7-9k feet. Great Basin National Park is an interesting possibility as well.

 

[Rx88]

Any of those destinations in late may/early june would see considerable snowpack still. Ice axe, spikes, and self-arrest training is mandatory for anything in the upper elevations. Think of it this way - in a typical snow year, even PCT hikers, who are on a race against the clock to get to Canada before it snows, don't typically enter the Sierra before about the second week of June. Granted it was a big snow year this year, but I know a couple different people who went to Yosemite this year and came back disappointed because nothing was open/accessible yet.

I personally find the Memorial Day time of year to be one of the most difficult to time correctly - the desert is getting warm, and the mountains are still by and large snowbound. You might try some of the High Desert areas - say, Bryce Canyon in UT, which is anywhere from 7-9k feet. Great Basin National Park is an interesting possibility as well.

Yea that’s a good point I know glaciers tourist season starts in July and have read they open mountain roads in late June that’s why I was thinking maybe last week of June for then. But I wouldn’t mind doing arches anyone been out there in late may?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LarryBoy]

Yea that’s a good point I know glaciers tourist season starts in July and have read they open mountain roads in late June that’s why I was thinking maybe last week of June for then. But I wouldn’t mind doing arches anyone been out there in late may?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It'll be warm but as long as you utilize the mornings and evenings and drink lots of water you'll be fine. Nice little siesta in the middle of the day. Sounds fun.

 

[Jackson]

Yea that’s a good point I know glaciers tourist season starts in July and have read they open mountain roads in late June that’s why I was thinking maybe last week of June for then. But I wouldn’t mind doing arches anyone been out there in late may?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If crowds are a primary concern, Arches will be pretty busy that time of year. That said, there's a ton of stuff near Moab and you can get away from crowds fairly easily, especially considering your plans to spend a lot of your time hiking.

I'd suggest maintaining as flexible of a schedule as you can. If you're going to have to buy plane tickets, then that's a bit more difficult. It's just that that time of year is tricky for mountains. We could have a low snow year and you could be able to see a good chunk of Yellowstone and Grand Teton in June. Or it could be very snowy and southern Utah could be your best bet. We just won't have a good idea until at least March or April of next year. And even then, there can be a lot of late season snowfall.