It’s early May, and I have decided to hike into Tehipite Valley this summer.
Tehipite Valley is 72 miles southeast of Yosemite Valley and much hard to get to. There are no roads, and the full-day hike to reach the valley is invariably described as “very strenuous.” The last section is a descent of more than 3,000 feet in 2.5 miles on a badly maintained trail. What you gain is a valley that gets very few visitors, and on some days none. One big reason I go backpacking is that I seek solitude, and this is what Tehepite promises.
I’m not worried about the 3,000 climb in and out of the valley, as I have done similar things before. But there are other worries. Most trip reports mention that the valley floor is home to an unusual number of rattlesnakes. I don’t like snakes. When I was a kid, I was constantly worried about snakes when playing outdoors, even though I only remember one harmless encounter. I’ve met a few rattlesnakes backpacking in the Mojave, and even though in all cases they fled from me, my heart rate was up for a long time after the encounter. For hours afterwards, every vaguely snake-shaped stick in my path made it go back up.
The heat is another worry. While the trailhead is at 7,600 feet elevation, the valley floor is at 4,000 and the temperature can reach 100 degrees when I plan to go in July. The reason I’m not considering to go in September, when it’s cooler, is that in July my wife is taking our kids to visit her parents for two weeks, making it possible for me to go on this trip without having a bad conscience.
Apart from the snakes and the elevation difference, the trip reports are unanimous in that one day on the valley floor isn’t enough to explore it. This is why I’m planning to stay at least two nights, and at least a full day, in the valley. Depending how the logistics work out, I may even spend two full days down there.
I hope to be back with a post on how my plans are progressing in a few weeks.
Nehaveigur 