Yosemite During the week of June 20th

[Fairlaner]

As i have never ridden across any of the passes of the Sierra's (except Ebbets with RJ) and i have to be in Carson City on june 24th i was thinking of spending a few days at the end of June doing just that.

I talked with Madmike about it while we were in Dv last month and he suggested posting up and see who was interested.

So here you go, who's interested?

Base camp will be likely be in the Sonora or Mariposa area (open to useful suggestions) and we will ride out from there and back to there.

I am going to start looking for hotels/Motels next week and will post up what i find.

Input is always helpful.

R

Spot link is HERE

 

[puppychow]

I would vote for Mariposa. I will be there.

 

[SacramentoMike]

My typical wishy-washy response is: "Gee, I'd like to make it. We'll see." By the way, if you're choosing between 120 or 108--take 108. Better yet, do both. Or do 108 twice. :yahoo:

I'll be watching the thread, though.

 

[FJRBluesman]

I have not done the 120 over... Hmmm.

 

[Fairlaner]

Mike the plan will be to do all of them if they are open........

I will be looking into Mariposa Motels and post up what i find.....

R

 

[russperry]

Whether the passes be open by late June this year is questionable I think. Last year the NPS opened up Tioga Road on June 5th, and we've had LOTS more snow this year than last. It will of course depend on how quickly it warms up, or if we get any warm rain spells which really accelerates the melt, but in my mind June is not a sure bet this year.

 

[TomInPA]

I'm in. Cal Trans will make all possible effort to open Tioga Pass by Memorial Day. Very rare that it wouldn't be open by the time you plan this ride. Hopefully we can ride Tioga, and cross Sonora or Ebbetts Pass on the return to make a loop.

Sonora is more centrally located for traveling the passes. There is a Best Western, Days Inn, Heritage Inns of CA, and many other choices. There is not much going on in Mariposa, so Sonora offers at least some alternatives. Jackson also provides access to all the passes.

 

[puppychow]

Best Western, Comfort Inn, Super 8 are in Mariposa as well and Mariposa is a great town compared to Sonora which is more blah....(which would also mean cheaper though).

Sonora does have some casinos and stuff and maybe centrally located to the passes, however not so centrally located to Yosemite itself which we (I would like to) should be concentrating on. Lots to see and do in Yosemite. Although it maybe the passes that you might be interested in instead, from the amount of snow we have gotten 108 might be doubtful. 120 probably will open, hopefully also the other access highways to Yosemite.

Mariposa may lack the casino night life of Sonora, but Mariposa also has some great restaurants and some fun little bars.

I still vote for Mariposa, but can stay wherever the group is staying.

 

[James Burleigh]

Doing a Yosemite MC trip in early August, with a two-night reservation. June 20 I will be out of town.

 

[TomInPA]

Okay, I defer to Puppychow as an authority on hotels. Also from Mariposa, the ride on 49 between Mariposa and Coulterville is very nice, and has been called the "Little Dragon" for all of the turns packed into the canyon crossings.

Not my video, but a taste of the local roads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=094znyQJfW4

 

[SacramentoMike]

.

The famous "Dragon" is 11 miles long. Eleven freaking miles. Maybe it's the "little" dragon.

 

[Fairlaner]

Actually i always defer to Tripadvisor for hotel/motel info and the 3 in Mariposa don't get very good reviews...........

Still looking.

R

 

[ynotride]

Very tempting. I just bought the yearly National Park Pass in DV and I have to get my moneys worth. I just need to confirm I can get the days off

 

[exskibum]

Yeah -- that might be some fun; can probably make it. We did the 4 passes in a day last year, and started with Tioga (120) eastbound, then Sonora (108) westbound, Ebbetts (4) eastbound and Carson (88) westbound. We did not do Monitor (89), but the best way to add Monitor to the other 4 passes is probably to ride it over and back from 4 to Topaz Lake (east and then west).

Either 4 or 5 passes, that's a full day of riding. We met for an early breakfast at Groveland, stopped in Sonora for lunch, a late break in Markleeville and back to 49 near dusk. CAJW did a great job of setting it up and plotting the route.

 

[Fairlaner]

I am planning on doing these over a few days, will head up to the base hotel Monday and ride the passes Tuesday and Wednesday then do a pass on the way to Carson City on Thursday.

Thats my plan at this point.

R

 

[exskibum]

I am planning on doing these over a few days, will head up to the base hotel Monday and ride the passes Tuesday and Wednesday then do a pass on the way to Carson City on Thursday.
Thats my plan at this point.

Cool, Richard. That means we who live only an hour or two away can just ride down to meet you in the morning for a day's more leasurely** loop. That's definitely doable if you post each day's plan and meet up spot with a little more notice than we generally get from OM.

** Strike that modifier -- I forgot for a moment who is "leading" this ride (and his usual pace). :lol:

 

[Fairlaner]

depends if he is on the FJR or the hondapotomus..........

R

 

[puppychow]

Yep, Mariposa hotels get a lot more people traffic than Sonora would. Mariposa is to Yosemite, what Beatty is to Death Valley - lots of tourists moving through day after day after day, except in even more massive amounts since this is Yosemite we are talking about.

The price for convenient access to Yosemite, without actually staying in the park itself.

I have stayed at the Mariposa Lodge before, and it was GREAT! I do love the town of Mariposa as well. I do not have any personal experiences with the other chain hotels in Mariposa - you would have to defer to tripadvisor for that and if the reviews are sketchy - then it probably is so.

Mariposa lodge is however not cheap at $109/night. I personally love staying in Mariposa, however it is not just me who will be staying there for this trip so...

Other options would be in Oakhurst, but then we are moving further south and away from the passes in the north. Maybe Sonora would be the better balance between access to Yosemite and access to the passes as well as lighter on the wallet!

EDIT - I have a feeling though, that most chain hotels in this area (Sonora or Mariposa) and the other inexpensive ones are going to have bad or mixed reviews.

 

[Fairlaner]

THIS gets the best review in the Sonora area and looks to be the cheapest also.....

I will leave a few days to see what takers we get and go from there.

R