Winter Camping in Little Yosemite Valley

Leaving behind my basecamp, I swung my boots out of the tent, buckled up my snow shoes, and shlepped my day pack over my shoulder. Filled with excitement and a good amount of fear—the winter and myself have not mixed well—I was on a photo mission. What was I trying to capture? A frozen Merced Lake reflection in the Yosemite wilderness.

Learning to Winter Camp

A few years prior to this outing, I had passed this lake and its gorgeous reflection in the late spring. Slightly frozen at the time, I told myself that I would come back and see what this place looked like during the winter. Maybe I was crazy, but curiosity had gotten this cat. I wanted to experience snow surrounding the frozen lake all to myself in a winter wonderland. But, when would I go? I needed to get better at winter camping. But, how do you prepare for winer camping?

For the next few years, I developed my ability to winter camp, going on small trips whenever I could. There was so much to learn that I had never done before like:

Walking in snowshoes
Cooking during the winter
Melting snow into water
Layering clothing correctly as to not overheat and sweat while carrying a heavy backpack
Learning how to prevent your water bottles from freezing
Understanding sleeping systems while winter camping

The list seemingly goes on and on for the learning curve to winter camp, but I was dedicated to the experience.

No Time like the Present

The time had come to find out if my practice trips had paid off, so I loaded my car and head to Yosemite Valley for a solo, winter backpacking trip into Little Yosemite Valley. As I pulled into the winter wonderland, I immediately noticed the lack of humans in Yosemite Valley. As I had never been to Yosemite in the heart of the winter, I was used to crowds of humans walking around the streets and stopping traffic to take a photograph. This was different. Everything was white, people were bundled up, and nobody was stopping traffic.

I knew that I needed a wilderness permit to go backpacking in Yosemite, but I didn’t expect the encounter that I did when getting my permit. It kinda went like this:

“Hey there, can I get a wilderness permit?”

“Who are you going with and what is your route?” the ranger responded

“I’ll be going alone and headed to Merced Lake for a few days to take photographs.”

“You are going alone? What experience do you have with winter camping?” the ranger questioned, highly sceptical.

“I have done a few practice runs and yes, I will be going alone.” I repeated with confidence.

Taking a long pause, the range looked me up and down, “We are short staffed right now, so if something is to happen to you, please understand there is a good chance we wont be able to get to you for several days. Make sure you have extra fuel and food. Will you be bringing skis?”

I got my permit.

Walking out of the range station with my head high, I grabbed my bag and headed down the trail.

A rushing river coated with snow while winter camping in yosemite — A rushing river coated with snow while winter camping in Yosemite National Park. Photograph by Dalton Johnson

Reaching Snow and Beginning the Jounrey

Audible crunches from under the snow shoes, bringing me closer to the lake, as I make each step. My pack is heavy with camera gear, so I balance myself with my hiking poles. Keeping balance is now a core exercise, while moving at a pace so that I don’t sweat, yet reach my destination is the newest task.

Up and up and up I went to climb out of Yosemite Valley into the Yosemite wilderness. Snow was everywhere, I was nervous. Outside of snow crunching under my feet, the snow dampens all sounds, so the world is extra quiet. I’ll be honest, I am not sure I am ready to have this much quiet. Alone, me and my thoughts, wandering though the snowy white world.

As I continued to walk, the trail slipped away. There was too much snow. I was officially on my own now. In a slight chuckle to myself, I say outloud, “I can see why the ranger said it might take them a few days to come get me.” Nerves were getting me.

Actually, my nerves were getting me so bad, I had to sit down and re-evaluate if I wanted to try to pull this thing off. I mean, what if I died out here?

These thoughts persisted as I continued to trump along the snowy banks of rivers, staring up at the granite walls of Little Yosemite Valley, coated in snow.

Hours passed. I was still walking, but I was ready to sleep.

Making it to Merced Lake

Waking up, the inside of my tent was frozen from my breath. “Maybe I should invest in a -20f bag” I thought to myself as I struggled to find the second zipper. Since I don’t own a -20f bag, I combine two sleeping bags for a warmer night sleep. Placing one semi frozen boot on, then the next, I crawled out of my tent. It was still dark outside.

The long nights of winter make for a lot of time to reflect and it makes snapping sunrise photographs pretty dang easy!

Putting on all of my layers and strapping into my snow shoes, I wandered around trying to find a composition for a sunrise photograph.

“THE SKY IS EXPLODING!” I shout to the frozen world. SNAP. SNAP. SNAP.

For this camping trip I have one camera body and one lens. A sony mirrorless camera and a 24-70 f/2.8 all around lens to document the journey.

After photographing the sunrise, I packed my bag and continued the rest of the way to Merced Lake. A couple of hours of tromping through the snow and I was there.

Making it to Merced Lake, the skies were overcast and the frozen lake was too frozen to show off the reflection, I had miss judged the timing. I had dreams of clear blue, or partially cloudy, skies so the icy reflection would shimmer. But that wasn’t the case. While, in the moment I was a bit unhappy, this trip was a blast for me. Why? I had prove to myself that I could go winter camping. I had accepted the challenge, set a goal, and achieved it, sort of. Wandering around the lake, I found several other cool images but nothing to write home about.

Several hours past as I snapped images and walked around the lake, it was time to go back to camp.

Wandering back to camp, the sky had cleared and I my view down Little Yosemite Valley was gorgeous! Taken away by the beauty, I sat down and observed. Happy that I could make the time to get out here. Happy that I made this trip. Happy to be out there alone. Happy to be with my camera, snapping images of a beautiful place.

Winter Camping Tips

1) Plan, Plan, Plan

Understand your limitations by planning the trip in advance. While going on a spontaneous trip is a hoot, for the most part, this can lead to unwanted adventures, especially while winter camping. If you are new to winter camping, mapping your route, selecting your gear, having an adventure buddy, planning your food to bring, and being willing to turn back is a must. Snow is cold and humans have not adapted to live in the winter without adequate gear and knowledge. So, planning is your guide to success.

2) Know Your Gear

In this section, I am not going to provide gear options, but I am going to highlight the importance of knowing your gear. So, what does that mean? If you know your gear, you can fix it when it breaks, you know its limits and limitations (especially your sleeping bag), and you’re comfortable using it. So, how do you do this? PRACTICE! Yup, this may seem and feel silly, but practicing is the key to success. What do I mean?

Set up your tent, ideally do this 10 times before leaving on your trip
Know how to layer your clothing, to avoid sweating through your layers. Go for training hikes!
Go on “practice runs” in your backyard, or nearby green space, to test your systems
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure you can fix your stove! Not all stoves are created equal and a broken stove winter camping can lead a rescue operation.
Zippers break in the cold, make sure you can fix them!

3) Bring Extra Food

While packing light can save you from having a heavy load, the extra weight of food can save your life, or at least keep the morale HIGH. I suggest bringing an extra meal for every three days your are out. That means, every three days pack for four. Why?

If weather rolls in and you get stuck in a storm, you may need to wait it out
You might run a calorie deficit if you are breaking through heavy snow
There is nothing worse than food stress in the backcountry!

4) Have Fun by Staying Dry

During the winter, getting wet can mean death. You need to find that balance of working hard, but not sweating through your gear. However, if you do get wet, this isn’t the end of the world. Here are solutions to drying things:

Wet socks? Sleep with them (not on), or hike with them on your shoulders to dry them out
Fell into a river/lake? This is serious! Set up your tent, strip your layers down, get the stove going. Warm yourself FIRST, then start drying out your layers
Too wet to dry? Rarely does this ever happen, but if a layer gets soaked and freezes, carry an extra plastic bag to put this in, stuff it in the bottom of your pack, and cut your loss. NOTE, this should ONLY be done if you have adequate layers and there is no hope of drying the layer you are sacrificing

Discover Your Yosemite Wall Art

Photography Tips for Winter Camping

Buy Lenses that are weather sealed

Lenses have excellent weather sealant, making them very durable in extreme conditions. So, you can still shoot while it is snowing outside, just make sure to wear gloves!

Early morning light over the high country of Yosemite National park with winter camping. Photograph by Dalton Johnson

How to prevent your lens from Fogging in cold weather

To prevent your lenses from fogging in cold weather, keep them the same temperature as the ambient temperature. Trust me, these lenses can handle the cold! I've taken mine into -20f situations.

How to Save Camera Batteries in the Cold

When the temperatures are at, or well below freezing, keep your batteries in a chest pocket, or near a hand warmer, so the power isn't zapped before getting to use the battery.

Always bring a zoom lens

If the light is good, but you don't see a composition in the immediate foreground, put on an ultra zoom lens (ideally something in the range between 150 and 400) then scour the landscape. Something unique will pop up that your naked eye could not see before.

Have your camera ready to shoot at all times

When on an expedition, personal trip, or making a documentary, always have your camera at your side and take more images than you think you need, a story will unveil itself to you over the duration of the trip. Memory is cheap and it is most likely impossible to recreate the moments you experience on a mountain.

How to tell a story using photographs

When telling a story with photographs, create images in three categories; details, what your eye naturally sees, and from 10,000 feet. The details are the little things you often overlook, but give context to the photo essay. What your eye naturally sees are often grand images and landscapes. Images from 10,000 feet can be taken from a long ways away or a vantage point or, if you are lucky, a plane.