For nearly 40 years, Sierra North has inspired thousands of hikers to explore California’s Sierra Nevada. Now in its 9th edition and 150,000 copies later, the completely reorganized and updated classic guidebook showcases new trips and old favorites, and has extended its coverage north to the Tahoe Sierra backcountry. Some 86 meticulously selected trips traverse Yosemite National Park, Hoover Wilderness, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, Emigrant Wilderness, Desolation Wilderness, and the proposed Castle Peak Wilderness. The trips are now organized around major highway sections for easy selection—pick an area, drive there, and go—and range from quick overnighters to 11-day excursions. This guide makes planning a trip into the northern Sierra backcountry easier than ever before with: 36 trailhead maps showing routes for every trip - Complete trip details, including permits, suggested topo maps, day-by-day trail descriptions, GPS waypoints, and elevation data - Beginner-friendly trip recommendations - Trusted advice on camping, fishing, and bear safety - Useful information on side trips, history, geology, and natural history The backpacking bug hit Kathy Morey hard in the 1970s and hasn’t let go yet. In 1990 she abandoned an aerospace career to write for Wilderness Press, authoring four hiking guides on Hawaii, “Hot Showers, Soft Beds, and Dayhikes in the Sierra,” and “Guide to the John Muir Trail.” She was a co-author of several previous editions of “Sierra North” and “Sierra South.” For the 9th edition of “Sierra North,” Kathy served as lead author. Kathy lives in Mammoth Lakes, California. Mike White was born and raised in Oregon and learned to hike in the Cascades. In the early 1990s, he began writing about the outdoors full time, and he has since written or contributed to almost a dozen Wilderness Press books, including “Kings Canyon National Park,” “Sequoia National Park,” and “Top Trails Lake Tahoe.” He also has written for “Sunset” and “Backpacker” magazines and the “Reno Gazette-Journal.” Mike lives in Reno and teaches backpacking and snowshoeing at Truckee Meadows Community College. Stacy Corless is a hiker, trail runner, and writer in Mammoth Lakes, California. Since trading the Berkeley Hills for the Eastern Sierra seven years ago, Stacy has logged hundreds of miles in the backcountry that, conveniently, is her backyard. Thomas Winnett founded Wilderness Press in 1967 with the publishing of “Sierra North,” his first guidebook. During his more than 30 years as publisher, he also wrote numerous books on how to backpack and where to hike in the wild areas of the western United States. He is now retired and lives with his wife, Lu, in Berkeley, California. LEMBERT DOME TRAILHEAD 8584’; 11S 292591 4194973 DESTINATION 57 Young Lakes UTM COORDINATES 11S 293594 4201417 TRIP TYPE Semiloop BEST SEASON Mid or late PACE (HIKING/LAYOVER DAYS) 2/1 Moderate TOTAL MILEAGE 15.1 Information and Permits: These trips enter Yosemite National Park: Yosemite Permits, PO Box 545, Yosemite National Park, CA 95389; 209-372-0740; www.nps.gov/yose/wilderness/permits.htm. Bear canisters are required; pets and firearms are prohibited. Driving Directions: From Hwy. 120 in Yosemite’s Tuolumne Meadows, just 7 miles southwest of Tioga Pass and just east of the bridge over the Tuolumne River, turn west on a dirt road along Lembert Dome’s western face. The road leads to a locked gate, which we consider the trailhead, and from here the road turns right toward the stables. Find a parking spot where permitted along the road between the highway and the gate. You may not park overnight in the lot at the base of Lembert Dome. 57 YOUNG LAKES Trip Data: 11S 293594 4201417; 15.1 miles; 2/1 days Topos: Tioga Pass, Falls Ridge Highlights: The three Young Lakes, cupped under soaring Ragged Peak, offer a large selection of campsites, some in heavy woods and some at timberline. These camps provide a base for exciting excursions into the headwaters of Conness Creek and for climbing Mt. Conness itself. DAY 1 (Lembert Dome Trailhead to Lowest Young Lake, 8.2 miles): Go around the locked gate and continue west along the lodgepole-dotted flank of Tuolumne Meadows, with fine views south across the meadows of Unicorn Peak, Cathedral Peak, and some of the Echo Peaks. Approaching a boulder-rimmed old parking loop, you veer right past a shelter around a rust-colored soda spring and climb slightly to what was once Soda Springs Campground. SODA SPRINGS CAMPGROUND This former campground was once the private holding of John Lembert, namesake of Lembert Dome. His brothers, who survived him, sold it to the Sierra Club in 1912, and for 60 years Club members enjoyed a private campground in this marvelous subalpine meadow. But in 1972 the Club deeded the property to the National Park Service so that everyone could use it. Here the road forks, and you go right (northwest), now on the PCT. (To take a peek at the nearby buildi