February 16, 2026
A few weeks ago I had a chance to go winter camping in Yosemite. I ended up camping in almost the same spot I did last time, except starting the hike at the Badger Pass Ski area saved me about 4 miles of hiking.
The overnight temperatures barely got below freezing, so it was pretty warm.
The hike out was great, the views were beautiful, but I have to say it… winter backpacking is a bit boring. It got dark around 5:30 giving me hours and hours to kill in the dark before bedtime. I ended up going to sleep at 7 or so, which meant I slept like shit.
Aw well, snowshoeing was a blast, the views were unimpeachable, and I got to use my winter tent for the first time in years. Not all bad.
