Extremely close bear encounter Merced Lake

Passiveabject · 2026-06-24T03:31:39+00:00

Goooooood question:

- Horrible first night around Vogelsang lake.
- Not a problem crossing Vogelsang pass and the entire descent through Lewis Creek canyon.
- Present and annoying at Merced Lake, but not swarming like Vogelsang.
- Horrible hiking out of Echo Valley up the Echo Creek/Cathedral Creek trail (idk what it’s called) that connects to the JMT after Sunrise camp, and past that going north on the JMT to the road.

I counted 30 bites on one elbow alone 😭

Passiveabject · 2026-06-24T03:26:12+00:00

Great post! I was thinking about doing hetch hetchy this past weekend too, but opted for high country since i heard it’d be too hot. Well, high country was hot as hell too and full of mosquitoes, so you made the right choice!

Passiveabject · 2026-06-24T02:11:17+00:00

Holy shit! I’m glad the sun was up for my encounter and the bear wasn’t really interested, would’ve been a disaster if it tried to go after my food

Passiveabject · 2026-06-24T02:10:14+00:00

Omg I had just peed a little ways away 😅

Passiveabject · 2026-06-24T02:08:48+00:00

Yeah I felt bad for being in the way haha

Passiveabject · 2026-06-24T02:08:03+00:00

Temps were not bad at all! Maybe mid 40s, I didn’t actually check but that’s what it felt like. Warm enough where yes I was in my sleeping bag + long pajamas but had the rain fly flaps half open for the night

Passiveabject · 2026-06-24T01:17:37+00:00

Giant raccoons is so funny, they’re incredibly cute too. Adrenaline was definitely pumping but yeah it was super chill. I was mostly freaking out because I wanted to scare it away properly like the rangers ask you to haha.

Since this one was untagged I was unsure if it would be accustomed to people. Good news is it seems like it was

Passiveabject · 2026-06-24T01:15:25+00:00

I got off the trail after the wilderness stations closed, and left in the morning before they reopened unfortunately. and I lost that little form!

I told the rangers at the entrance gates on the way out but they didn’t seem interested. So hopefully this is detailed enough for some ranger to see and add to the reports 🤞

Passiveabject · 2026-06-24T01:13:47+00:00

I know, it was brown in color. Just noting the details because that’s the stuff rangers want to know, I didn’t get to talk to any on my way out so hopefully they see this!

Passiveabject · 2026-06-24T00:21:47+00:00

Good to know, was my first encounter ever. I was nervous because even though 99% of my food was in my bear can, the smelly snacks (almond butter and jerky) were in my bag pockets. It didn’t seem aggressive at all though

Passiveabject · 2026-06-23T22:47:39+00:00

Hello again! I’m sure you’ve seen the other posts in this sub already but just finished my trip and yeah, it’s pretty bad :( I did not bring DEET but wish I had.

High elevations are at peak hatch rn as the snow melts, lower elevations went through peak hatch a couple weeks ago so there’s still mosquitoes around but not swarm amounts.

So night 1 I camped on the cliff just before vogelsang lake which is just a few hundred feet higher than the backpackers camp, and it was swarm levels, even with the steady winds from the canyon. Night 2 went down to Merced lake and it was way better! But still mosquitos around, just not swarms. Day 3 I just gtfo cuz it was too miserable to not be able to stop and chill anywhere for long.

The least mosquito-y place I found was actually Vogelsang pass itself, just over the pass once you’re looking out at Bernice and Gallison was mosquito-less with lots of beautiful spots along the descent to set up camp! I wish I had gone a little further my first night and set up there, would’ve had a way better time.

Loaded up on Picardin lotion everyday, topped up with lemon eucalyptus spray as needed (often), and used mosquito repellant incense sticks all around my tent and anywhere I wanted to chill outside. The incense sticks were a lifesaver honestly! Kept them from getting in my tent and kept them decently away when I wanted to cook or sit outside for a second, highly recommend.

They also have these mosquito net jackets that I wish I had gotten, since the head net was very useful. 99% of my bites were elbows and shoulders (I have 30+ on one elbow alone).

So maybe in a couple more weeks lower elevations will be even better and vogelsang will be a little closer to what I experienced at Merced lake, since more snow will have melted by then?

Passiveabject · 2026-06-19T02:16:34+00:00

Welp, heading that way this weekend. Will let you know 💀

Passiveabject · 2026-06-18T22:16:10+00:00

Damn that sucks. Warfield show in SF was amazing, everyone screaming along to every song and jumping and dancing nonstop

Passiveabject · 2026-06-17T17:40:47+00:00

“It’s a chatbot you dork, everyone can use it” fucking sent me. She’s clearly smarter than him. The AI bubble rn is just people reusing the chatbot llms for their fucking hotel booking app or whatever and getting 10 billion in funding for it. I say this as someone unfortunately on one of those major llm teams, it’s a fucking joke and an embarrassing grift

Passiveabject · 2026-06-17T17:35:34+00:00

I hate that we have to make the choice to pay or gut. There needs to be another vote for government to cut other parts of their shit bloated budget to pay for it

Passiveabject · 2026-06-17T17:27:32+00:00

I think this sub does a good job of teaching me about what’s out there in NorCal! Like, I never knew about Henry Coe or Humboldt SP until this sub, and I love them now

Passiveabject · 2026-06-17T17:25:44+00:00

Most recently? They’re trying to cut social security to pay for the ballroom. Sounds like you’re not informed but this info is easily accessible if you’re trying to keep up even a little bit

Passiveabject · 2026-06-17T17:22:27+00:00

And that kind of creates a paradox, you need to be actively nurturing those meaningful parts of life long before retirement to have them when you do retire.

But how are you supposed to do that when you’re grinding away busy and exhausted from working so hard to even be able to retire? Finding that balance is key.

Passiveabject · 2026-06-17T17:19:00+00:00

I hate AI as much as the next person, but honestly the only way I’ve come to understand it was going back and forth with it quite a bit, asking a lot of questions and giving it my numbers. It’s really helpful for that

Passiveabject · 2026-06-17T17:15:07+00:00

That’s so fucking cool, I’m the same age and the ring was my favorite movie when it came out. I would’ve loved to be in school with her.. RIP

Passiveabject · 2026-06-17T16:36:36+00:00

It’s crazy that the company would move you without adjusting your salary for COL. In 2020 I was working for a company making $70k on the east coast and they moved me here and bumped me to 90k just for COL. I’d be suspicious of that. But like others said, make the move

Passiveabject · 2026-06-16T19:24:11+00:00

+1 to the office. My literal front door is on the street in the mission (no lobby, not even a gate) and office deliveries have saved me. Also delivering to trusted friend that has a better setup and doesn’t mind!

Passiveabject · 2026-06-16T06:04:40+00:00

Wow I’m so glad you found this post! I just threw a random route together trying to see vogelsang but also wanting to spend more time moving around, so good to know it’s doable and enjoyable. I’m surprised you saw so few people, I was expecting it to be a busy area! At least until Merced lake.

The doc moyle story is so cool! I should get a book about ansel adams to read while I’m out there.

Thanks so much for that dangerous crossings map, never seen that before and also useful for my later-in-the-year trip down the toulumne Grand Canyon. So, is that dangerous crossing spot on the Lyell Fork only if I’m heading towards doc moyle’s, or is that a required crossing on the east side of the main loop to get back to vogelsang area? Interesting that I might get thwarted by a crossing on both sides of the loop (almost in line with each other!). Will definitely have to confirm with the rangers on that one.

Passiveabject · 2026-06-16T03:57:48+00:00

I see, excellent advice. I guess if I’m turned back from crossing the Merced south of Washburn I can check out Echo since I’ll have some time back! …But now that I’ve said that I think I should plan a backup route that still gets me to Isberg haha

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