Formerly the Minarets Wilderness, the Ansel Adams Wilderness (AAW) was renamed in 1984 to honor the famous photographer and environmentalist. In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful scenic areas in the world, and we’re lucky that it is preserved forever as wilderness. To enjoy it, you have to go on foot or by pack train. Fortunately, there are many accessible day hikes that will allow you to enjoy the area without making a huge committment of time and money invested in equipment.

Location and Topogrpahy

AAW is a very rugged area that includes the high country east of the Sierra crest beginning at Yosemite National Park’s eastern entrance at Tioga Pass, continuing southward along the eastern border of Yosemite, and then southeastward along the Sierra crest until it meets the even larger John Muir Wilderness

In addition to watershead areas that drain to the east, the wilderness includes the North Fork, Middle Fork and lower South Fork of the San Joaquin River, the main drain for the southern Sierra.

The whole area includes spectacular sub-alpine and alpine scenery, deep granite gorges, numerous streams, and at its heart, dozens of small to medium sized alpine lakes. Elevations range from about 7,000 feet to the peak of Mt. Ritter at 13,157 feet.

Wood is scarce because timberline in this part of the Sierra Nevada falls at about 9,500 to 10,000 feet.

Access

The AAW is quite accessible because of its proximity to Yosemite and two popular eastern Sierra resort areas. The major north-south route through the wilderness is the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, which shares most of its route here with the John Muir Trail. The easiest ways to get onto this trail system are from Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite and numerous trailheads around the June Lake and Mammoth Lakes resorts off US 395 in the eastern Sierra. In the Mammoth Lakes area, the Pacific Crest and John Muir Trails go right through Devil’s Postpile National Monument, another park I highly recommend in my epinions review. It’s also possible to get access from the west on US Forest Service Roads, most notably USFS Route 7, also known as the Sierra Vista National Scenic Byway and USFS Route 80 to Lake Thomas A. Edison. Note that these are long, slow, winding roads.

Some Tips

This area is heavily used. Use the information provided on the web sites listed below to obtain a wilderness permit before making any overnight trip.

If you do decide to make an overnight trip, realize that there are all sorts of things here that could injure or kill you, and take appropriate steps beforehand to deal with the dangers.

Once you’re prepared, just go and enjoy.

Additional Information

The following web sites have more information about the wilderness, including important safety tips:

http://www.thehighsierra.com/aa.htm
http://www.sierrawilderness.com/ansel_adams.html


Recommended: Yes

Best time to go: September-November
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview