Originally Posted by
stevepusser
Tioga Pass is going to be a sticking point. However, snow could be hitting the higher elevations up to June, so it would be tough to avoid tourist traffic. Just learn to live with it.
I forgot to mention tourist traffic in my post. Steve is correct, tourist traffic is just something that you will have to live with at times when the passes and the parks are open. If you try to go when there is no tourist traffic you will likely find that the already pretty widely spread services are even worse due to closures, not to mention the possibility of passes being closed. It is fairly typical to find stuff closed well after the snow is plowed out on the passes. For example the year we were there on tour, Tioga was open early June, but none of the campgrounds or services in Yosemite outside of the valley were open until July due to repairs needed after the winter. Also temperatures were brutally hot a month before services were available in places like Tuolomne Meadows.
Traffic is a minor concern compared to the weather and terrain you are likely to have to deal with.
All of that plus the difficulty of the terrain makes this a pretty tough route. If you are in great shape, want a very challenging route, are resourceful, and are well prepared this might be a good route for you. I generally would not recommend it to first time tourists or even to most more experienced ones. I don't know you so I am not saying it is the wrong choice for you, but I will say that it would be a poor choice of first routes for 99% of tourists. Something like the TA or the NT would be more suitable for most ambitious first timers.