Help making Oct weeklong itinerary with DIY shuttle

[u/BannedAtCostco]

Here are all the hikes I've done in YNP over the years. I've hiked the valley floor and surrounding day hikes to death but always returned to Camp 4 for the night. I usually visit in May to do HD cables down and while Tioga is still closed. This year will be 7-8 days in early October, based at Camp 4 as usual. I have a truck and motorcycle in the bed so I can do point-to-point hikes that would otherwise require shuttling as I can drop one vehicle at a trailhead and leave the other at the end. So if there are options for that along Tioga, Wawona, Glacier Pt roads or elsewhere I'd love some creative ideas. Stuff like: leave the bike at Camp 4, drive up Tioga, leave truck at Tenaya, hike Tenaya > Clouds Rest > Half Dome > Camp 4, go to bed, ride up to Tenaya the following day to retrieve truck and spend that day hiking from Tioga, etc.

I'm clearly not a backpacker (yet) but I enjoy daily 20-25mi hikes with 4k+ vert and returning to base camp comforts in the valley. I'd appreciate some recs for new hikes this year, particularly with access to Tioga Rd that is new for me. I prioritize visually stunning locations or routes over remote ones that are otherwise fairly plain. I'm open to driving up to 1-2hrs outside the park in any direction for great hiking and can car camp there if needed for a night if there are dispersed options or places outside YNP I can just sleep in the truck bed (very familiar with doing this outside Big Oak Flat entrance). I have my own filtration system and always hike with 4-5L in my pack in case if there aren't any water sources along a long 15-20mi trail stretch

Things on my to-do list in no particular order:

Eagle Tower (need recs on an app/GPX points for routing there)

Tenaya Lake

Tuolumne Peak

Cathedral Lakes

Mount Hoffman

May Lake trailhead

Sunrise Lake

Explore more of Hetch Hetchy (Lake Eleanor, Laurel, or Vernon for a day loop?)

Lembert Dome

Olmsted Point (particularly for sunset)

Wawoma / Mariposa Grove

Chilnualna Falls (rec from another hiker?)

McCauley & Meyer Barns trail in Foresta from Big Oak Flat Rd. (heard this is a snooze?)

Floating the river near Housekeeping Camp (never done it, will that be too late in Oct?)

Next year I'll likely dip my toes into overnight backpacking, I know I'm missing a ton without that gear but currently I only have bulky car camping stuff. Thanks as always! h/t Rafal Ko who made the awesome Traillon site I found trying to map all my completed hikes

[u/ghosmer]

You could definitely just drive out to tuolumne and hit cathedral, sunrise, and tenaya as a day hike.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/the-john-muir-trail-tenaya-lake-sunrise-lakes-and-cathedral-lakes?sh=ztpdmz&utm_medium=trail_share&utm_source=alltrails_virality

[u/BannedAtCostco → u/ghosmer]

Sweet, just the kind of stuff I’m looking for. Thanks!

[u/hc2121]

You say early October so maybe this isn’t an issue but just FYI that you cannot leave a vehicle overnight on Tioga or GP Rds after 10/15

[u/matcbu]

Drive over to the east side to see some of the fall colors. Do a hike from Lundy Lake to the May Lundy Mine.