One of my favorite hikes was in the Emmigrant Wilderness north ot Yosemite, about twenty years ago. We spent ten days hiking from Ginelli's Cabin in to the Buck Lakes and back. The scenery is every bit as beautiful as Yosemite but without the crowds. We went just after Labor Day and went seven full days without seeing another human, giving us a feeling of solitude we had never felt, either before or after. And the fishing was awesome.