When I was a wee lad, my Mom used to take me to Yosemite all the time. My parents were avid hikers but they really sucked as far as planning. We were always getting lost or hiking in hot temperatures. One of the longer hikes I did was to Glen Aulin Camp from Tuolumne Meadows which was about 12 miles and for me at 12 it was a long hike. Sure enough we ran out of water on the way back and my Mom begged some water off a backpacker who was prepared and had a filter. I had always wanted to come back and do the full hike down to Waterwheel Falls. With the snow, Tioga Road only opened at the end of July, the latest opening for this road in its history. With that snow there is record run off and the rivers are flowing phenomenally. All the High Sierra Camps that ring Yosemite are closed for the season due to damage from the record snow but this was a plus for me as the trail was only moderately in use versus the normal hordes.
I began at 7 AM, crossing the meadow and passing Soda Springs, which is a mineral spring at the edge of the meadow. From there the trail stays away from the river for about two miles due to a large bend the river makes to the west. Finally you connect to the river which is flowing at a mellow rate. The gradient is mainly flat and you cross over various granite sections where the rock goes all the way to the river. After another mile the river begins to get some rapids and you begin to descend more quickly. You get to a bridge which is about 4 miles in and the fun begins. You hike on increasing granite slabs passing more rapids and drop down to a spectacular view of Tuolumne Falls and then down to Glen Aulin Camp and White Cascade. You are just over 5.5 miles into the hike.
The next 3.5 is even better then this section. The first mile drops down a short section of cascades and then the river becomes deceptively quiet. You then hit the smallest of the falls California. another major section of cascades, LeConte Falls, and finally Waterwheel the largest of the bunch. LeConte actually has more waterwheels then Waterwheel which causes confusion as far as which falls are which especially with the cascades in the middle. Waterwheel has only one large waterwheel occurring and hence the name. The waterwheels are created by the water running quickly down the slick granite, after years of wear, the rock got eroded and holes appear in the granite. With enough force the water going into those holes is stopped and with no where to go shoot up in the air in a waterwheel shape.
The view from the top of Waterwheel of the remainder of the Grand Canyon on the Tuolumne is magnificent. I went part of the way down Waterwheel to get some pics but from the bottom I was told the view wasn't that great so stopped. By that time it was about 10:45 and was already getting quite warm so I hightailed it back up the trail. This is an upside down hike and already having 9 miles under my belt and having to climb was not the most fun. Fortunately the majority of the steepness was getting back up those three falls. Once I was back at Glen Aulin, I had the place to myself and stopped again to cool down my feet in the water. It was amazing to have the falls to myself for 15 minutes and just chilling out. From there the next big haul was getting over the next couple of waterfalls and back to the bridge. Once at the bridge it was pretty level other then one more climb but the heat was starting to wear on me even though it was getting cooler at the higher elevation. I think it was more the sun beating down on me then anything else. The last three miles were a bit of a workout even though it was the most level section of the hike but I slowly made it through the forest.
The final statistics were 18 miles with about 2,600 feet elevation gain in just over 8 hours. An epic hike in the perfect situations. Mosquitos were out in the boggy areas of the trail but Deet wipes did a pretty good job on keeping them away. It looks like I got about four or five bites which wasn't that bad. There is still snow along Tioga Road on the north side. Bonus as I drove back from the TH there was a Momma bear and two cubs who crossed the road, one car in front of me (no pictures because of that). Baby bear was curious and got on his hind legs to check us out.
Tuolumne River and Grand Canyon
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Uncle Rico
- Posts: 1386
- Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:48 pm
Really nice. I've come in from the Murphy Creek trailhead before which is pleasant too. Ran into a big old bruin on the trail who was slow to move off the trail. I was there in October in a drought year and the White Cascade was still pumping. We jumped in the pool below it and it was frigid. The coldest water I've been in. Didn't go further down canyon, but the views looking into the Grand Canyon were sublime.