Hike along Tuolumne River Will Satisfy All Waterfall Enthusiasts

by Mark Muckenfuss - Associated Press
San Francisco Chronicle - September 24, 2002

Yosemite regulars know the ropes.

Half Dome, El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil, Glacier Point -- all firm fixtures on the list of the park's natural icons. Get out of the valley just a little bit and folks will talk about Mirror Lake, Vernal and Nevada Falls. Backpackers recognize Cloud's Rest, Cathedral Lakes, even Volgelsang.

But in all my visits to Yosemite, no one had mentioned the trail of falls. Go figure.

Some people are mountain junkies. In the backcountry, they want nothing more than to hike from one peak to the next, taking in the grand vistas. I've made those journeys. They're inspiring, humbling and exhausting.

Personally, however, I would break off from a trail to summit any day to see a good waterfall. I don't know what it is about water caught in the throes of gravity that fascinates humans -- the motion? the constant fluctuations in the flow? some primal attraction to the liquid medium? -- but fascinating it is.

Even hard-core waterfall enthusiasts may find themselves satiated after a trip along the lower Tuolumne River. About four miles north of Tuolumne Meadows, the relatively level trail leading to Glen Aulin begins to drop and, for the next six miles, hikers are treated to one impressive waterfall after another.

Tuolumne Falls drop about 50 feet (the park service does not have height figures on most backcountry waterfalls) to a small pool where the river then races off through a steep chute of granite boulders. Just a short distance down the trail, the river drops again through White Cascade, a long series of swirling slides, before finally plunging into a basin upon which Glen Aulin campground is perched.

Glen Aulin is one of seven High Sierra camps in Yosemite. It offers such amenities as tent cabins, showers, flush toilets, a dining hall and even a camp store. All these amenities but the last are for paying customers only. Many of these campers come in on horseback. Meals and lodging at the camps run $109 per day.

Planned horseback trips and guided hikes, available from early July through early September, range from $462 to $1,052. Much-in-demand reservations are awarded by lottery.

There is an adjacent area for backpackers to camp. Here there are pit toilets, a spigot with potable water and bear boxes for storing food items.

Just below Glen Aulin, the river widens and provides a convenient swimming hole. There is even a small sand beach on the trail side.

This quieter version of the river continues for another mile. It's a popular section for fly fishing. Rainbow and nonnative brown trout swim here.

The trail drifts through lush meadow areas where broadleaf plants such as California cone flower provide a 3-foot-high bed of deep green that is punctuated by the purple stalks of lupine, white yampa and daisylike Sierra forget-me-nots.

At one point the trail detours through a grove of quaking aspen where the setting is nearly gardenlike with thick grass, bountiful wildflowers and the shivering trees.

Shortly after this, the trail skirts California Falls, the first of three cascades that drop the river more than 1,000 feet in elevation. With only short sections of river separating the falls, this three-mile leg of the trail offers an almost constant view of falling water.

This is also the beginning of what is called the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River. Hikers find themselves in a narrow canyon, hemmed in by towering granite cliff faces, striped black from years of water runoff.

The most dynamic of the three waterfalls here is 700-foot-high Waterwheel Falls, which is technically a cascade. Here, the water hits flat sections of rock on its way down the cascade, shooting it up into curling plumes of spray.

In late July, the plumes had diminished significantly. to see the phenomenon at its best, hikers should make the trip earlier in the year. But even without this particular feature at full throttle, a hike along this section of the Tuolumne offers a wealth of grand scenery.

For fit hikers, the 21-mile round trip can be done in a single -- but very long -- day. Once you pass the Glen Aulin campground, there are a few spots to pitch a tent until you reach the base of Waterwheel Falls. From there, those who wish, can continue to wind their way down the canyon. Or, as we did, turn around and enjoy the waterfalls a second time, on the way back up.

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If You Go...

GETTING THERE: From the east side, take Highway 395 to Lee Vining. Go west on Highway 120 and continue onto Tioga Pass Road to the park entrance and Tuolumne Meadows. From the west take the Tioga Road east to Tuolumne Meadows.

GENERAL INFORMATION: Tuolumne Meadows is a great starting point for many back country hikes. For High Sierra Camp information and a reservation lottery application call (559) 252-4848. Lottery applications must be requested between Sept. 1 and Oct. 15 of the year prior to the trip. Backcountry permits, (209) 372-0740; general park information, (209) 372-0200.