TCT #8 -- Wapama Falls, Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite NP

Wapama Falls, Hetch Hetchy (Yosemite NP)

John Muir, Yosemite's biggest fan, adored the Hetch Hetchy Valley, calling it "one of Nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples." On Saturday, August, 4, we get to visit one of the most lovely features in the Hetch Hetchy area of Yosemite National Park, Wapama Falls.

As post-Gold Rush San Francisco boomed, the scant local water supply became a problem.  The city started casting about for a likely river to dam to meet its needs. In 1908, San Francisco was devastated by the great earthquake, but it was the subsequent fire that's said to have wreaked the greatest damage, and the city's water problem moved from chronic to critical.  Enter an idea born in 1882 -- dam the Tuolumne River at Hetch Hetchy Valley and route the water to San Francisco.  The only problem required an act of congress to resolve -- Hetch Hetchy was protected in Yosemite National Park.  After a five-year resistance campaign by the Sierra Club and John Muir, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Raker Act of 1913, and the dam was completed 10 years later (and raised 15 years after that).

John DeGrazio in the
Yosemite"Tunnel View" Bear cap.
Sales benefit the Yosemite NP
Bear Management Team. 

At 5 miles, the hike to Wapama Falls and back is one of the easiest in Yosemite National Park.  However, in summer, I'd call it "moderately-easy."  Though there is little elevation gain, the heat will be a challenge adding difficulty.  Bring plenty of water.  Wapama Falls is the second-tallest waterfall in Yosemite National Park and one of the top twenty in North America.  At lake level, the falls spreads out into three or four channels traversed by footbridges.  To learn more about our destination,

I reached out to John DeGrazio, founder of YExplore Yosemite Adventures and host of KAAD-LP's "Yosemite Can O Peaches" program.  For 12 years, John and YExplore's professional guides have been leading personalized backpack, birding, wildflower, snowshoe, and photography trips into every corner of Yosemite (for more info about YExplore, here's a link to their website: https://www.yexplore.com/).  For all he's seen of our national jewel, John says the Wapama Falls hike is one of his favorites.  If he's not out on another Yosemite adventure, John will be joining our August 4th trip.  Not to cost you any bookings, John, but I sure hope you can make it!  In TCT #8, John paints a vivid picture of Wapama Falls, Hetch Hetchy, and the Twain Harte ditch.  You read that correctly; we did our interview al fresco, and John in true naturalist fashion found something remarkable at every bend in our trail.  TCT #8 also features "Three T" trail reviews (what was tough, trippy and tremendous?) of our high country hike to Relief Reservoir.

Trip Report - Relief Reservoir, Kennedy Meadows, 7/7/18

Anticipated summer crowds on the popular Relief Reservoir trail failed to materialize, and we had an outstanding post-holiday high country hike!  The trail starts just east of the Kennedy Meadows Resort and Pack Station.  Hilly at first, it follows the Middle Fork Stanislaus River upstream to one of the meadows.  Soon you enter the Emigrant Wilderness and with the benefit of steps hacked out of the granite, you begin your ascent along the stream, which you will cross twice via sturdy footbridges. 



First footbridge over
Middle Fork Stanislaus River

 

All along the way you'll see discarded material from the construction of the dam (1907-1911).  Indeed, some of the trail takes the old road and railroad built to move construction material.  Besides manmade artifacts, there's stunning natural scenery: Trees, some appearing to grow straight out of immense granite boulders; Wildflowers along the trail and in cracks and meadows; Birds singing and chirping; Craggy, snowy mountain peaks; Water in creeks cascading down the canyon walls and, in some seasons, spilling over the trail.

The steep incline inspired some of us to take more "beauty breaks" than others, so the group ended up pretty spread out.  So much so that the advance wave missed the turn around point and added some extra mileage.  We intercepted most of the faster Trail Heads at about the 4.5 mile point at the Grouse Creek crossing and directed them back to the north end of the reservoir to reconvene at an overlook.  Once reunited, we scrambled down to the dam to survey the surroundings at lake level then scrambled back up to the trail for a group photo.

 

Trail Heads on the dam

Southern view of
Relief Reservoir
at dam level

The Kennedy Meadows trailhead, about 57 miles east of Sonora, is your gateway for many adventures in the Emigrant Wilderness including trails to Sharon Lake, Kennedy Lake, Upper and Lower Relief Valleys, Brown Bear Pass, and more including our hike to Relief Reservoir.  Turn off of Highway 108 at the road to Kennedy Meadows Resort and Pack Station.  From here, it's about .5 mile to the trailhead parking lot (a bit past Baker Campground on your left).  There is plenty of parking and a vault toilet.  Walk .5 mile along the trail/road from the parking lot past the resort to the actual trailhead.  This is a strenuous hike starts at 6,127' and gains 1,200' over about 3 miles to the reservoir.  In the summer it's a hot AND popular hike, so it's good to get an early start if you're venturing out on a weekend or holiday.  Because this is such a heavily trafficked route and shared with equestrians, it's essential to know trail-yielding conventions:  Downhill hikers yield to uphill hikers; large groups yield to smaller groups or solo hikers; bikers yield to pedestrians and everyone yields to horses.  When horses appear, step off the trail on the down-slope side; don't reach out to touch the horses.



Here's a link to the Stanislaus National Forest's Highway 108 hiking trails webpage:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/stanislaus/recreation/?cid=fseprd524369&width=full

Here's a link to the Tuolumne County Historical Society webpage about Relief Reservoir:

https://www.tchistory.org/TCHISTORY/Wonders_11.htm

NOTICE -- Two (2) hikes to Relief Reservoir, 7/7 & 7/14

Immerse yourself in history -- and rugged beauty -- on this hike into the Emigrant Wilderness where the Clark-Skidmore wagon train of 1852 was stranded without supplies as they crossed the Sierras to the Southern Mines. At just over 7 miles round trip, this trail is demanding due to the high elevation and steep, steady ascent of 1200’ to a high point of 7360’.


There are two, count 'em 2, hikes offered -- 7/7 and 7/14.  Same details, different days:

It may be hot; bring plenty of water. Bring lunch for a picnic at the reservoir. On leash dogs OK. This will be a strenuous hike.

Two stops on the carpool/caravan:
First stop/meeting point - 6:45am at the Starbuck's in the Junction; leave at 7am
Second stop/meeting point - 7:15 at the Mi Wuk Ranger Station; leave at 7:30
Or meet at the trailhead parking lot at Kennedy Meadows on the left just before the resort and pack station. Hike starts at 8:30.

TCT #7 -- Relief Reservoir, Kennedy Meadows



Leftover building material, Relief Reservoir,
and East Flange Rock (almost dead-center)

At last we're heading to the high country.  On July 7 we'll take the strenuous 7.5 mile hike to Relief Reservoir near Kennedy Meadows.  Relief Reservoir is named for the rescue mission sent from Sonora to the stranded Clark-Skidmore emigrant wagon train who had a near-Donner experience in 1852.  For the 10-year life of the treacherous West Walker Route crossing the Sierra, a camp outfitted with supplies was maintained by the residents of the Southern Mines towns of Sonora and Columbia.  After that, a new route was constructed about 3-5 miles to the north.  This road, the Sonora-Mono Toll Road was used to transport goods from San Francisco and Sonora to the silver rush boomtowns of Bodie and Aurora.  Modern Sonora Pass roughly follows the route of the Sonora-Mono Toll Road.  In the early 1900s, East Coast money-men decided to invest in a hydroelectric project -- a dam on Summit Creek which runs through Relief Valley.  The investors hoped to strike their own "gold" by supplying power to San Francisco and communities on the way down from the Sierras.  And so we have Relief Reservoir and a lot of interesting artifacts on the trail.

The dam is rock and earth filled with a concrete "veneer"



Moving cars using
the derrick-pulley system

Today's trail follows

yesterday's dam supply road

This is our first high-elevation hike; the trailhead is at 6,127'.  We'll gain about 1,200' more as we hike up, up, up (then down, down, down).  Other things to be aware of is that we'll be going on footbridges high over creeks; if you're afraid of heights, steel yourself.  Speaking of heights, it's almost impossible to prevent elevation sickness, but there are some ways to cope if it comes on you (slow down, take smaller steps and deep breaths).  Also, we will be sharing the trail with equestrians and pack horses.




Learn more about this spectacular hike by listening to TCT #7, an interview with returning guest, Summit Ranger District Archaeologist Lisa DeHart.  Lisa talks about the history of the Relief area and her own contribution to Gold Country scholarship -- when she cooperated on an expedition that not only found the site of the Clark-Skidmore original relief camp but the exact location of the West Walker Route.  The show starts with audio trail reviews from our National Trails Day hike along the Sugar Pine Railroad Grade, Strawberry Branch.  Listen and learn why it's my favorite hike:



Trip Report - Strawberry Branch, Sugar Pine RR Grade, 6/2/18

My Favorite Trail

We celebrated National Trails Day by taking my favorite hike, the Sugar Pine Railroad Grade from Fraser Flat to Strawberry (and back).  Participating in the American Hiking Society’s  initiative to improve 2,802 miles of trail (the distance across the Lower 48), we committed to pack out our own trash and toted garbage bags to collect any other litter.  We were pleased to find the trail in fairly tidy condition.  Our take was less than one kitchen trash bag full, most of it the micro-garbage variety.

There were around 30 Trail Heads on the trip, ranging in age from very young (around 10-years-old) to senior (noneaya-business-years-old!).  There were families, couples, friends from out-of-town & out-of-state (Joshua Tree! Oregon!), singles, and even a teacher-student combo.  And, of course, dogs.

 

Rapids and Pools

Garter Snake

The day was perfect for hiking starting out cool, progressing to warm then hot in the sun but pleasant in the shade.  The trail offered sections shaded by tree canopy and sunny through meadows.  Almost always we had the South Fork Stanislaus River within view or earshot.  Blossom-laden Dogwoods were bountiful.  While it wasn’t quite a riot of wildflowers, there were colonies of tiny Five Spots, stands of Paintbrush, a few wild iris getting ready to blossom, bright Western Wallflower, and plenty of fungi.  In the animal realm, we constantly heard cheerily chirping birds, and we saw a small garter snake.  A group our size tromping along the trail scares away larger mammals, but once while snowshoeing here I’ve seen bear prints (winter access is from the trail’s Old Strawberry Road end).  As far as non-TCT humans, we did encounter at least one mountain biker.

This pleasant route is a little under 6 miles round trip.  Because it’s a former railroad grade, it has a gentle incline of just over 3%.  It’s my favorite because it’s easy to get to, it’s do-able for all skill levels and ages, and it’s got the attractive water-feature of the Stanislaus River.  I was pleased to see that there have been some improvements in the trail since last year – there are some trailhead and distance markers, and the interpretive signs have all been restored.  I’ve uploaded the interpretive guide; it’s under “Pages” in top right column of the blog’s main page.

Interpretive sign at Fraser Flat Campground

To get to the trailhead, go east on Highway 108 through Sugar Pine, Me Wuk, Sierra Vilage, and Long Barn.  Continue along the 4-lanes east of Long Barn.  After the road narrows to 2-lanes again you'll go about another two miles (the road's a bit windy then levels out).  Watch for a hard-to-spot sign on your right for Fraser Flat & Spring Gap.  The sign is on the right, but you'll make a LEFT turn (on the left it's Road 4N01/Fraser Flat Rd.; on the right it's Jenness Park Rd.).  If you get to Cold Springs/Mia's Restaurant, YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR!  Turn around & backtrack about a mile; heading west, you'll turn RIGHT on 4N01/Fraser Flat Rd.).  Drive downhill about 3 miles to the bridge.  Park as far off the road as possible.  The trailhead is on the southeast side of the bridge.

There aren’t any services at the trailhead.  However, if you continue over the bridge and go about a mile, you’ll come to Fraser Flat Campground on your left.  It’s worth a visit to the campground and not just to use the vault toilets.  There are two interpretive signs with interesting cultural and historic information, a bedrock mortar (Indian grinding stone), and a wheelchair accessible fishing platform!


Here's a link to the Tuolumne County Transit Council's Sugar Pine Railway, Strawberry Branch webpage:
https://www.tuolumnecountytransportationcouncil.org/single-post/2016/08/10/Strawberry-to-Fraser


Here's a link to the American Hiking Society's webpage:
https://americanhiking.org/

June 2, stroll along the Stan

Our June hike falls on National Trails Day. It's the 50th anniversary of the National Trails Act; celebrate with a hike! We're taking my favorite hike in the county, the Sugar Pine Railroad Grade section from Fraser Flat to Strawberry (and back). This is an easy hike though, at 7 miles, on the longer side. It's a lovely, shaded meander along the Stanislaus River.

On-leash dogs welcome. Bring water, snacks and/or lunch. Dress in layers; wear a hat.

The hike starts at 9. The trailhead is on the south side of the bridge just before Fraser Flat Campground. To minimize parking congestion at the trailhead, we'll be carpooling/caravanning from the Starbuck's at the Junction. Carpool leaves at 8:30.

TCT #6 -- Sugar Pine Railroad Grade, Strawberry Branch, Cold Springs

Stroll along the Stanislaus River on Saturday, June 2, National Trails Day.  Discover this attractive trail with something for everyone: water, trees, flowers, meadows.  Tuolumne County Trailhead has registered this hike with the American Hiking Society which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Trails Act by improving 2,802 miles  of trail (the distance across the US).  Our contribution will be to pack out our own trash along with any other litter we find.  The hike is 7 miles round trip and considered easy-to-moderate (lessen the difficulty by hiking to your own halfway point and return to the trailhead).

The radio show features catch-up trail reviews of the Melones Railroad Grade hike (4/7/18) and the Preston Falls hike (5/5/18).  Over these two outings, spring exhibited its mercurial nature:  Our April trip occurred the weekend of the "atmospheric river."  In May, conditions were close to perfect -- except for the prolific poison oak which "got" a few of the Trail Heads.  We also prep for our June 2 (National Trails Day) hike on the Sugar Pine Railroad Grade, Strawberry Branch (Fraser Flat trailhead).  We have an extensive conversation with Lisa DeHart, Stanislaus National Forest, Summit Ranger District Archaeologist.  Lisa offers insight into early logging methods and the game-changing introduction of steam -- donkeys and trains -- to the industry.  We also wax philosophical about how this and our hikes coming up in the summer follow a lot of the early emigrant trail -- in reverse.