After a mile of hiking on the third day out, I got my first good look at the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, my hiking home for the next three nights. A giant fallen pine added to the drama of discovery. It was a hazy morning. Smoke from fires near and far, combined with agricultural dust and other central valley pollutants was going to rob me of some of views. The glorious vistas may be compromised, but the waterfalls would still be spectacular.
Continued from Part 2: Porcupine and Yosemite Creeks.
This gorgeous sunrise, as viewed from my second night’s campsite, made it clear I was in for a grand day. Day three of my backpacking trek would see me enter the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne (pronounced TWALL-oh-me) and a prolonged period of radio silence. I had been Twittering from the trail and posting a few cell-phone camera photos via Flickr, but there would be no signal until I reached Tuolumne Meadows several days later.
I caught glimpses of the far side of the canyon through the trees. It was a hazy morning. Smoke from fires near and far, combined with agricultural dust and other central valley pollutants was going to rob me of some of views. The glorious vistas may be compromised, but the waterfalls will still be spectacular. I began my descent around 7:15 a.m. from my off-trail campsite at about 7,950 feet. The trail would drop all the way down to below 4,100 feet in about 8 miles of walking.
First I had to leave the forest which had hemmed in my hiking and views for most of the last two days. The trail descended steadily via a series of taut switchbacks down from my campsite, passing an unseen trail junction leading to Harden Lake, before continuing over a slight rise and then down sharply again.
A swift mile into the hike brought me to a thrilling viewpoint: the photo at the top of this page. A giant fallen pine added to the drama of discovery: a view downstream, toward the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, the source of San Francisco’s drinking water and John Muir’s broken heart. I thought I would be able to glimpse a finger of the reservoir from the trail, but I did not. There is a high point beside the trail a little lower down that probably offers such a view, but I did not see an easy way up (and definitely not one down), so I didn’t bother.
I headed upstream from Pate Valley, still more than 6 miles away, and there would be another 21 before returning to civilization at Tuolumne Meadows. As the Pate Valley Trail approached Morrison Creek, the pine forest turned into a jungle. Humidity levels rose to a sweltering level, and the bugs, noticeably absent so far, were wheeling and buzzing in great hordes. The air was as thick as the flora was lush, and all of it was dark and closed in. The only plus was the mad tumbling of the unseen creek, which was beginning its long crash into the Tuolumne.
After about half an hour, the jungle gave way to steep open slopes, and the trail began to switchback down in earnest, dropping about 750 quick feet. The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne was fully immersed in the haze. I can only imagine how spectacular this would’ve been on a clear day. Yet, it wasn’t a day to quibble over such details. What waited at the bottom of the canyon was worth the pinched in views above.
Discovery is not just about the grand and vast. Discovery is also about the small and the unexpected, and I found an unexpected grotto and waterfall where the trail crossed Morrison Creek for the only time. In this small space I spent a good half hour, filtering water (the SteriPen decided to work that morning) and enjoying the spot. A hot descent awaited, and in a spot like this, it can wait a little longer.
While I lingered there, a group of backpackers were coming up the trail from Pate Valley. I told them this was the best spot to refill water bottles. The few other creek viewpoints offer precarious access to water at best. Looking at their faces, I knew I had made the right decision to descend here and spend three days regaining the elevation, rather than leisurely lose it and gain it all back over a few steep miles.
The trail continued its steady descent, swinging away from Morrison Creek, and gradually offering distant glimpses of Pate Valley and the Tuolumne River, whose rapids were slowly overtaking Morrison Creek’s tumbles as the primary sound. The immediate goal for the trail is a dome-like outcropping, over which the trail passes before making the final push for the canyon bottom.
After about 6 miles of hiking, the trail finally reached the canyon bottom and saw the Tuolumne River up close.
The trail cruelly offers few, fleeting glimpses of the Tuolumne River as it mostly stays away from its banks for nearly 2 miles before it rejoins the river via a couple of footbridges. Those bridges mark Pate Valley proper, and for most hikers, represent camp. I reached the bridges around 1:30 p.m., stopping for lunch and water just upstream from them. I wanted to press on a few miles further, since Pate Valley was a popular with not only campers but also foraging bears.
The SteriPen failed again, forcing me to wait a half hour for water to be ready, so lunch was slowed. After the long descent, I didn’t mind too much. As the sun climbed and I dropped below the haze, the canyon seemed to clear a bit, and the views up toward the high cliffs, thousands of feet above, became sharper.
The trail passed through open scrub forest and wound around huge boulders. Camping spots suddenly became fewer as the terrain became more vertical, and the valley gave way to topography more expected in a grand canyon.
Around 4 p.m., I began looking for a campsite in earnest. I found one about a half hour later, near a spot where the river slides rapidly over a granite chute into a large pool where I could get to water easily. Below the pool, the Tuolumne churns past several large boulders before tumbling over another series of dropoffs. The soundscape was magical, and so were the views.
The sun sunk back into the haze, wrapping the canyon, the river, and the rocks in an ethereal glow before vanishing behind the canyon wall. It was stunningly beautiful, and the water’s chorus was dramatic and soothing after a tough, hot day. I settled in for the night shortly before the sun actually set, watching the light slowly fade from my hammock. It was a hot night — relatively speaking — and I frequently awoke. The heat reflector (actually, a car windshield reflector) was trapping too much heat between me and the hammock body. As the night cooled, I got more comfortable.
The sound of what was likely a bear startled me, but it did not come into my campsite. It was probably looking for an easy drink of water. Every time I woke, I was soon lulled back to sleep by the rushing waters, probably the best natural sleep aid on earth.
Continues in Part 4: Walking Among the Waterfalls.
The complete trip report:
Part 1: Glacier Point Dayhike
Part 2: Porcupine and Yosemite Creeks
Part 3: Entering the Grand Canyon
Part 4: Walking Among the Waterfalls
Part 5: Glen Aulin to Cathedral Lakes
Part 6: The Tempest
Part 7: Sunrise to Clouds Rest
Part 8: Facing Fear on Half Dome
Part 9: Triumph Atop Half Dome
Part 10: The Final Miles
Part 11: From Woods to Wharves
Part 12: The Streets of San Francisco
Part 13: Muir Woods and Foggy Shores
Tags: canyon rims, cascades, grand canyon of the tuolumne, haze, jul08 yosemite trip, pate valley, pate valley trail, tuolumne river, yosemite national park
Anonymous
pam