Gary-Summer: Place: CA-Alder

Thursday, January 1, 1970

Place: CA-Alder

Alder Falls (Yosemite, Wawona) (Long, Lat)
Alder Creek-3,547' (Yosemite, Wawona) (37.5768782, -119.6984957)

Description:

A tributary of the South Fork of the Merced River; crossed by the Wawona Road five miles south of Wawona. "Undoubtly named for a native species of alder, Alnus rhombifolia." (YNP files.) A common name, but one might speculate that it was named by the members of the Whitney Survey who passed this way in the summer of 1864, since the name first appeared on the 1863-1867 Hoffman and Gardiner map. (YNP)

From Ann Marie Brown's book, California Waterfalls:
Yosemite National park is home to some of the world's most famous waterfalls. But after you've tromped around and made your obligatory visit to Bridalveil, Vernal, Nevada, and Yosemite Falls, you may want to seek out a waterfall that few people know about and even fewer visit.

Alder Creek Falls is your ticket. It's a waterfall you can call your own for a while, but you have to work a little to earn it. For starters, you have to find the unmarked trailhead along Wawona Road-no small feat. (Follow the directions exactly.) Then you have to hike straight uphill into the Yosemite Wilderness with nary a switchback for just shy of a mile. After that, things get easier.

The first stretch of this trail leads uphill through a fire scared forest, the result of a controlled burn in 2008 (not a wildfire). Catch your breath after your one-mile ascent, then make a left turn at the signed trail junction, which indicated that Alder Creek is 3.2 miles away (the trail on the right goes to Wawona in 2.9 miles.) Your route continues to climb through dense ponderosa pines and incense cedars, although the grade is not a bit tamers.

After a total of three miles of climbing through the forest--just trees, trees, and more trees--the trail suddenly levels out and goes completely flat. You're now walking on an old railroad grade, and if you look carefully, you'll occasional see wooden railroad ties still embedded in the dirt. It was on this section of trail that I surprised a big black bear lumbering along in front of me, making his morning rounds. He turned around and looked at me with a shocked expression on his face, then darted off into the woods.

You may be surprised as he was when you hear pounding water through the silence of the trees. In a few moments, your view opens up to Alder Creek and its 250' fall, pouring grandly over a granite lip. The railroad grade laterals alongside it, heading upstream, taking you near the brink of the falls. The best view of the entire drop is right along the trail, about 100 yards before the falls. (Stay on the trail; there is no way to get any closer by scrambling off-trail because the waterfall's canyon is too steep.)

Beyond the fall, the trail continues along Alder Creek, paralleling it for 3.5 miles all the way to Deer Camp and Empire Meadow. If you're backpacking, Deer Camp is the best place to spend the night. I walked just .25 miles beyond the falls, where there is a tiny feeder stream that inspires some great wildflowers, including mariposa lilies, iris, blue lupine, and purple vetch, and an interesting rock formation with trees growing on top. Any number of places make good stopping points along the creek, where you can drop your packs and pull out your lunch.

From Wikipedia's Yosemite West, the railroad line you walk along is from Yosemite Lumber Company railroad

From GNIS:

Heads just south of Westfall Meadows, flows southwest to South Fork Merced River.

Trips:

March 28, 2014 - Day hike with Sherri and Gary with Jerry J, Dana and Matt
May 30-31, 2013 - Overnight backpack trip with side trip up to Deer Camp
May 8-9, 2012 - Overnight backpack trip. This is a return engagement of our April trip
April 18-19, 2012 - Overnight, but snow gets in our way
November 2, 2011 - Day trip with Steven, Sherri and Gary
May 2007 - Overnight, Sherri and Gary
April 2, 2016 - Day hike with Dana, Betty, Cece and Konnie
May 14, 2016 - Overnight backpack trip with Rachel and Gary
May 15, 2016 - Returning from an overnight backpack trip with Rachel and Gary
May 29, 2016 - Day hike from Deer Camp and back
July 6, 2019 - Overnight backpack trip to above Alder Falls with all in family plus Lawrence and Andrea S
July 7, 2019 - Return from overnight backpack trip to above Alder Falls with all in family plus Lawrence and Andrea S
May 29 and 30, 2021 - Overnight trip to Alder Falls with Sherri, Andrea, Steven and Gary.