Hike Info:
Type: Hiking
Trail head: Turnout a little before Bridalveil Falls
Trail: Old Wawona Road
Destination: Inspiration Point
Actual Destination: Meadow Creek
Distance: 3.20 miles
Start Time: 9:58
End Time: 1:43Travel Time: 3:45 (0.85 mph)
Moving Time: 2:27 (1.30 mph)
Elevation Rise: 784' 1
Descent: 735‘
Maximum Elevation: 4,486'
GPS Tracks
1There
is a significant difference between what I computed and what Google
Earth shows. Google Earth shows a 1,368’ elevation gain. I think
mine is closer to actual. Also Sheri’s FitBit tracker had her
rising up 580’ So take your choice.
Description:
 |
Old Wawona Road at pavement
|
I
don’t think I have hiked the
Old Wawona Road
in over three years. Also it has been awhile since we walked with
Rose. And as a newbie, to hiking with us-not to hiking, is our
neighbor Don. I am concerned all the way around. First, am I in good
enough shape to go up 1300’? The good thing about this trail is
that we can always turn around if I get too winded. Then there are a
couple of creeks which will probably be higher than we have seen them
before. How high is the question? Will they be crossable? The answer
we will find out.
I
got up at 5:30 and relaxed for a little while, then had breakfast,
and got
ready. A little after 7, Don comes over and the three of us-Sherri
being the third-leaves to pick up Rose. We get to her house
at
7:30. Jeff, Rose’s husband greets us. We introduce Don and Rose to
each other. After a few minutes of talking, we drove
off towards Yosemite
Valley,
stopping only at the entrance station and Chinquipin.
 |
Snow beneath that stack
|
We
turned
around at the Bridalveil
Falls  |
What the road looks like a third of a mile in
|
parking
lot-under construction-and park at a wide place right across from the
Old Wawona Road. We get ourselves ready-putting on boots, setting our
poles to the right length, and then putting on our backpacks. The
first part of the road has gotten a lot more rocky. Just being
careful not to turn an ankle.
Don
is definitely in the best shape of all of us as he jumps ahead. But
we do pretty good as we go up the road. The emphasis is on up. There
are plenty
of reasons
to stop. We can look across the Valley to see Ribbon
Falls
and a multitude of unnamed streams coming down the side of the
slopes.
With
Don in the lead, he spots what looks like a path looping back, But it
almost immediately
stops at a dry creek. Wonder what that means. Also at this dry creek
is a large area of snow. What
is that here?Looks like
it was covered with dirt and leaves. But we continue on our way up
the road,’
We
come to the second unnamed creek. This one has some water, so we only
get the bottom of our boots wet. I am  |
Meadow Brook
|
staying
back
so Don gets to examine the next obstacle. This
time it is a creek
named
Meadow
Brook.
When we
crossed this creek before, it was dry. Today, it is a pretty good
challenge. The thing which makes it a bit daunting is that it has
washed part of the road away. The water then flys over the edge on
its way to the Valley floor. Pretty sure I do not want to join the
water on this. Don goes up high and is studying the situation. When
along comes three young females-for an almost 70 years old, young is
about 20 or so. They examine the situation from the other side and
decide to cross where Don is. He helps them. When we discuss the
situation, the take is that it would be doable with some risk. Our
boots and socks would get wet and it would be uncomfortable for the
rest of the hike. So we turned
around there.
The
way down is a lot easier. I stopped by the place which Don saw and
was wondering about what it could be-it really looked like a trail
and not a bad one. So I went up the dry creek to the trail level.
There were
some fallen trees |
Unnamed trail
|
blocking the way. Don joined me and we picked our way through the
branches. Yep, there is an honest to goodness trail there. Don goes
and gets Rose and Sherri. When they come back we start to explore
this trail.
I
have walked marked trails which were a lot worse to travel and to
follow than this one. It gets me to wondering about how long ago this
trail was laid down. Usually these unmarked trails are overgrown with
shrubs and trees across them, but this one is clean. It is a
puzzlement. It wanders away from the road with a slight decline. As
we travel, I begin to speculate that it will end up at the Bridalveil
parking area. As we are the only ones on this trail, it is quiet and
nice being away from everyone when I know how close people are just a
quarter mile away. I comment from one of Sherri’s authors:
We sly hikers know that just because a trail vanishes
from the map doesn't mean it vanishes from the face of the earth.
- John McKinney, A Walk Along Land's End, pg 163
Evidently
I must be either more observant or more curious than the others. I
noticed two things. First, a fresh pile of bear scat by the trail-I
quickly look around to see if the Ursus americanus is still around,
but do not see it. A little ways further, there is cairn, a duck on
what looks like the place where water has run off. Now why would
there be something like that? So I wander off, following the little
rivelet and come across more ducks. Eventually I find a great view of
Bridalveil. This puts me about ten minutes behind the rest. They
dutifully are waiting for me.
 |
Gary and Rose on unnamed trail
|
We
now have confirmation that this trail leads us to the Bridalveil
Parking area. But it is closed to the public, except on the way we
came in. How do we get beyond the barricades?
Don sets off cross-country (what is going cross-country when you are
on an unmarked trail?) I tag along, but he quickly outpaces me. I try
to keep contact with Sherri and Rose. I have spotted a trail to the
Falls below, but there is a rather steep decline. Then I see Don on
the trail coming back to the parking lot. I make my way back to
Sherri and Rose-Don beats me there.
The
report is that what Don was following is blocked off. So we descend
into the parking area and go up the old path, hoping we look
inconspicuous. Nobody challenges us, so I guess we are successful. We
set over a barrier and now are legit. Don went up to the Falls
overlook. I had been up there last week so I did not go and Sherri
and Rose did not seem inclined to go that way. We found a place below
the path to eat, by the creek. A good place. A Stellar Jay tries to
make friends with Rose and her lunch, but evidently Rose does not
want to be that friendly.
 |
Don on his log
|
From
comments earlier, I think we are ready to go back to Fresno. Well
that is except for Don. In his heart he would really like to tackle
the Old
Big Oak Flat Road.
But that is in the sunshine and even I do not like the idea of all of
the radiated heat on us. After lunch, we tried
taking a shortcut
to meet the road. This works out fine,
mostly. Zeno may have been right about how you travel, but even in
showing you can never get someplace by his dichotomy
paradox,
I can show that you will always have obstacles getting anyplace. In
our case, the going was easy until we got |
Cascade Falls
|
close to the road. There is a tiny branch of Bridalveil Creek runoff
which is blocking our route. Nothing insurmountable. We just did not
want to get our feet wet-remember running into this earlier? Don
finds a log he can get on. Rose is able to use his technique, but
Sherri does not want to. So Sherri and I splash through the creek.
Now
it is only a third of a mile up the road back to the car-how
uneventful. We go through Wawona Tunnel, but stop on the overlook a
mile later. Here Don takes me down onto a shelf where I can get a
full view of Cascade
Falls.
That is simply awesome-in the older sense of the word. I find Don
talking with a father-daughter team from Phoenix.
They are looking for a place to go kayaking in the park. Neither of
us can think of a good place, so Don recommends Bass
Lake,
close enough to the Park.
We
get back into the car and head back to Oakhurst, stopping at Reimers
for some well deserved ice cream. A reward for a hike, even if the
hike was different than expectations. We make it back to Fresno,
dropping off Rose and Don, by 5:30.
While
today was not much in the way of miles or elevation gain or even
accomplishment, it was a good day. We discovered a new trail. Even
more so it was good to walk with Rose and Don-and of course, Sherri.
Trail Lesson:
Be
open
to
a different adventure, even if it is a trail you have been on before
or in our daily lives.
