Title: May 31, 2023 - Old Wawona Road
Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons : Background : Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants
Type: Hiking
Distance: 3.20 miles
Start Time: 9:58
End Time: 1:43
Travel Time: 3:45 (0.85 mph)
Moving Time: 2:27 (1.30 mph)
Elevation Rise: 784' 1
Descent: 735‘
Maximum Elevation: 4,486'
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. |
| Old Wawona Road at pavement |
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
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.
What the road looks like a third of a mile in
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
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.
Meadow Brook
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
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.
Unnamed 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 |
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 |
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.
Background
That unmarked trail? I could not find it on older maps. As I was talking with a ranger later, I am thinking this may be a new trail they have not opened up yet. The Old Wawona Road Trail got removed from maps several years ago. I noticed Thursday in Wawona that it is back on a map. We will find out in a couple of months if my speculation is correct. I hope so.
Meadow Brook Also found out that this creek is the source for one of the hidden falls of Yosemite, Silver Strand Falls.
Extra Photo's
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| Bridalveil Falls |
 |
| El Capitan and Ribbon Falls |
 |
| An unnamed creek |
 |
| Ribbon Falls |
 |
| Unnamed Trail |
 |
| Bridalveil Falls |
 |
| Cascade Falls |
Animals
Flowers and Plants
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