Adventure: 88, Hike 002
Team: Thing One, Thing Two
Date: May 8, 2012
Location: Wawona, Yosmite
Hike Info:
Trail: Wawona to Alder Creek
Distance: 8 miles
Duration: 4:20
Elevation Rise: 2,568
Description:
We make it to the trail head at Wawona
around 9:40. Then hit the road a half an hour later. Much better than
the last time we were up here.
Same trail, same sun on us. We go a
third of mile when Sherri discovers she left her GPS on the hood of
the car. Steven goes back to get it. Sherri and I continue on.
Dry heat with little breezes at time to
cool us off. When we left the car, it was 70 degrees. At 11, after
going 1.2 miles and 700' up, we stop for an elevense's break. After a
few minutes, Steven catches up with us.
More uphill. I write a little while
longer as Steven and Sherri continue on. I plod after them for about
half an hour before catching up with them. We past the fallen log
where we lost the GPS last time. At 12:15, we have our lunch, 2.8
miles into the trail-just a tenth of a mile from the Mosquito Creek
trail junction. Usual fare of Ritz crackers, Peanut Butter and
Nutella. We debate on how healthy can this be? My thinking, who
cares? It tastes so good and we are doing so much work, it cannot be
too bad.
While reading and resting, we saw a
hawk gliding overhead, riding the warm air currents. It looks so
graceful as he swoops and pivots and swoops again, free from visible
effort. But we get no picture for Capture California.
1pm—we leave our lunch spot and start
in. Shortly we come to the trail junction. After this it is a series
of rolling hills, gradually going up. We pass our campsite from three
weeks ago—completely free of snow. Three Falls is still flowing.
After a spurt of up hill, we top out on the old railroad grade. From
here, the trail is flat. You see remnants of old railroad ties. We
stop at our creek to refill water bottles and take a break.
Then comes the highlight of the
trip—Alder Falls. If Alder Falls was along a road or in the Valley,
it would compete with Vernal and Nevada Falls. But you need to hike
in 5 miles, climb 2,000' to enjoy this view—I like it that way. The
effort makes the enjoyment that much better.
We look and gawk at the Falls. Then
continue on, up Alder Creek. Then the railroad leaves us above the
Falls. The trail is more single file. But gentle. We get to the creek
crossing for Alder Creek. The snow runoff is going strong still. So
we ponder our options. In the end, we decide to stop before crossing.
We have gone 7 miles, with a gain of 2200' in four hours walking. Not
bad. Of course, my brother would not let this stop him. (Later in
talking with him, he thought that we were there to enjoy, not to show
courage.) We have crossed this creek before, just as wet, just as
wide. But it is just as cold now as then. I am getting more cautious
in my old age.
Capture California, the Game-2012
Last year we did this trail counter-clockwise. So this year we
thought we would do it clockwise. This means starting at the general
parking lot. We then travel up to the Wawona Hotel, where Thing One
discovers he forgot the camera. So back to the car he goes. But not
for long as he catches up with Thing Two and our son Steven just
after crossing the highway. Then it is on to a pleasant walk around
the perimeter of the meadow. The southern end of the meadow the park
service has been restoring back to its earlier drainage patterns.
Even with the restoration project, a lot of the meadow does look dry.
But it has also been a very low rainfall year. As we have circled
back on the west side of the meadow, we come to the northern half of
the meadow, which has been turned into a golf course, back in 1918.
On the golf course, we see a deer and her fawn feeding. As we finish
out the walk, we decide that we have had enough for today and it is
down to Todd's Cookhouse in Oakhurst for some of the BBQ food in
California.
Item: 8 - Wawona
Meadow Loop Trail
Capture California, the Game-2012
We found this hike last year while hunting for California falls
for Capture California. Sometimes a repeat hike is just so ho-hum,
but not this time. Last year we could see only the lower falls
because there was enough water coming down, it would have made it
hard crossing Big Creek. This year, with the drought and all, and it
being late summer, it was a dry crossing. So we saw the lower, middle
and upper falls, and as Ann Marie Brown says in her book, California
Waterfalls, the last one is the most photographed, and well it should
be. I am with her that if it was not for Yosemite, this set of falls
would have its own park.
The next morning when we awoke, we found we paid a small price for
the enjoyment of the skies. Our sleeping bags had been wetted with
the dew of the morning. Our backpacks had seen frost.
Adventure: 88, Hike 002
Location: Wawona, Yosmite
Description:
While reading and resting, we saw a
hawk gliding overhead, riding the warm air currents. It looks so
graceful as he swoops and pivots and swoops again, free from visible
effort. But we get no picture for Capture California.
Then comes the highlight of the
trip—Alder Falls. If Alder Falls was along a road or in the Valley,
it would compete with Vernal and Nevada Falls. But you need to hike
in 5 miles, climb 2,000' to enjoy this view—I like it that way. The
effort makes the enjoyment that much better.
We look and gawk at the Falls. Then
continue on, up Alder Creek. Then the railroad leaves us above the
Falls. The trail is more single file. But gentle. We get to the creek
crossing for Alder Creek. The snow runoff is going strong still. So
we ponder our options. In the end, we decide to stop before crossing.
We have gone 7 miles, with a gain of 2200' in four hours walking. Not
bad. Of course, my brother would not let this stop him. (Later in
talking with him, he thought that we were there to enjoy, not to show
courage.) We have crossed this creek before, just as wet, just as
wide. But it is just as cold now as then. I am getting more cautious
in my old age.