Yosemite National Park
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Wapama Falls Yosemite National Park |
June 20, 2022
To finish off my 80th Birthday Tour, friends Brenda, Cindy, Dave, Eileen and Paul will join me on a trail that is new to them all. Twelve years ago (Hike #83), I drowned a virtually new camera in the spray of Wapama Falls. The plan is not to let that happen again.
The closest trailhead is just above O'Shaughnessy Dam
The walk begins with a traverse of the dam itself. Along the way are numerous signposts detailing its features, including the rationale for constructing the thing at all. In fact, however, its creation was an unlawful reaction to the San Francisco fire of 1906, and has been the subject of ongoing litigation ever since the losing battle against its construction broke John Muir's heart.
Looking down the front of the "O Shame on Me Dam"
On the far side of the dam is a feature not found on many trails.
This tunnel facilitated a railroad during the construction process
There's the destination
Gaping Keckiella
Balsamroot
An interesting dike in the boulder
Easy walking alongside the reservoir
California Thistle
Harvest Brodiaea
The trail has been quite friendly ...
... until now
I had expected to see a lot of flowers today, but wow!
Charming Centaury
Why is this Poison Oak bleeding?
Yerba Santa
Dense-flowered Owl's Clover
Common Madia
Splendid Mariposa Lily
The cliff-side is pretty dry today
This bench is a non-stop garden
California Compass Plant
Monkeyflower
White Brodiaea
This Clay Mariposa is quite popular
Kolana Rock stands nearly 2,000 feet above the water
Clean and inviting
The ephemeral Tueeulala Falls have dried up for the season
The big falls themselves have disappeared from view; and because they are around a corner, not much can be heard from them either.
Getting closer
Finally, our near future becomes more clear:
The infamous footbridge is dry today
The first good view of the falls is from the bridge itself. This is precisely where I killed my camera previously, by failing to protect it from the spray and water that actually covered the bridge at the time (see Addendum).
Wapama Falls, 1480'
A second footbridge provides a slightly different perspective.
The best available viewpoint
It is unfortunate that the entirety of the falls cannot be seen from here. In order to do that, one must climb Kolana Rock across the way. That actually can be done safely with a modicum of bushwhacking, but it's not on my bucket list.
The falls plunge into the reservoir
The cataract actually was 300 feet higher before they filled up the valley.
The base of Kolana Rock
From here, hikers can continue upstream to Rancheria Falls and beyond.
A glorious three-day trek could get one up the Tuolumne River to Waterwheel
Falls and Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp, not that that would be a worthwhile destination
these days. Due to forest fires, Covid-19, and heinous mismanagement, the
Yosemite high camps are closed up for the fourth year in a row. Eileen and I will
continue to enter the annual lotteries, however.
Starting back
Interesting texture
Looking back
This Acmon Blue is new to my collection
Few reservoirs are more beautiful than this one
It's not far now
A better view of the release flows
Last view of the falls
In closing, I would share my two favorite flower photos of this entire
trip — a variety of Clarkia called Winecup Fairyfan, and the lowly
Tomcat Clover. Both were present in the thousands on today's route.
This is why I go hiking
§: Well, that was wonderful! I finally got some real photographs
of the falls. This made my three-day Birthday #80 Tour a total success.
A bit more water would have been nice, though. Tueeulala Falls can be quite lovely, and I actually was looking forward to getting wet on the Wapama Falls Bridge.
| Scenery |  |
| Difficulty |  |
| Personality |  |
| Flowers |  |
ADDENDUM
Here's what the Wapama Falls Footbridge looked like on my prior outing:
June 9, 2010
And this is what Hetch Hetchy Valley was like before they drowned it:
