Hetch Hetchy Valley

 Tunnel from the dam to the trail on the way back

 The light at the end of the tunnel

 Snow on the mountain on the way to Hetch Hetchy

 Entrance to Hetch Hetchy

 O'Shaughnessy Dam

 Hetch Hetchy Resorvoir

 The "famous" Pine Cone Rock

 Kolona Rock with snow on the mountains in the distance

 Tueeulala Falls

 Wapoma Falls (one of many cascades)

 Squirrel on Rock, I think he lives here and is not just a visitor like me

Another cascade

First a note about something yesterday that I forgot. As I was descending the trail from Vernal Falls, there were some Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) workers that had come up the trail to trim some dead trees off the hillside. I guess the rocks won that round. I didn't know that the CCC was still around. My dad worked for the CCC in east Texas during the depression, so I thought it was neat that the organization still exists. Who knew!

I slept much better last night as the temps were not nearly as cold. My tent cabin was 54F when I awoke around 6 am. I slept pretty much through the night, hardly moving since I was so tired and somewhat sore from the days activities. I dressed, had my devotional and headed to breakfast a little after 7am. While eating, Dara, the young woman who is in wilderness EMT training came in and ate her breakfast with me. She was headed out for a day of trauma training. I was headed for a day of trauma hiking.

After breakfast I went back to my cabin to collect my things to head toward Hetch Hetchy which was going to be a 2 hour drive. Apparently Samantha did not want to go along on the trip today. We had been getting along quite well for the week. She had navigated me from San Francisco to the Yosemite Bug with a stop at the In -N-Out burger along the way. She got me to Yosemite Valley, which wasn't all that hard considering I got back on CA-140 and drove west until I ran into the park. But today for some reason she didn't want to go. She was hiding from me. I know she had been in the cabin last night since we reviewed the drive to Hetch Hetchy, but this morning she was no where to be found. I searched high and low in the cabin and in the car, but could not find her. But, I had my AAA maps so I headed off to Hetch Hetchy without her. When I returned I found her hiding in my other backpack underneath some bathing towelettes. I had looked in that bag this morning but didn't dig around close enough.

I got to Hetch Hetchy around 11:30 am having wasted over 30 minutes looking for Samantha, drove through the mountains between Yosemite Valley and Hetch Hetchy where there was still snow on the ground. I parked the car and headed for the O'Shaughnessy Dam and the trail to Tueeulala Falls and Wapama Falls. This was to be an "easy" hike according to the guide for a 5 mile round trip to the second of the two falls. A Third fall, Rancheria was further up the trail but it was over twice as far as the first two, so I opted for the "easier" hike. I reached Wapama Falls around 1 pm and it was worth the trip. I was somewhat concerned since the hiking in Yosemite Valley had put a blister on the upper ball of my left foot and one on the side/bottom of my right little toe. The gel insoles in my hiking boots helped and I wore two sets of socks to provide more cushioning. Along the way I met some folks from the area, Tuscon, Maryland-DC area, Brooklyn and Israel. At the second falls I rested for a while and had a trail mix bar and a bottle of water.

Around 1:30 pm I headed back down the trail, reversing the course that took be up to the falls. At one point on the trail back I did remember coming that way, but a little ways up that trail was a sign that I had seen on the way up, so I figured I must have been on an alternate route. Sometimes the trail was hard to find, particularly if it went over a large section of rocks. The trail had an elevation change of 300 ft and consisted of up and down sections with some smooth surface, but mostly rocky pathways. The last 1/4-1/2 mile to the second falls was downhill but a rougher trail than the previous 2 miles. I arrived back at the dam around 2:30pm, with my blisters yelling at me, changed back into my tennis shoes and headed back.

I arrived back at Yosemite Bug a little after 4:30 pm, found Samantha, then went a took a nice warm shower. I returned to my cabin and uploaded my pictures for the day and a little past 6 pm headed on over to the Cafe at the Bug for dinner where I dined on grilled tritip steak, garlic mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.

Tomorrow I head toward the south end of Yosemite to a place called Wawona where I will visit the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and hope to visit Chilnuualns Falls.  Hope my feet hold out. Tomorrow shouldn't be a much hiking as today, thankfully. And who knows, maybe Samantha will go along on the trip.

See you down the road.