Guide to Yosemite Part 3

ROAD TRIP IV

YOSEMITE TO TENAYA LAKE, TUOLUMNE MEADOWS AND MONO LAKE _via_ BIG OAK FLAT AND TIOGA ROADS

(Lake Tenaya 57.7 miles. Tuolumne Meadows 65.2 miles. Mono Lake 88.2 miles)

Most charmingly scenic of all trans-Sierran routes is the historic old ~Tioga Road~. Built by Chinese labor in 1881 to transport ore from the Tioga Mine (near Mono Lake) across the Sierra to the San Joaquin Valley, it soon fell into decay when the venture was abandoned. In 1915 the road was purchased by a group of public-spirited citizens and presented to the government. Since being well repaired it makes Yosemite accessible from the east and opens up the wonderfully fine camping country of the High Sierra to the automobile tourist. Hundreds of motorists take this exceptionally scenic short-cut to Lake Tahoe.

In normal years the road opens July 15th and closes September 30th.

Detailed information may be obtained from the "Circular of General Information regarding Yosemite National Park," or at the Motorists'

Information Bureau in Yosemite Village. The first twenty-three miles of the following trip describes the Big Oak Flat Road as far as Carl Inn, and should be of use to auto parties leaving the park by that route.

From Yosemite we may follow either the ~Bridalveil~ or the ~El Capitan Road~ westward. At El Capitan Bridge, four miles west of the village, the ~Big Oak Flat~ road turns abruptly northward. All machines should be registered at the nearby checking station. For safety, the park regulations permit the ascent on even hours only and at a speed of not more than twelve miles per hour.

Gradually mounting the talus slope of the rough canyon side, we emerge 1200 feet above the valley floor at ~New Inspiration Point~ from which is our last comprehensive view of the ~Gates of the Valley~. The outlook, although scenically not as perfect as that from the Wawona Road, is nevertheless quite attractive, for the depths below when viewed from this point seem almost always to be permeated by a transparent blue haze.

Near the top of the steady four-mile climb is ~Gentry Checking Station~, where motorists should again register. This is a possible camp for motorists but rather a poor location. One-half mile further is the "Gentry Townsite," laid out about 1914, and beyond, the site of the old Gentry Sawmill. There are here a few good places for auto camps. Water will be found at a spring above the road.

~Cascade Creek~ is crossed a short distance northward. The crossing offers no good camp sites. Fishing is fair. The short steep grade beyond the bridge is known locally as "Fords' Rest." We now ascend ~Lilly Creek~ to the crossing about half a mile above. Here the blazes of the old ~Mono Trail~ may be seen at the left leading down to a point on the rim of the canyon about three miles distant, where was once the terminus of the Coulterville Road. In the early days this was one of the chief routes used by the Indians and cattlemen.

Two miles beyond Cascade Creek is ~Tamarack Flat~ (Alt. 6390), named from the "tamarack" or lodgepole pine here so abundant. This is a splendid camping place, but somewhat cold. Fishing is fair and horse feed may be found upstream. A trail branching to the right leads to ~Aspen Valley~, six miles distant. It is extremely brushy, poorly marked and almost impa.s.sable.

Three miles westward is ~Gin Flat~, the summit of the Big Oak Flat Road. The meadow, bordered by red and white fir and Jeffrey and lodgepole pine, offers an attractive but cold campsite. There is a tradition that a barrel of gin was once buried here by one of the old-time whiskey peddlers, who was shortly afterwards killed. A more or less desultory search on the part of not a few "old-timers" failed to discover the prize, so after a few decades the matter became almost legendary. But in 1909, as a battalion of negro cavalry were marching to Yosemite for patrol duty, the tradition was in some way "picked up"

in Groveland by one of the troopers. The commanding officer could hardly understand why his troops pushed on so readily the next day until, when camp was pitched at Gin Flat, they started to dig. Not a stone in the vicinity was left unturned--but the gin was never found.

At ~Crane Flat~ (Alt. 6311) two miles further west are many excellent camp sites. This camping ground is the one nearest to the ~Tuolumne Grove of Big Trees~. Water is conveniently piped from a spring to the vicinity of the ranger cabin. It is a good plan, if camp is to be made at Crane Flat, to gather firewood _en route_, for it is scarce in the immediate region. Motorists should register at the log cabin of the Park Ranger, and all east-bound cars should take water. A road branching southwestward leads to ~Hazel Green~, about five miles distant on the Coulterville Road, and to the ~Merced Grove of Big Trees~, seven and a half miles away. It is narrow and steep, but in fair condition. About a quarter of a mile from Crane Flat the ~Davis~ (private) ~Road~ turns to the left from the Hazel Green cut-off and leads to ~Big Meadows~ (4.5 miles) and ~El Portal~ (11.5 miles).

The main road bears to the north a short distance after leaving Crane Flat and, after one mile of steep descent, enters the ~Tuolumne Grove of Sequoias~. Most of the thirty trees in the small grove are advantageously seen from the road, but a short side trip to the tunnelled ~Dead Giant~ (above and to the right) is well worth while.

This subsidiary road is steep and narrow and most people prefer to walk to the giant.

One-half mile below the grove the main road pa.s.ses beneath the rustic gateway which marks the boundary between ~Yosemite National Park~ and the ~Stanislaus National Forest~. There are two possible auto camps in the next mile, but neither are very good. Bearing westward the road follows down the canyon of ~North Crane Creek~. Good camp sites will be found at the crossing about two miles below the park line. ~Hogdon Ranch~, a little more than a mile further, is another good place to camp. At this abandoned cattle ranch an old road branches to the left.

It is impa.s.sable because of washouts. A mile and a half further along the main road is ~Carl Inn~, a mountain summer resort on the ~South Fork of the Tuolumne River~. Accommodations are excellent. Gasoline and oil may here be obtained. There are many fine camp sites in the vicinity and fishing is fair. One may obtain saddle or pack animals at the hotel for trail trips in the region.

Just west from the hotel is a main road junction. The ~Big Oak Flat Road~ to Chinese Camp, Knights Ferry and Stockton continues down the South Fork, while our road crosses the New England Bridge and bears northward. One mile takes us to another junction where the ~Hetch Hetchy Road~ (Road Trip V) branches to the left. The Tioga Road turns eastward, ascends a rather steep grade thru a fine forest of pine, cedar and oak, and in 4.2 miles again enters the park at ~Aspen Valley Ranger Station~. Motorists should stop and register. A government telephone is here available. There are excellent camping places in the vicinity and a good spring about two hundred yards northwest of the ranger cabin.

Two miles inside the park is ~Aspen Valley~, another abandoned cattle ranch. The long meadow offers a delightful camp. The ~Carlin Trail~, which is used chiefly by cattlemen, branches to the westward at this point and makes a rough descent to ~Ackerson Meadow~ six miles distant. Leading southeast is a trail to ~Tamarack Flat~ on the Big Oak Flat Road. Over most of its six miles it is so brushy as to be almost impa.s.sable and it is now little used. About one mile north of Aspen Valley the seldom used "~Packers' Trail~" begins at the left of the road and bears northward toward ~Hetch Hetchy~. From Aspen Valley eastward good camping places are so numerous that several will be pa.s.sed each hour. They will therefore not be mentioned in the following text.

Our road now ascends ~Long Gulch~, pa.s.ses over a low divide, and in 4.2 miles crosses the ~Middle Fork of the Tuolumne River~. This is an attractive auto camp but horse feed is scarce. The stream is well stocked with rainbow and eastern brook trout. We now follow along the well-wooded banks of the Middle Fork and in about three and a half miles, where the road makes a big bend toward the southeast, we find the beginning of the trail to ~Harden Lake~, ~Hetch Hetchy~, and ~the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne~.

The beautiful little ~Harden Lake~ (Alt. 7575) is only one mile distant by trail. It is a most attractive place to lunch and the round trip can easily be made in less than one hour. From points just north of the lake a most comprehensive view of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne is revealed. Harden Lake contains no trout.

~White Wolf~, some two miles beyond the Harden Lake Trail Junction, is one of the many fine meadows which our road now traverses. The old ~Ten Lakes Trail~ shown on the U.S.G.S. maps as leading eastward from this point has been superseded by the new ~Ten Lakes Trail~ up Yosemite Creek. The old blazes may be followed eastward two and a half miles to ~Lukens Lake~ (Alt. 8450), a charming little mountain lakelet surrounded by a park-like forest. It has not yet been stocked with trout.

About three miles beyond White Wolf the ~Yosemite Creek Trail~ (Trail Trip 11) branches to the right (south). Yosemite is ten miles distant by this excellent trail. Pa.s.sing several small meadows, one of which is ~Dark Hole~, we descend in about two miles to ~Yosemite Creek Ranger Cabin~. The station is connected by telephone to Yosemite. From here a good trail bears to the southwest and joins the main Yosemite Creek Trail one and a half miles below. Good camp sites are numerous in the vicinity and at the ~Yosemite Creek Crossing~, about a quarter of a mile eastward, the new ~Ten Lakes Trail~ follows up the east bank of the creek. Our road now ascends about two and a half miles of heavy grades, finally pa.s.sing over a flat divide and descending almost imperceptibly to the large meadows at ~Porcupine Flat~, an excellent camping place. One mile further the ~Yosemite Falls Trail~ branches to the right and leads southwest five miles to ~Yosemite Point~.

In another mile ~Snow Creek~ is crossed. Fishing is fair down stream.

~Snow Flat~, two and a half miles further, is an especially good place to camp. It is the usual base camp for the ascent of ~Mount Hoffman~ (Alt. 10,921), three miles to the northwest.

~May Lake~ (Alt. 9400) is about one mile north of the road by a plainly blazed but rough trail which climbs about 500 feet _en route_.

Beautifully set in the rugged glacial amphitheatre at the east shoulder of Mount Hoffman, which towers imposingly above, it offers one of the most attractive side trips of the region. As a campsite it is unsurpa.s.sed. In the days when troops were guardians of the park this was the officers' private fishing lake--and fishing is most excellent. It was stocked with Loch Leven trout in 1908, with eastern brook in 1908 and 1917, and with rainbow in 1908 and 1913.

From ~Snow Flat~ the road rises abruptly for a short distance, then descends 800 feet in the next three miles to ~Lake Tenaya~. Near a sharp bend in the road about one mile from the lake, a trail to the right (Trail Trip 5) leads to Yosemite via Mirror Lake.

~Tenaya Lake~ (Alt. 8141) is one of the gems of the High Sierra. It is a large, deep, glacial lake imposingly surrounded by granite crags and domes. Its Indian name, Py-we-ack, meant "lake of the glistening rocks," referring to the glacier polished granite at its upper end.

The lake and the pyramidal peak to the east were renamed Tenaya when the last remnant of Chief Tenaya's Yosemite Tribe was captured here by the Mariposa Battalion on June 5, 1851. The lake is one of the best in the park for a permanent auto camp. It was stocked with Loch Leven trout in 1911 and with rainbow, eastern brook, black spotted, and steelhead in 1917, 1918, and 1919, but fishing is only fair. From the lower end of the lake the ~Forsyth Pa.s.s Trail~ (Trail Trip 6) bears eastward across the rocky meadows, and the ~Yosemite Trail~ (Trail Trip 5) takes off toward the southwest.

Our road skirts the western lake sh.o.r.e. At a point where ~Murphy Creek~ enters from the north are the ruins of a log cabin which was built by John L. Murphy, one of the early pioneer guides of the region. The ~McGee Lake Trail~ to ~Waterwheel Falls~ here turns off from the road. Rounding the polished base of ~Polly Dome~ (Alt. 9786) we finally halt at ~Tenaya Lake Lodge~ near the white beach at the lake's upper extremity. Accommodations are excellent and fishing tackle and rowboats may be rented.

At the head of the long flat canyon bottom is a peculiar glacial monument often mistaken for Polly Dome. Pa.s.sing this, our road continues up the stream to its source, where the great Tuolumne Glacier overflowed and sent a branch southward to help carve out the stupendous depths of Tenaya Canyon.

~Tuolumne Meadows~ (Alt. 8594), the most superb of all high mountain pleasure grounds, lies seven and a half miles from Tenaya Lake. In the region are innumerable side trips to alpine summits, to lakes and streams teeming with trout, to thundering waterfalls, and to peaceful green pastures of the highlands. ~Tioga Pa.s.s~ (Alt. 9941) is seven miles further, and another sixteen miles takes us down Leevining Canyon to the weird semi-desert region at ~Mono Lake~. The road then continues northward to ~Lake Tahoe~ about 118 miles distant.

ROAD TRIP V

YOSEMITE TO HETCH HETCHY _via_ BIG OAK FLAT ROAD AND HETCH HETCHY RAILROAD

(Round trip 77 miles--1 day by motor and railroad)

A new and exceptionally scenic one-day round trip between Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy has been made possible by the construction activities on the San Francisco Dam. Throughout the entire season a gasoline railroad bus runs on daily schedule between Mather (Hog Ranch) and Hetch Hetchy, stopping long enough to allow one to view the wonderful canyon and to inspect the enormous engineering project. One may motor privately from Yosemite to Mather or may ride by the auto stage, which makes one round trip daily.

From Yosemite we follow the ~Big Oak Flat Road~ (Road Trips VI and IV) to the road junction one mile north of ~Carl Inn~, a resort on the ~South Fork of the Tuolumne River~. At this junction (23.4 miles from Yosemite) we turn to the left on the old ~Hog Ranch Road~, which bears to the northwest thru the pines of the Stanislaus National Forest.

The following six-mile drive to ~Mather~ is entirely thru delightful woods and meadows--a country quite attractive but with no startling scenic effects. At Mather is the ~Hog Ranch Ranger Station~, which is connected by telephone with Yosemite and outside points. Here we again enter ~Yosemite National Park~.

In the nine-mile rail-motor excursion to Hetch Hetchy we first traverse a dense pine forest for one mile and then, emerging at the rim of ~Tuolumne Canyon~, have a wonderfully scenic ride to our destination.

~Hetch Hetchy~ is a deeply sculptured Yosemite-like valley with the broad meadows of its level floor flanked by dominating castellated cliffs. Its most impressive feature is ~Kolana Rock~, a ma.s.sive promontory b.u.t.tressing the precipitous south wall. The two great waterfalls--~Tueeulala~, the spirit of gracefulness, and ~Wapama~, the very soul of power--tumble over the north ramparts at the upper end of the valley. Fortunate, indeed, will be the visitors of the next few seasons, for the great gorge will be as yet unflooded.

ROAD TRIP VI

YOSEMITE TO EL PORTAL _via_ EL CAPITAN ROAD

(15 miles--1-1/2 hours by stage)

The final hour in Yosemite National Park--that generally spent in the ride from the valley to El Portal--is one of interest, but it must be admitted, of anti-climax. Facing westward we lose the wonderful views which burst upon us in entering, but the trip, for all of that, is attractive. From Yosemite Village either the Bridalveil or the El Capitan Road may be followed. The former is the more scenic and is described as Road Trip VI-A. The latter is set forth in the following text.

Crossing ~Sentinel Bridge~ our poplar-bordered road bears northward across a wide meadow from which are magnificent views of ~Yosemite Falls~ and the ~Lost Arrow~ straight ahead, and ~North Dome~, ~Royal Arches~ and ~Half Dome~ to the right. At the Grizzly Hotel site a road forks eastward to Mirror Lake (Road Trip II). Turning westward beneath the giant black oaks of the meadow border, we soon pa.s.s the old Hutchings Orchard. The memorial bench at the left marks the spot from which Galen Clarke so loved to contemplate the beauty of "Cholook,"

the fall of falls. A little further are the wild azalia gardens of ~Yosemite Creek~. Just west of the rustic bridge a short branch road turns to the right to the foot of Yosemite Falls. We continue straight ahead, pa.s.sing Yosemite Hospital at the right and then running beneath the arcade of ~Yosemite Lodge~. Just across the road is the swimming tank, the tennis courts, laundry, etc. The main buildings occupy the site of Koom-i'-ne, the largest and most important of the old Indian villages.

Bearing southward, we now round the base of ~Three Brothers~, the Waw-haw'-kee or "falling rocks" of the Indians. At the foot of the great b.u.t.tress is ~Rocky Point~. The Yosemite tribes called the place We-ack (the rocks) because, according to their traditions, the huge boulders in the vicinity fell _upon_ their trail. It is among these boulders that Tenaya's three sons were captured in 1852, and the colossal monument above was named for them.

Swinging more directly westward, our road now skirts the base of ~El Capitan~, the Tote-ack-ah-noo-la or "rock chief" of the Indians. The image of their fanciful chief is to this day pointed out on the wall two thousand feet overhead, but he is now called "The Wandering Jew."

In a shallow niche 1189 feet above the road stands a hardy Jeffrey pine 82.4 feet high and two feet in diameter. For half a mile we pa.s.s thru ~El Capitan Meadows~, where once were the Indian villages of Yu-a'-chah, Ha-eng'-ah, He-le'-jah and Aw'-o-koi-e. At certain times during the day the ~Cathedral Spires~ and ~Cathedral Rocks~ on the opposite side of the valley stand out in remarkable perspective, but under general light conditions this stereoscopic effect is entirely lacking.

Beyond El Capitan the ~Ribbon Fall~ may be seen, its dainty streamer gracefully descending into the rather harsh box-like recess in the canyon wall. Its Indian name was Lung-o-to-ko-ya, or "pigeon falls." A cross road to the left pa.s.ses ~El Capitan Checking Station~ and crosses ~El Capitan Bridge~ to the ~Bridalveil Road~ south of the Merced (Road Trips I-A and VI-A). A few steps further along our route the ~Big Oak Flat Road~ turns to the right and ascends thru the shattered granite talus of the north canyon side. At this junction was the old Indian village of Hep-hep'-oo-ma.

Paralleling the Merced, we now and then are treated to glimpses of ~Bridalveil Fall~ dropping gracefully from its hanging valley and guarded at the left by ~Cathedral Rocks~ and at the right by the ~Leaning Tower~. Where our route traverses a small meadow is the site of another vanished village, We'-tum-taw. A short distance beyond is ~Black Spring~, which is but a few steps to the right of the road. The Yosemites called it Poot-poo-toon, and among the rocks surrounding it was a small community of the same name. Our road now bends gradually southward following the banks of the Merced. Across the stream is ~Bridalveil Meadow~ and an especially fine view of the ~Gates of the Valley~. A short distance further is ~Pohono Bridge~, where our road is joined by the ~Bridalveil Road~ (Road Trips I-A and VI-A) from the south side of the valley.