Re: Falls on Alder Creek?

We'll be making our annual trek to Yosemite in a few weeks, spending several days at Yosemite West and then a couple nights at TM (all we could get up there). We'll be doing day hikes in both places and I'm looking for some stuff I haven't yet done in the southern part of the park. I'm looking at various options in the area between GPR and Wawona and I seem to remember reading a TR a while back (I think from either chick-on or eeek but I might have that part wrong) about hiking up the Alder Creek Trail from the Wawona Road to some falls on Alder Creek. Unfortunately, I can't seem to locate that post now. I DO see a falls listed on one of my maps that looks like a reasonable day (or part-of-a-day) hike but can somebody who's been there tell me if it's a worthwhile hike and what the likelihood is of there being enough water for there to be anything to see when I get there?

Alder Creek Falls will be a trickle...

nuttin like this:



(need to go off 'road' to get this)

Anywho...

Do an advanced search on:
"alder" w/ chick-on as author for all dates...

Also... you may want to do an advanced search on:
"lumber" w/ chick-on as author for all dates...

I think you will find what you are looking for.

(of course it is worthwhile... there is an old railroad bed... and lots to explore if willing)
Z wawa fall will be a trickle tho...

Have fun

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Quote
chick-on
Alder Creek Falls will be a trickle...

Do an advanced search on:
"alder" w/ chick-on as author for all dates...

Also... you may want to do an advanced search on:
"lumber" w/ chick-on as author for all dates...

I think you will find what you are looking for.

(of course it is worthwhile... there is an old railroad bed... and lots to explore if willing)
Z wawa fall will be a trickle tho...

Have fun

That search doesn't bring up anything useful on my browser. But here is a link that will help:
http://yosemiteexplorer.com/trails/alder-creek-fall

Quote
wherever
That search doesn't bring up anything useful on my browser. But here is a link that will help:
http://yosemiteexplorer.com/trails/alder-creek-fall

I was going to post the same thing but as I was going through the stuff that DID come up to see if a topic may have veered off into Alder Creek Falls, I found so much stuff about the Old Wawona Road in that area that I've been reading (actually re-reading since I pretty much ate it up when it was first posted) that stuff ever since I did the search!

So thanks to chick-on for the walk down memory lane and thanks to wherever for the other link.

FWIW, much of what did come up when searching for "Alder" by chick-on was within this thread. I've since done the segments of the OWR described in there but in revisiting some of the many wonderful map overlays added to that thread, I realized that there's more of the OGPR for me to find. I've done the VERY clear section from BVCG down to Chinquapin and the much shorter mostly-buried-beneath-blowdowns section from BVCG back to the current alignment. I'd thought that the old and the new road were the same from there to GP but this overlaid map reminded me that there's a segment there where the old road is briefly north of the current alignment and it looks like there are a couple of more "cross-overs" between there and the 15MPH section when you start to descend to GP (the map shows those final switchbacks as being on a slightly different alignment but I assume that's just a problem from trying to align the 1938 and 1951 maps) so that's another thing for me to check out.

Ok, that explorer link is actually quite good...


You found what I thought you might ... of course there is more to be found...

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I assume that's one of the old RR beds? Interesting that they'd take the rails and not the lumber (although I guess the iron in the rails would have been more readily recycled and considered more valuable?). In London several years ago, I came upon a furniture store where everything was made out of reclaimed railway ties. Very nicely done stuff and quite reasonably priced but that stuff was HEAVY!!!! I remember looking at a little end table, not much more than about 18" on a side and it was hard to move...if we'd gone ahead and ordered the dining room set (by which we were tempted), we probably would have had to reinforce the floors in our dining room!

They took many of the ties I think... it's kind of neat to find a few here and there.
Yes, it's old RR bed. you can find bits and pieces of ties and rails around...
Lots around Alder... and lots around Rockefeller Grove.

PM me if you want other places...

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We should be making one of our all-too-infrequent trips to Yosemite next week (the "should" part of it is a long story...let's just say it's not definite at this point). Since my wife is recovering from a broken ankle, they'll be at least one or two days where she drops me at a trail head and picks me up somewhere else several hours later. I'd like to connect two hikes that we did last year by starting at the Westfall Meadow trail on the GRP (1), following that down to the old road to Deer Camp (2), taking that to Alder Creek Fall (opposite direction from Deer Camp) and then heading down to the Wawona Road at the Mosquito Creek hairpin turn (5).




The map shows the two bits I've already done with the purple bit in the middle being the unknown for me. A few questions for those familiar with this stretch:

1. Are there any issues getting across Alder Creek at the Falls (the time that I was up there was last fall when there was not a drop of water in the creek)?
2. Are there any other creek crossings that might be problematic right now (besides at the fall)?
3. The little bit of road between points 2 and 3 on the map above are very clear from what I saw. I didn't actually go quite to point 3 though. Does the road (actually a RR bed I believe) continue along my purple route or is it the bit that goes straight at that point?
4. Where I plan to turn south at point 3, is that clear sailing or am I likely to be doing some, a lot or non-stop bushwhacking to the falls?

In another post, chick-on mentioned that the USGS maps don't match what's on the ground here so I wanted to clarify things a bit with this map picture.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2016 12:49PM by DavidK42.

The bit between 2 and 3 is an old (rail) road. However, from 3 to 4 it is mostly a trail--you'll pick up a (rail) road again maybe 1/4 mile north of the falls.

When OD, JKW, and I did it a few months ago it seemed mostly clear of brush--but then again we had maybe 80% snow coverage then. I wouldn't be surprised if you hit some brush where the trail crosses Alder Creek--roughly where the trail from Empire Meadows joins about 1/2 way from 3 to 4.

My hunch would be that Alder Creek is past its peak due to its relative low elevation, and I think that's the only significant crossing. We had to wade across it, but there is probably a lot less snow melting there now.

Note that from 3 the (rail) road continues west/northwest to the Wawona road near Chinquapin. A spur (rail) road heads south from this--just west of 3--to a point a bit north of 4, but this isn't maintained.

The bit just south of 5 was a bit brushy when we did it, but the trail was easy to follow.

Bear in mind... Westfall Meadow... um... that will be fun getting thru...
Think delicious goodness ... soupy... me thinks...
Something like Monroe...

Take some pix... it was on the short list for JKW/Blop TQ...
Tioga opening bumped it...

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Thanks, gentlemen! Even though I've had the experience of VERY wet meadows before (the first time I went through Mono Meadow, some of the logs for crossing the wetter sections were actually floating), I didn't stop to think about Westfall being soggy (too focussed on what might be involved in getting past the Alder Creek fall area) so thanks for that little reminder!
As for the brush on the final descent down to the Wawona Road...yes...been there, done that (both on my previous excursion up to the RR bed as well as the first time I was hunting for the OWR in this area)...yes, that's definitely a "just trust that you're still on the trail and keep going" situation in places!
As of now, the trip is still planned but we've got a bit of a family situation that might prevent us from going at the last minute. As long as we make it, I'll post a report when we get back (with pictures if I can manage to get that working again!)

Figured out what I was doing wrong with the photo link (I'll explain in a separate thread for anyone else who might be having problems).

You've both given me an alternate version for this hike which is to stay to the right (west) at (3) and just go back to Henness Ridge. Since we'll be staying at Yose West, that would save my having to co-ordinate a pick-up at Mosquito Creek. On one of my earliest trips to Yosemite, I started doing that stretch of the trail (from Henness Ridge east) but at that time, I only wanted hikes that either surrounded me in Giant Sequoias or had ongoing panoramic views so I gave up after a mile or so and turned around (there was also a fair amount of deadfall in the area that year...trivial compared to much of what I've done in my various old-road quests but enough to be intimidating to me at the time). So both that segment of the trail and the bit from (3) south to Alder Creek Fall are on my to-do list.

Thanks again, gentlemen!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2016 01:33PM by DavidK42.

The trail goes literally right thru the largest Westfall Meadow.
You might end up just working around it entirely. There's an intersting structure right on
the ski trail ... I need to look up the number... maybe I will post the item...
Anyway... have fun.. o... I have crossed maybe 1/10th upstream of the fall itself...
trying to follow the old railbed... which you may want to do ...
It's VERY overgrown in many places though if you continue W and N from the falls
towards Henness Ridge.

Have fun

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