Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne Pictures

Figured I should share the pictures from my July 17-19 trip since I got lots of useful info here before heading out for the trip...

Day 0: Left the Bay Are and camped at the Tuolumne Meadow backpackers camp. Was pleasantly surprised at the relative quiet for such a full group camp!

Day 1: From TM to a camp site just above Waterwheel Falls. The amount, speed, and sound of all the water was truly incredible. I've never experienced anything like that before.



Tuolumne Falls



White Cascade



Water slide!



Le Conte Falls



Sunset above Waterwheel Falls



Day 2: From Waterwheel Falls to Pate Valley. Crossing Register Creek was a concern at the outset, but in the end it wasn't too bad. With the clues provided by the ranger at the permit station, we were able to locate some Native American pictographs around Pate Valley.

Lots of flowers in bloom





Still a few damp spots to negotiate



Pictographs



Great spot to camp



Day 3: From Pate Valley up, up, and up to White Wolf. Hard, though plenty of good scenery (and a giant rattlesnake) to provide distraction from the climb.

The moon and Morrison Creek



Yup, that water was cold!



GPS read "Harden Garden" and I can't argue with that.





From WW we were able to hitchhike back to the car at TM. Great trip!

See all the pictures and some movies at: http://bit.ly/GCoT201107

great shots, I gotta get on that trail soon

Just breathtaking!

Beautiful area. Thanks for sharing your shots. I especially like the sunset shot. The man standing in that spot just really does something for the photo... not sure why.

Beautiful pictures; must have been an exquisite trip! Thank you; can't wait for our annual pilgrimage to Tuolumne Meadows! (...later than usual this year...we like to go for the Perseids ...)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2011 10:31PM by pgavin.

That shot by Waterwheel Falls with the mist in the air must be around where Galen Rowell took one of his more memorable photographs, one he must have used magic pixie dust.


http://www.life.com/gallery/53531/image/ugc1151771#index/10

After Pate valley it is a hard climb out? Is it the terrain or because of the higher than normal water levels?

Thanks.

Oh yeah, what tent is that?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2011 08:53AM by Hitech.

The climb out is hard because you go up nearly 4000 feet in not a lot of miles In fact, we passed a couple of guys that had begun the climb out the day before us and had camped just past Morrison Creek because they got tired!

The tent is a Tarptent Moment. Great bit of gear.

Thanks, I thought it looked like the Moment. Have you ever used the Rainbow/Double Rainbow?

Thanks again.

I only have personal experience with the Moment. I do have a friend with the Double Rainbow and he is quite pleased with it.

Just be aware that the single-wall design does seem to result in more condensation on the inside of the tent.

Thanks. It seems like "everyone" is happy with whichever one of those tents they own.

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vitaminC
I only have personal experience with the Moment. I do have a friend with the Double Rainbow and he is quite pleased with it.

Just be aware that the single-wall design does seem to result in more condensation on the inside of the tent.

Did you opt for the custom interior liner for the Moment?

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plawrence

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vitaminC
I only have personal experience with the Moment. I do have a friend with the Double Rainbow and he is quite pleased with it.

Just be aware that the single-wall design does seem to result in more condensation on the inside of the tent.

Did you opt for the custom interior liner for the Moment?

I don't think it was available when I got the tent, or at least I didn't notice it. So no, I don't have it. The condensation doesn't bother me enough to warrant the extra ounces

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vitaminC
The climb out is hard because you go up nearly 4000 feet in not a lot of miles

That's why I went the other direction.

Is this even close to being full runoff? Wondering if I should go this weekend.....or save the trip for earlier this month next year....I know its all dependent on mother nature. Thanks for anyone's advise.

The runoff levels must have peaked a few weeks ago. At that point the route was impassable in places. IMHO, now is a great time to go- the falls are amazing and still lots of flowers in bloom.

Great pictures, thanks for sharing! Hopefully, I'll be doing this trip (with wife and friend) this weekend. Looks like the water will still be spectacular. (Actually, our crazy plan is to walk from White Wolf to the Pothole Dome parking lot as a big day trip on Sunday...)

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basilbop

Great pictures, thanks for sharing! Hopefully, I'll be doing this trip (with wife and friend) this weekend. Looks like the water will still be spectacular. (Actually, our crazy plan is to walk from White Wolf to the Pothole Dome parking lot as a big day trip on Sunday...)

That's a long day hike! How early are you planning to set off on your hike? At first light (5:30 AM)?

Nice trip report. Love the ongoing intensity of the waterfalls.

Do you have more pictures of the pictographs?!

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Half Dome Hiker
Nice trip report. Love the ongoing intensity of the waterfalls.

Do you have more pictures of the pictographs?!

Not much. It was the end of the day so I was getting a bit tired...

Any clues to find petrographs? How far past night2 on the map? How far from the trail?