It ends up the elusive pink Sierra chicken (Pseudogallus roseus) was on the other side of the Tioga Road...
Anyway, due to an unexpected sprained ankle (hers), the planned Easter weekend trip with my wife in Sequoia evolved into solo day hike in the Hetch Hetchy area: up the Eleanor Lake trail/road, cross-country to the top of Wapama (as previously described), upstream a mile or so, then back to the Beehive trail near the "Frog Pond".
There is a nice set of slabs just above where--in wetter conditions--part of Falls Creek splits off to flow over Tueeulala Fall, and just below where the new, discreet stream gauge is.
The water was just high enough to make staying on the west side a sound choice. A bit further up is a nice waterfall--even in low water:
There is a choke-point on the west side just past these falls; fortunately, there is a weakness in the cliff that allows for further progress north. (And, I'll admit it now: I left a duck at the top of the ledge, thinking at the time I'd return the way I came...) Instead, I decided to continue up to the Beehive trail, a route made difficult mainly due to thin snow over buck brush (postholing and thorn scratches!) and frequent deadfall in the recently-burned area. Still, there were numerous wonderful ledges with great views of Rancheria Mountain, Hetch Hetchy Dome, and the Colby Mountain/Double Rock/Smith Peak complex.
Snow coverage was maybe 50% around 6500', and only in well-shaded areas. Depth never exceeded a foot or so. Temperature-wise, winter was a distant memory. The "Frog Pond" was partially frozen over:
All in all, a nice romp through some wonderful country that probably gets little attention, but would make an early early or late-season destination.
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