Quote
Frank
....the nearly waterless Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne ....
There is still a river flowing through the GCT so getting water will not be an issue at all this year or really any year unless there is a very severe drought.
Water sources on the WW-> Tuolumne Pk -> Polly Dome will be more limited. They are Middle Fork of the Tuolumne, Yosemite Creek (and tributaries), Ten Lakes, South Fork of Cathedral Creek, Tuolumne Pk tarns, & then depending on where you go Cathedral Creek and the Lakes would be your water sources. As for availably of water, that depends when you are going. Now you will still be fine, but in a few weeks the smaller stuff will start to dry up. In september you may have to rely more on the lakes and reports from hikers. Yosemite Creek dries up every year, but usually there are pools of water still available to filter for a while afterwards. I wouldn't think S. Fork completely dries up nor would the Middle Fork. But that is a while out so harder to predict.
Hiked it a number of times. Nice area, Ten Lakes and Tuolumne Peak are the highlights. It is a bit of up and down, see the South Fork section, but worth it. Grand Canyon is great too, even without the waterfalls booming. Lots of awesome swimming holes.