Re: Rockfall Closes Trail to Rancheria Falls in Yosemite National Park

Due to a rockslide, the trail east of Wapama Falls is currently closed. The closure begins just east of the east Wapama Falls bridge. Wapama Falls is still accessible from the west.

I originally thought that this closure of the trail, due to the rockfall, would put a crimp on backpacking in the Hetch Hetchy region (especially north of the reservoir), but lo and behold, the Park Service today lifted its closure of the trail to Miguel Meadow and Beehive (and the rest of the area within Yosemite National Park that was closed due to the Rim Fire): http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?17,73549.

Good news, indeed!

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/2014 12:26PM by plawrence.

Rockfall East of Wapama Falls above the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir closes trail to Rancheria Falls

A rockfall in the Hetch Hetchy area of Yosemite National Park closes trail east of Wapama Falls. At approximately 1:30 p.m. on March 31, a large rockfall occurred from the cliff just east of Wapama Falls above the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. No visitors were injured. However, the trail was closed just east of the Wapama Creek footbridges for safety purposes, and due to boulders preventing access beyond Wapama Falls.

Roughly 16,000 tons (5,500 cubic meters) of rock fell from a source about 500 feet (150 meters) above the base of the cliff. Rock debris hit the slope below the cliff, breaking into numerous boulders, crushing trees, and creating a small dust cloud. Fresh boulders completely covered the slope, and many boulders tumbled into the reservoir. Roughly 400 feet (120 meters) of the Rancheria Falls Trail were destroyed in the main impact area.

Hikers can still access Wapama Falls starting from the O'Shaughnessy Dam. The trail to Rancheria Falls just after Wapama Falls will be closed until further notice. The park is working to reopen the trail at a later date.


Talus left by recent rockfall. One of the Wapama Falls bridges is visible in the background (far left). NPS Photo

A couple shots from across the street.





More here: http://qitnl.com/v/040514/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/09/2014 02:07AM by QITNL.

Kewl. Saw ur vehickle on way out Sunday. Only one left in any of the bp parking areas.
Went and checked it out up close and personal on Sunday after hiking out from Miguel
and Eleanor wit z Old Dood. After further inspection from older photos... there were
"only" a few oaks on that slope... So although a whole lotta rock came down... It's
not quite as massive as originally thought. Was gonna hike all the way across it
but I got berated by Old Guy on radio to not do it. O well... next time.
Funny that a few backpackers went out... some up a bit to Beehive area and 3
to Miguel in search of the meadow. I guess they found burned areas, no meadow,
and a bunch of snow and called it a trip. We had a blast.

Nice pics. Was trying to figure it out from the news story, your picture shows it all. Glad no one was hurt.

"Massive rockfall in Yosemite National Park"

A couple more photos can be found here:
http://news.yahoo.com/massive-rockfall-yosemite-national-park-164024506.html

So I made a permit reservation today and found out that the Rancheria Falls trail is now open. I was so excited to hear this (long story/reasons why), that I forgot to ask exactly when it opened. But it sounded recent and I was unable to find any articles announcing this. All I know is I got my confirmation and Rancheria is listed on it! YAY! I haven't been able to visit that area since before last year.