TR: Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne 2011

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vitaminC
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TR: Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne 2011

Post by vitaminC »

Since I didn't do a proper intro before I started asking for advice, I thought I'd post up this trip from a few years ago. I'm sure many recall how much precipitation there was going into 2011. This trip was in mid-July that year, and even then some of the crossings were a bit sketchy due to the high and fast (and cold!!) water levels.

Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, July 17-19, 2011

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.

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Tuolumne Falls

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White Cascade

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Water slide!

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Le Conte Falls

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Sunset above Waterwheel Falls

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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

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Still a few damp spots to negotiate

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Pictographs

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Great spot to camp

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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

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Yup, that water was cold!

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

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From WW we were able to hitchhike back to the car at TM, which was fortunate as the shuttles weren't actually running yet. Great trip!

See all the pictures and some movies at: http://smu.gs/12VRO1B" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Lots of photos
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kpeter
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Re: TR: Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne 2011

Post by kpeter »

Magnificent! Lovely photography.
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maverick
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Re: TR: Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne 2011

Post by maverick »

Thank you for the enjoyable TR and great pictures VitaminC. :thumbsup:
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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