Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne/Ten Lakes Basin TR Days 1&2
Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:35 pm
Ok, I am going to try to report on the 8 day trip I took from White Wolf to Pate Valley, up the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, and back to White Wolf by way of Ten Lakes Basin.
The three of us, me, Cindy, and John, hit the trail all nice and clean after spending the night at the White Wolf camp grounds.
Right off of the bat, we run into this bunch of Tiger Lilies. Flowers would be a main theme on this trip.
So off we go. Hiking through beautiful meadows, filled with all kinds of flowers.
Another thing that would be a theme on this trip was rapid change in environments. The trail would change from lush to dry in a moment.
After about 3.7 miles, we get our first look at Pate Valley. You can see the effects of the smoke from the Telegraph Fire, but it is not as bad as it could have been.
We reach what we think is the first of two junctions 0.5 miles apart. Our camp will be ¾ of a mile beyond the next junction.
However, either we missed the first trail sign or the good Mr. Harrison messed us up ( I think it was the latter, and would not be the last time). At any rate, we where so busy looking for the second trail sign that we missed the campsite at the top and ended up dropping down to the shelf half way down the switchbacks. This was not at all a problem as we ended up with a great campsite with a glorious view of Hetch Hetchy
And an equally good view of Pate Valley.
We end day one with a gorgeous, if a bit smoky sunset, over Hetch Hetchy.
Day two begins with a cloudless, slightly smoky sky, as we say goodbye to Hetch Hetchy
And head out towards Pate Valley and the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne that lay beyond it.
Finally we reach the bottom and the cool water of the Tuolumne River, where we take a break and cool off the feet.
Reaching the footbridge in Pate Valley, we have now dropped 3500 feet in the last day and half. Our knees are still doing good with the major decent behind us, and we are looking forward to the slow rise that the next two miles will bring.
We head out from Pate through a chest high field of ferns and flowers.
It is not long before we reach the slides and begin looking for a campsite.
We find one just above the slides with a great view of the river.
Cindy and I go play in the slides until the alpine glow tells us it’s time for dinner and bed.
It has been a great two days, and we are feeling really good, and looking foreward to the six days we have left.
You can see the rest of the photos here.http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/565428343vsyYnr
The three of us, me, Cindy, and John, hit the trail all nice and clean after spending the night at the White Wolf camp grounds.
Right off of the bat, we run into this bunch of Tiger Lilies. Flowers would be a main theme on this trip.
So off we go. Hiking through beautiful meadows, filled with all kinds of flowers.
Another thing that would be a theme on this trip was rapid change in environments. The trail would change from lush to dry in a moment.
After about 3.7 miles, we get our first look at Pate Valley. You can see the effects of the smoke from the Telegraph Fire, but it is not as bad as it could have been.
We reach what we think is the first of two junctions 0.5 miles apart. Our camp will be ¾ of a mile beyond the next junction.
However, either we missed the first trail sign or the good Mr. Harrison messed us up ( I think it was the latter, and would not be the last time). At any rate, we where so busy looking for the second trail sign that we missed the campsite at the top and ended up dropping down to the shelf half way down the switchbacks. This was not at all a problem as we ended up with a great campsite with a glorious view of Hetch Hetchy
And an equally good view of Pate Valley.
We end day one with a gorgeous, if a bit smoky sunset, over Hetch Hetchy.
Day two begins with a cloudless, slightly smoky sky, as we say goodbye to Hetch Hetchy
And head out towards Pate Valley and the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne that lay beyond it.
Finally we reach the bottom and the cool water of the Tuolumne River, where we take a break and cool off the feet.
Reaching the footbridge in Pate Valley, we have now dropped 3500 feet in the last day and half. Our knees are still doing good with the major decent behind us, and we are looking forward to the slow rise that the next two miles will bring.
We head out from Pate through a chest high field of ferns and flowers.
It is not long before we reach the slides and begin looking for a campsite.
We find one just above the slides with a great view of the river.
Cindy and I go play in the slides until the alpine glow tells us it’s time for dinner and bed.
It has been a great two days, and we are feeling really good, and looking foreward to the six days we have left.
You can see the rest of the photos here.http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/565428343vsyYnr