illilouette creek info - yosemite

[mckee80]

I'm going to be in Yosemite in a couple weeks. I have 4 backup plans in Yosemite and Sequoia due to all of the snow and damage this winter. One of the backup plans is to do less crowded hikes in the valley. We have the base of Ribbon Falls on the list, but I was thinking about exploring up Illilouette Creek to see how far we can get towards the waterfall. Has anyone been up that way? The fact that I didn't find anything about it online makes me think I'll get turned around pretty quickly (I'm pretty cautious).

Thanks,
Sean

[c9h13no3]

https://www.snwburd.com/bob/trip_report ... rge_1.html

[avizzini]

Another less crowded short "hike" in that area would be heading up to Sierra Point. There's not a maintained trail but it roughly follows an abandoned and over grown trail. There's a few spots that are a bit steep and rough but it gets enough traffic that there's still more or less a use trail. The hardest part is knowing where to leave the John Muir/Mist trail and get onto the abandoned one. Once at Sierra Point there's a rocky platform with a rusty (still secure?) fence and great views of Illilouette Creek/Fall as well as other unique perspectives of Yosemite Falls, Nevada Fall, and Vernal Fall. I recommend heading there for either sunrise or sunset. It's only like 1 mile off the mist trail and you could reach it in less than 30 mins. It won't be crowded but you also probably won't be alone depending on the day, even if it's not an advertised destination.

My GPS tracks: https://caltopo.com/m/DQTME

[mckee80]

https://www.snwburd.com/bob/trip_report ... rge_1.html

Thanks! Missed that one in my searches.

[mckee80]

Another less crowded short "hike" in that area would be heading up to Sierra Point.

Thank you, I haven't been up there before. Will check it out for sure

[mckee80]

For anyone else searching this, looking for Illilouette Gorge (instead of creek or falls), brought me to this gem:

https://www.summitpost.org/yosemite-val ... les/157844

Thanks for all the help!