Last year I got a bit of a reputation amongst my friends for seeming to always draw out the rain, snow, and wind while backpacking. This year, however, is getting off to a much better start! For this trip to Rancheria Falls at Hetch Hetchy, there was nothing but clear blue skies and warm temperatures for the entire trip! Amazing. Omi and I left Friday morning with the goal of getting in a quick visit to Yosemite Valley before heading to HH and setting up camp. It was quite novel to be in the Valley with so few people. Because it was early in the season, many attractions weren't even open yet. The shuttle was running, though, and we used that to take a trip out to the Happy Isles. I went there a lot when I briefly worked in the Valley during college, as it was almost always quiet even when the crowds were at the their worst.
Despite leaving the Valley a little later than we should have, we still managed to reach Hetch Hetchy before the gates went across the road. That was a good thing, too, as we were meeting three other people for this trip, which I had organized through Meetup.com. Alex, Amy, and Sarah had arrived earlier at the backpacker's campground and already had their tents set up and had taken a little tour of the area. After introductions and chatting for a bit, dinners were prepared and then we commenced to enjoy the clear skies while trying to identify various stars and keep an eye out for meteors.
The following morning we got a leisurely start and then hit the trail under full sun. It was clear already that it was going to be not just warm, but hot! My thermometer would spend a lot of time at 85F or more during this trip. Beyond the waterfalls, HH is well known for its wildflower display. We may have been a little early in the season still, but there were plenty of flowers already putting on a show. Both Tueeulala and Wapama Falls were flowing nicely, though we actually did not get too wet passing by them. After passing the falls, the trail becomes considerably more challenging as it starts to gain elevation. Fortunately at lot of that work happens in the shade of trees, otherwise it would have been seriously uncomfortable. Eventually we reached the lower section of Rancheria Falls, and the campsite was not too far past that. There were a few other groups there, but it was still relatively quiet compared to how full it can be at the peak. We set up camp amongst the trees, and then continued walking to an upper section of Rancheria. Considering we were on "backpacker time," it was quite surprising that we managed to stay up until nearly 10pm! It was worth it for the continued star show.
Sunday morning, Alex, Amy and Sarah headed back to the trail head as they needed to be back to work on Monday. Omi and I were staying another day, and decided to move our campsite to a different spot for that night, choosing a site closer to the river. After that we decided to head up to Tiltill Valley, as we had read that there were Native American artifacts there. UP, however, was the operative word, as the climb, combined with the heat and exposure, really drained us. Upon reaching the edge of the valley, we found that to continue meant slogging through some very unpleasant mud, so we decided that was far enough. Following that we headed back down to camp and spent the afternoon and evening relaxing and exploring the area around Rancheria. That night I woke up around 4am, so I decided that since I was awake I would spend some more time experimenting with astrophotography. Laying half out of my tent while still mostly in my sleeping bag is probably not the most ideal way to get a good photo, but it was incredible just to observe the stars. Capturing the night sky is no easy task!
On Monday we really surprised ourselves by being ready to go and on the trail by 7:30am! We were totally unprepared for the huge number of salamanders that would be sharing the trail with us that early in the morning. It was really amazing to see so many of them meandering across the path. We got the Wapama Falls as a Ranger was motoring up in his little boat. He said the last bridge looked "gnarly", and we should wait for him to check it out. When he came back he was thoroughly soaked, and told us it was fine even though the flow gauge at the top of the falls was reading ~500 cfs (cubic feet of water per second!). After spending some time to admire the excellent rainbows that were forming in the mist, we continued on our way. Like the Ranger, we too got very wet crossing that last bridge! After that it was not too far back to the trailhead, followed by a well-earned meal at the Iron Door Saloon before motoring the rest of the way home.