Part V
Backpacking Trip
EXECUTION

Trail Guide
Section Index

North Yosemite
Backcountry

Trail Culture
in the
High Sierra

To
HETCH HETCHY
The Backpacking Trip
REPORT
North Yosemite Backcountry

Report
On the last page we followed the Southbound route of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail South down Jack Main Canyon to where it disconnected from the PCT at the Northern Tilden Lake Trail junction in Jack Main Canyon.

We continued following the TYT up to a point climbing the switchbacks just West of Tilden Lake under Chittenden Peak.

Now, as we can see from the picture above, we've reached Tilden Lake.

Suggested Reading
Steve's Fantastic North Yosemite Backpacking Loop
A backpacking loop via Tilden Lake out of Hetch Hetchy

REVIEW
Following the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route around Tilden Lake by fording Falls Creek and climbing out of Jack Main Canyon marked the beginning of the Southbound TYT's 5.36 mile swing around Tilden Lake, where the PCT takes its shorter 3.55 mile loop around Wilmer Lake, to where the trails reconnect in Tilden Canyon.

Check out the lay of the land:

Upper
Jack Main Canyon
Stubblefield Canyon
Backpacking Map

This page below continues down Tilden Canyon to Hetch Hetchy from that trail junction. We'll visit Tiltill Valley and Rancheria Falls on our long drop down the upper Western flank of the Sierra.

The four trail guide pages for the PCT & TYT leading to, covering, and departing both Tilden and Wilmer Lakes are linked to above. The distances hiking to Tilden Lake from trailheads located to the North along Highway 108, the Sonora Pass Road, are called out below.

The Northern Tilden Lake trail junction located along the Pacific Crest Trail in Jack Main Canyon is pictured below.

Northern
Tilden Lake Trail Junction
in
Upper
Jack Main Canyon

After the PCT & TYT take their respective routes around their respective lakes they reconnect at the Southern Tilden Lake Trail junction in Tilden Canyon, located between Bailey and Macomb Ridges.

A funny thing is that once we turned onto the TYT to Tilden Lake to climb out of Jack Main Canyon we are going to continue to follow this same line of trail down Tilden Canyon in this lower-upper portion of the West Flank of the Sierra, until Tilden Canyon and its Creek turn Southeast running down into Rancheria Creek. That's where our trail jumps-up onto the ridge dividing Rancheria Creek to our East from Tiltill Creek in the valley to our East.

Our trail drops of the nose of this ridge into Tiltill Valley, where the line of our trail terminates by teeings-out into the trail connecting Rancheria Falls to Lake Vernon that crosses the floor of Tiltill Valley.

There we take a Right to encounter Tiltill Creek and the fine campsites in Tiltill Valley along Tiltill Creek, or we cop a Left to climb for the crack in the Southern Tiltill Valley wall sitting above the descent to Rancheria Falls...

The
Second Trail Junction
South
of
Both
Tilden and Wilmer Lakes
The PCT and TYT reconnect at the first of the two trail junctions in Tilden Canyon after each route tracks around its respective lake. The second junction a tenth of a mile South of the first is the junction for the trail we are going to follow on the page below down to Hetch Hetchy (Image below). well finishing this trip consisting of climbin up and over the Sierra Crest, then dropping down into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River.

Southbound Hiker's
"Right"
Southbound Backpackers along the PCT-TYT hiking to Hetch Hetchy will veer Right through this Tiltill Valley trail junction. Because of the way the PCT-TYT turns East at this junction, to the Left, Southbound hikers to Hetch Hetchy actually continue straight South by the compass to follow this trail off the PCT-TYT & down to Hetch Hetchy.

Check out the maps. They precisely lay out the scene.

The combined Southbound routes of the PCT and TYT turn Left through this junction, turning East by the compass, while our trail down to Hetch Hetchy from Tilden Lake continues straight down the mountain on its Southwestern line.

The signs lay it out pretty clearly.

This reflects the fact that the line of PCT-TYT crossing the Five Canyons of the North Yosemite Backcountry does not run North and South, but maintains a fairly "flat" line running from Northwest to Southeast between Jack Main and Virginia Canyons. This line of the PCT-TYT even runs East & West along some extended segments of this part of the crest trail, such as through Kerrick Canyon.

The hump of the h
The fact is that the line of the Sierra Crest around the North Yosemite Backcountry is shaped like an "h," with the lower-left descending "stem" representing Jack Main Canyon, and the "hump" of the h almost exactly representing the line of the Crest running East-slightly Southeast from Grizly Peak to Tower Peak to Buckeye Pass. From Buckeye Pass the "hump" of the h begins bendin South-Southeast down to Tioga Pass, which would be located at the bottom of the hump.

The Five Canyons lay between the stem and the hump. That's the unique configuration of crestline that squeezed these awesome canyons into this tight space.

To recap, looking at it from a "North to South" perspective we can say the Sierra Crest runs a fairly straight N & S line across the Carson Iceberg Wilderness & Highway 108 South to Grizzly Peak in Emigrant Wilderness, where the line of the Sierra Crest curves East & Southeast around the North Yosemite Backcountry like the hump on the letter "h."

We can see the Sierra Crestline bending to this shape on this
Map of Northeast Yosemite.
The curving inner red line on the map above follows the Sierra Crestline. Click the next map to the West from the upper-left corner of the map above to follow the Crest line further Northwest to Emigrant Wilderness and North into the Carson Iceberg Wilderness.

To
Hetch Hetchy
The page below covers our descent down the West Flank of the Sierra after hiking straight South through from Tilden Lake in Tilden Canyon, and hiking straight through both junctions along the PCT to where the second trail junction South of Tilden Lake continues South to Hetch Hetchy.

The line of our route will bring us through Tilltill Valley and past Rancheria Falls to Hetch Hetchy. This map shows the full length of the trail to Hetch Hetchy from the second trail junction South of Wilmer and Tilden Lakes:

Lower
Jack Main Canyon,
Tilden Canyon,
&
Kerrick Canyon
to
Hetch Hetchy
Backpacking Map

DOWN MOUNTAIN
The
Second Trail Junction
South
of
Both
Tilden and Wilmer Lakes
Tilltill Valley Trail Junction

The second trail junction South of Tilden & Wilmer Lakes.

The Way Down
to
Hetch Hetchy
Our trip takes us off the combined routes of the PCT-TYT at the trail junction pictured above following a faint (as of July 2016*) trail down the West Flank of the Sierra along Tilden Canyon Creek to our first destination, Tilltill Valley.

There are very nice campsites in Tilltill Valley

After spending a night at the fine campsites along Tiltill Creek we make short-work of the short climb out of Tiltill Valley preceding our next steep descent down to Rancheria Falls. Rancheria Falls also has nice campsites in an expansive grove along a gently descending run of Rancheria Creek a short distance below the Rancheria Falls trail junction.

Below Rancheria Falls our descent finally moderates until we are finally down to tracing out the gentle undulations along the apron of trail wrapping around Hetch Hetchy until reaching our final destination crossing O'Shaughnessy Dam.

Top of Page

Jack Main Canyon
to
Tilden Lake
After turning East, to our Southbound Left, off the Southbound Pacific Crest Trail beginning our climb out of Jack Main Canyon from the North Tilden Lake junction we enjoy the very cooling ford of Falls Creek.

The cool waters of Falls Creek during early July of 2016 brings relief from the oppressive heat while the cool breeze running with the creek makes the crossing refreshingly cool and mosquito free.

After fording we track upstream for a bit before turning East to begin climbing toward the bottom of the sets of long switchbacks leading to Tilden Lake. Each of the Northern ends of the switchbacks overlooks Tilden Creek flowing down out of Tilden Lake above, with great views of Jack Main Canyon running below while we stand Chittenden Peak's towering presence. It is very nice.

Tilden Lake
After a stiff but short workout climbing the switchbacks we know we've reached the end of the 1.5 mile trail from Jack Main Canyon where our climbing terminates on the sharp end of the beautifully narrowing Western end of Tilden Lake. Tilden Lake is tapering itself down to our position on its Western shore where a set of braided streams emerge from the lake forming up into a chain of pools marking the placid beginning of Tilden Creek.

Our eye follows this delightful scene running West on a small flat/shelf for a very short distance out of the West end of Tilden Lake. The little shelf of pools and braided streams below the West shore of Tilden Lake abruptly ends where Tilden Creek disappears downward, where it begins tumbling down its steep cascading descent into Jack Main Canyon and its flow is subsumed into Falls Creek.

Scrambling Around Tilden Lake
The end of our trail out of Jack Main Canyon up to Tilden Lake marks the beginning of our investigation of the layout of this sweet crescent shaped lake wedged in between the massive granite lines of Bailey and Macomb Ridges approaching their grand convergence with the Sierra Crest.

There are some magnificent views to be had from Tilden Lake. We should give ourselves the time to find and experience them.

Tilden Lake Comments

A High Point
The range of perspectives and experiences available here makes Tilden Lake another of our high points of both elevation and beauty along this trip before we begin our steep plunge off the Sierra Crestline down into the Western Flank's long, steep, and deep canyons feeding the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne.

Unlike our previous high points crossing Brown Bear and Bond Pass, which offered splendid but stationary views, Tilden Lake offers a wide range of rotating views from different points along its shoreline as well as from an extensive series of high observation points on the granite ridges and peaks surrounding this splendid lake.

Our views narrowed, if not diminished when we stepped out of Brown Bear and Bond Passes. The opposite is true at Tilden lake. Here our views and perspectives are both expanded with each step we take around the lake, or scrambling around on the surrounding peaks, domes, and ridges.

Every step opens up new views of the surrounding peaks, ridges, and Tower Peak at the top of the canyon marking the high point of the Sierra along this segment of the crestline. Impressive Chittenden Peak towers over the Southwestern end of the lake as well as Upper Jack Main Canyon. Chittenden Peak also makes up the North wall of the gap through which Tilden Creek drains into Jack Main Canyon. The feature making up the South wall of this majestic gap is a knarly knob of grand granite along Bailey Ridge.

Bailey Ridge has a lot of knarly knobs and irregular granite features.

That's where we are going to camp tonight.

* Summer of 2016
Trail Crew Work Rumor
I talked to a few hikers who reported a Yosemite Trail Crew had established camp in Pleasant Valley. Pleasant Valley is located between Rancheria and Rodgers Canyons. This indicates Trail Crew are continuing to work through the more remote trails of the North Yosemite Backcountry between the line of the PCT-TYT and the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River.

That was my impression of their long plans when I last encountered Trail Crew working on these trails up to and out of Tilden Lake in 2012. I got the impression that they felt the main (PCT-TYT) trails all looked good, and the crews had shifted to bringing the more remote routes through the North Yosemite Backcountry up to snuff.

I would not be surprised if they run through Rodgers Canyon this year (2016), and maybe even Tilden Canyon down to Tiltill Valley over this and the the next years.

By the time they run through all that, the line of the PCT-TYT will be needing attention & repairs again...

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West End of Tilden Lake
Above we've reached the tip of the Southwestern-most tongue of Tilden Lake after climbing the Southbound switchbacks up to Tilden Lake along the route of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail out of Jack Main Canyon. Each of the Northern ends of the switchbacks overlooked a nice length of Tilden Creek's tumultuous run down to Falls Creek in Jack Main Canyon.

Tilden Creek flows out of Tilden Lake a few feet to our Left.

Western Edge of Tilden Lake
At the position of the picture above we've forded Falls Creek and hiked 1.42 miles up 760 feet of elevation from the Tilden Lake trail junction with the Pacific Crest Trail in Jack Main Canyon to the Western-most corner of Tilden Lake.

The next trail junction reconnecting us with the Pacific Crest Trail is 3.94 miles ahead and 540 feet lower than our position above. We'll hike the next .89 of a mile along the South Shore of Tilden Lake, which we see across the lake in the distance, to where we get access to the top of Tilden Canyon.

The top of Tilden Canyon lays on the far side of the nearest rock formation we see across the lake. We turn South, to our Right from the vantage point above, away from the lake when we get to the other side of that ridge arm by walking around its lakeside end.

From here to there will be the length of our hike along the South Shore of Tilden Lake.

Tilden Lake Comments

The Backpacking Trip & Trail Culture
REPORT
The North Yosemite Backcountry

Between
the
Tilden Lake Junctions
I figure it's 5.36 miles from the Northern Tilden Lake trail junction in Jack Main Canyon to the Southern Tilden Lake trail junction between Bailey and Macomb Ridges, then another tenth of a mile South to the Tiltill Valley-Hetch Hetchy trail junction pictured below.

This Tiltill Valley-Hetch Hetchy trail junction is 3.05 miles South of the Western-most shore of Tilden Lake pictured above.

DOWN MOUNTAIN
Tiltill Valley Trail Junction
South of Tilden Lake

The second trail junction South of both Tilden and Wilmer Lakes that leads us South by the Compass to Tiltill Valley, Rancheria Falls, and finally, Hetch Hetchy.

PCT-TYT
Second
Trail Junction
South of Tilden & Wilmer Lakes
Distances

TilTill Valley         9.9 miles

Rancheria Falls   12.6 miles

Hetch Hetchy     19.1 miles

Trail to Tiltill Valley

Hiking South by the compass off the TYT-PCT

This page below supplements the pages on the trail guide covering
TYT route's five mile route
around Tilden Lake and the PCT's 3.55 around Wilmer Lake:

Top of Page

Trail Guide
Information

Our Approaches

The Southern Tilden Lake junction with the PCT sits a tenth of a mile North of the trail running down Tilden Creek Canyon to Tiltill Valley

How to Get Here
Miles From Trailheads to the North

Miles Chart of Tiltill Trail junction South of Sonora Pass & North of Tuolumne Meadows

The Big View
Grand Canyon
of the
Tuolumne River
Backpacking Map

Backpacking Route Selection
Tilden vs. Wilmer Lakes
Campsite and Route Selection
The fact is we could hike around either lake before following the trail down to Tiltill Valley. I chose hiking around Tilden for three main reasons, each having to do with mosquitoes. But first, the physical differences.

Via La Differencia
The Tahoe to Yosemite Trail's 5.36 mile route from the Northern Tilden Lake trail junction to the Southern Tilden Lake trail junction around Tilden Lake is 1.81 miles longer and climbs 520 feet higher than the of the Pacific Crest Trail's route around Wilmer Lake between these same two trail junctions. Yet I prefer the Tilden Lake route. Why?

First, Tilden Lake's higher elevations dry it out quicker both because of its more open aspect which allows the Sun and the prevailing wind (which blows through three openings along the length of its canyon, being the top, bottom, and Western) to dry it out more quickly. The location and layout of Tilden Lake suppresses mosquito activity much more than in the alcove Wilmer Lake is wedged within.

Tilden Lake Campsites
Finally, I like the Tilden Lake Route because I have a fine campsite far above the green apron of mosquitoes wrapping around it. My site has great views, best wind exposure and protection, but not the best access to water. Oh well, sometimes you cannot have it all.
The attributes of my very cool Tilden Lake campsite (among a selection of backpacking campsites at Tilden Lake) points to the secondary psychological and esthetic reasons I prefer hiking and camping at Tilden over Wilmer Lake, rather than the purely physical defense from mosquito attack, which is quite enough justification alone.

Big Sky - Big Rock
Tilden Lake has expansive, big views of rock and sky looking up and reflected in its long mirror-like lake. We've got fantastic views of Tower Peak on the Sierra Crest rising to its distinctive shape above the top end of the lake, the equally distinctive Chittenden Peak towering above its West Shore and Jack Main Canyon, while the rocky terrain on the North end of Bailey Ridge offers lots of amazing terrain to explore, with amazing views up and down Jack Main Canyon.

Tilden Lake is a sweet spot on Planet Earth.

Tilden Lake Trail Guide Page

About
Wilmer Lake
Wilmer Lake is smaller, and its position wedged into Bailey Ridge along Jack Main Canyon terminates the "big sky" observing conditions we enjoy at Tilden Lake. But even more importantly, and especially during Spring and early Summer, are Wilmer Lake's incredibly bad mosquito conditions.

"Granite" Lakes
The thing about Wilmer Lake, and many lakes and meadow locations in the High Sierra, is that they are located in low positions atop great sheets of buried glacially-carved granite. After a few centuries of collecting eroded sand and soil deposits above such a glacially-sculpted granite plate we get the nice lakes and meadows that we see today surrounded by green aprons of grass and dense forests, just like at Wilmer Lake, and typifying conditions running down Upper Jack Main Canyon.

It really is a delightful, cozy scene at Wilmer Lake. Relaxing, protected, and quiet. Snug as a bug in a rug. A rug made out of mosquitoes!

The whole little basin holding Wilmer Lake between its surrounding rock walls sits atop a great sheet of granite holding as much water as it can. This whole area to the East of Falls Creek to Bailey Ridge where Wilmer Lake is located holds water like a cup, maintaining wet conditions and massive mosquito populations around Wilmer Lake long after the surrounding terrain has fully dried out.

Wilmer Lake's surroundings hold water. Lots of water.

I have always figured there's a big plate or sheet of cupped granite under this whole area that maintains a higher level of soil saturation than the surrounding areas even during the Spring Thaw, then continues to hold moisture even after the surrounding terrain dries out.

Wilmer has mosquitoes well after Jack Main Canyon has dried out!

There are lots of lakes like that up and down the Sierra Crest. Keep your eyes open so we can locate our campsites away from those spots that hold extra water and harbor extra mosquitoes deep into Summer.

These mosquito observation and avoidance practices were necessary during this trip through the medium-heavy mosquito conditions happening during early July of 2016.

Though not at their heaviest intensity, the mosquitoes were heavy and formidable during early July of 2016.

Wilmer Lake Trail Guide Page

Top of Page

2016 PCT HIKERS
at the
TOP
of
JACK MAIN CANYON
The Main Body of PCT Hikers
Dropping into Jack Main Canyon hiking South through Bond Pass in early July assured that we are going to meet a whole lot of PCT hikers who've covered a whole lot of miles (Previous Page!).

I have never seen so many PCT hikers in my life, and I've spent a lot of time on the Crest Trails hiking South during "PCT time." Yet just a short distance away from the PCT at Tilden Lake there was nobody but me for the two nights I camped there.

Nobody.

We depart the heavy traffic of constant PCT hikers onto a short segment of the TYT around Tilden Lake with no hikers, nobody camping around Tilden Lake, and not a single person to be seen over the two nights I camped at Tilden Lake. I scouted around.

Perfectly quiet until we return to the PCT.

Eye of the Hurricane
As we relaxed at Tilden Lake we were fully aware that a steady, heavy flow of PCT hikers was moving through the PCT-TYT trail junction to the South of Tilden Lake, passing around Wilmer Lake, where they turn North to continue up Jack Main Canyon.
I knew they were there, a long line of humanity stretching from Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass, though I could not see them.

Leaving the combined route of the PCT-TYT behind us after following the TYT's annex around Tilden Lake is going to radically change our cultural and physical context with just a few steps off the main route, as it did here at Tilden Lake, but only more so.

Early July 2016
By my observations this date in time, early July, during this particular year's seasonal trajectory temperature rises timing the Spring Thaw and the subsequent trail opening dates, entering the PCT here in Northwestern Yosemite on July 13 puts us into the tail end of the "main body" of this year's PCT hikers. Although there seems to be an endless stream of Northbound PCT hikers as we hike South, their is a logic to their distribution.
(PCT Hiker Sample in Jack Main Canyon of 2016)

Hiking just a couple of miles off the Pacific Crest Trail following the TYT up to Tilden Lake dramatically changes the Nature of the cultural terrain from that of "Very Busy" to "Very Quiet," before we have even forded Falls Creek, and gotten very far away from the PCT!

The Last PCT Hiker

The last PCT hiker encountered before turning off PCT-TYT to Hetch Hetchy via Tiltill Valley.
Note the most excellent mosquito net pants. This was the best "lowers" solution I had seen for dealing with the combination of heavy heat and mosquitoes.
Cool and protective.
Nice!
Dude looked strong and happy.

Off
the
Over beaten Path
Tiltill Valley to Rancheria Falls to Hetch Hetchy
Taking just a few steps off the PCT towards Tiltill Valley quickly puts us into a much quieter environment that resembles the situation before hiking the Pacific Crest Trail became part of pop culture: quiet.

Hiking the PCT has apparently graduated from being an expression of a sub-culture to an expression of pop culture. This is "good" if it does not draw folks to their deaths.

Very Little Use
2016 and Recent Years
Across the nine miles descending from the PCT-TYT down to Tiltill Valley we saw no hikers at all, and only spotted tracks along the faint trail indicating that only two hikers had been on the trail since the end of the Spring Thaw.

Careful Observations Spots
During July of 2016 I encountered three positions that required me to come to a dead stop, and observe carefully from Right, to Center, to Left to find indications of continuing trail.

One location caused me to note the end of trail as I started a 180 degree physical search for the continuing route. The totality of the route showed signs of long periods of very light usage and only basic maintenance.

I found these conditions refreshing.

OFF
the
TYT-PCT
After hiking the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail around Tilden Lake we will not resume the unified Southbound routes of the TYT-PCT to Tuolumne Meadows. Instead we are going to turn South and off the route of the TYT-PCT to explore this trail route reaching almost all the way down the Western Flank from the Sierra from Crest to Hetch Hetchy. The highest point of this line of trail is where it wraps around Tilden Lake, from where we enjoy the sight of Tower Peak capping this section of the Sierra Crest. The lowest point will be crossing O'Shaughnessy Dam at the end of our hike.

The
Five Canyons
of the
North Yosemite Backcountry:
Context
Jack Main Canyon is the first, or Westernmost of the Five Canyons. Each of these canyons runs from the Sierra Crest all the way down the Western Flank of the Sierra to Hetch Hetchy. This distance is around 26 miles from the line of the Sierra Crest to the Shores of Hetch Hetchy in the Grand Canyon, while the distance between the line of our PCT-TYT trail to the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne averages out at around 20 miles, depending on how direct the specific trail's route is.

Our trail down into the Grand Canyon via Tiltill Valley described below is within the next Canyon to the East of Jack Main Canyon, which is the first or last of the Five Canyons, depending on how you look at it. Our distance from the PCT-TYT trail junction below Tilden Lake to the shore of Hetch Hetchy is around 13 miles, with about six more miles to the Hetch Hetchy Trailhead, making the total of this downhill section of our hike about 20 miles.

Review the next four maps linked to below to get a better understanding of the context of the terrain and our 5 trail options for breaking off the line of the PCT-TYT along the Sierra Crest & hiking down to the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne.

Order of Five Canyons
Tilden and Kerrick Canyons
To the East of Tilden Canyon we find the next trail down into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River branching off from the South bank of the Kerrick Canyon Ford. That trail runs over the ridge making up the South wall of Kerrick Canyon through Bear Valley on its way climbing out of Kerrick Canyon, then down to the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River on the Spine of Ridge dividing Rancheria Creek's run down to Hetch Hetchy via Rancheria Falls from the trail coming down through Rodgers Canyon. The following map was constructed to display the trails down Jack Main and Tilden Canyons and the route from Kerrick Canyon to Rancheria Falls:

Lower
Jack Main Canyon
7.5 Minute Backpacking Trail Map

Continuing South along the PCT-TYT past Kerrick Canyon we find the next trail down to the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne near the top of our intense climb South out of Bensen Lake's low point, where we find the two closely-spaced trail junctions under Volunteer Peak leading South off the PCT-TYT via Rodgers Canyon and Rodgers Lake, respectively, on their way to Pate Valley in the bottom of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne.

We find a trail schematic reveals that the Rodgers Canyon and Rodgers Lake trail junctions ultimately creates a Y shape as both trails feeds the same route down Rodgers Canyon, despite their two different trails out of their closely-spaced trail junctions greeting us, after we climb to the base of Volunteer Peak hiking South towards Smedberg Lake.

Rodgers Canyon to Pate Valley
7.5 Minute Backpacking Trail Map

East of Rodgers Canyon trail junctions (located between Bensen and Smedberg Lakes) there are no more trails off the PCT-TYT down to the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne until the route of the PCT-TYT itself turns South for its run down Cold Canyon to Glen Aulin.

Glen Aulin marks the Easternmost reach of the top end of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. Glen Aulin marks the point where the Tuolumne River flows down into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River.

I consider Glen Aulin the beginning or end of the Grand Canyon of the T, depending on which way we are hiking. For me the bookends of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River are O'Shaughnessy Dam and Glen Aulin.

We cross what I consider to be the final of the Five Canyons where we drop into and climb out of Virginia Canyon on our way into the top of Cold Canyon.

Note where the lines of Virginia and Matterhorn Canyons converge on the map below, and how the creek running down Cold Canyon flows into the top of the Grand Canyon with the Tuolumne River, rather than feeding the Canyon itself, as do the creeks running down the
Five Canyons of the North Yosemite Backcountry.

Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River
30 Minute Backpacking Trail Map

Aligned and Related
Our goal here is to figure out the alignment and relationship of the line of the Sierra Crest with the route of the TYT-PCT, and how Crest and Trail sit in relationship to the lines of the Five Canyons running from the Crest into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River. That's the area we want to understand. These are the preliminary issues we need to address to hike across the North Yosemite Backcountry in an informed manner.

Sierra Crestline around North Yosemite Backcountry
30 Minute Backpacking Trail Map

Understanding how the bending line of the Sierra Crest wrapping around the North Yosemite Backcountry is linked to the Grand Canyon through the Five Canyons is the key to explaining and understanding the broader lay of the land across the Five Canyons of the North Yosemite Backcountry and the route of the TYT-PCT across it.

I always need to establish a basic framework, or context.

NEXT
Well, this context outlines the perimeter of the North Yosemite Backcountry and defines the routes of the rivers, ridges, creeks, and trails through it. Above we have only defined the "box" it sits in, and the lines of trail through it. That is just the beginning.
Now comes the fun part. Well, the other fun parts! Our next step is stepping in to the North Yosemite Backcountry to find and fit together the specific details of each of the pieces of this vast and grand High Sierra terrain "puzzle" through active engagement and exploration.

We need to engage our context

Top of Page

The
TYT-PCT
Across the North Yosemite Backcountry
The combined routes of the Southbound PCT & TYT run East-Southeast by the compass from their departure climbing East out of the first of these Five Canyons, Jack Main Canyon, to their descent into the Easternmost of the Five Canyons, Virginia Canyon.

We hike North and South in Jack Main and Cold Canyons on the ends of the Five Canyons. We hike East & West through the Canyons between Jack Main and Cold Canyons.

The route of the PCT-TYT across the North Yosemite Backcountry traces out its route about six miles below the line of the Sierra Crest as it crosses the upper reaches of these massive Five Canyons. The total length of these canyons draining the Western Flank of North Yosemite ranges around 30 miles between Crest and Canyon as they all flow into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River.

It's a Good Thing
One of the good things about this trail guide is you can look at every trail junction along the length of the covered trails. This means you can look at the miles figures given by the steel Yosemite junction signs, though they may be dated, and, "advisory, rather than authoritative"

CLICK-CLICK
the
MAPS
Another good thing is that clicking the red dots marking the trail junctions on the detailed trail maps links us to the trail guide entry for that location.

Clicking the routes and regions on the 30 minute large-scale maps links to the detailed maps for those positions clicked. Clicking the labels on all the maps brings us to its adjacent maps.

Why
The Five Canyons
has
So Many Names
These massive and majestic Five Canyons of the North Yosemite Backcountry are the feeder canyons draining the whole length of the Sierra Crest wrapping around the North Yosemite Backcountry into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River.

High & Deep
Each of the ridges bracketing these massive canyons is but a stone's throw to the next massive ridge along this series of very-very closely-spaced massive High Sierra ridges divided by deep canyons.

Hard Terrain
What makes these canyons distinctive and merits the many names they've been given, besides and in addition to their obvious beauty on multiple levels, is the fact that there is no distance between the end of one long, steep climb, our immediate descent, and the beginning of our next steep climb. All the climbs and descents across these Five Canyons come in a rapid-fire sequence with no rest between, bringing the name,
"North Yosemite Washboard."

This close-in spacing demands a much higher energy output to maintain pace and daily distance than the rest of the trail South to Mount Whitney and the trail North to Lake Tahoe. This difference is noticeable, and draws the hiker's attention to this demanding terrain, which inspires us to find words that characterize its uniqueness.

Thus we hear the terms, "The Five Canyons," "The North Yosemite Backcountry," and "The Washboard" spoken with respect by informed backpackers.

These two maps below clearly show the relationship between the Sierra Crest wrapping around the North Yosemite Backcountry, the line of the PCT across the Five Canyons below the Sierra Crest, and lines of the Five Canyons draining into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River far below.

Hiking the line of the PCT-TYT across the North Yosemite Backcountry runs us across the top of the Western Watershed of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River from the time we enter the North Yosemite Backcountry crossing Bond Pass into Jack Main Canyon all the way down to our long descent down Cold Canyon to Glen Aulin.
That whole stretch of trail and terrain from Jack Main Canyon to Cold Canyon feeds directly into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River, and each of its canyons are "nut to butt," in the parlance of my boot camp D.I.

Yes they are.

The terrain upstream of Glen Aulin also feeds into the Grand Canyon, but that water is coming down from Tuolumne Meadows, and all the terrain wedged in between the Western Flanks of the Sierra and Eastern Flanks of Cathedral Ranges wrapping around Tuolumne Meadows and all the way South to Donohue Pass.
That terrain above Glen Aulin is very different than the run of the PCT-TYT across the Five Canyons.

It is hard to get a "feel" for such a long and difficult section of trail.

Keep on Trucking
Once we cross the Five Canyons enough times to get a good feel for the terrain along the trail we will begin scrambling around off the trail, and explore the trails and terrain off the trail tying the Sierra Crest to the Grand Canyon.

This particular trip is one of those times to explore the next of the Five Canyons, this time the trail from Tilden Lake through Tiltill Valley to Rancheria Falls and down to Hetch Hetchy. Is it time for you to begin exploring this remote terrain?
Then join me below to check out these trails across the North Yosemite Backcountry. I've run down Jack Main Canyon twice, and will build a page covering that freeking-amazing route soon.

I've also hiked in and out of the North Yosemite Backcountry through Twin Lakes in the Hoover Wilderness, but I don't think I ever took any pictures.

NEXT
On the page below we explore the trail tracking from Tilden Lake to Hetch Hetchy. This is the next canyon to the East of Jack Main Canyon running down to Hetch Hetchy.

North Yosemite Backpacking Forum

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TILDEN LAKE

Down Tilden Canyon

On the
PCT-TYT

The
SECOND
Trail Junction
South
of
Tilden & Wilmer Lakes
Turns
to
Hetch Hetchy

TO
TillTill Valley 9.9 miles

Rancheria Falls 12.6 miles

Hetch Hetchy 19.1 miles

PCT-TYT
Trail Junction Altitude
8560 feet

1
South
from
PCT-TYT
Trail Junction
About a mile & a half of flattish-gently descending meadow & valley floor,
passing by a couple of lakes and marshy lakes until we begin climbing for the trail junction West to
Jack Main Canyon.

Continue scrolling down page below

6
Hetch Hetchy Trailhead
Distances

O'Shaughnessy Dam
Altitude
3813 feet

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We begin hiking South off the PCT-TYT across a mile & a half of flattish-gently descending valley floor centered with fine green meadows spotted with crystal blue lakes surrounded by fingers of encroaching dense forest thinning as each successive species reaches higher and higher into harsher conditions as they climb the West Flank.

We're still up in lodgepole land up here.

We descend gently about a mile and a half South from the Tiltill Junction to the point we begin climbing for the trail junction leading West to Jack Main Canyon.

But first we descend past a couple of lakes, long stretches and spots of meadow composing a series of idyllic scenes.

Descending gently Southbound down Tilden Canyon to the uppermost lake in Tilden Canyon hiking below the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trails.

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Pond between Lakes in Tilden Canyon below PCT-TYT.

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Our trail threads between meadow, forest, and rock approaching the second and third lakes as we hike South through Tilden Canyon below the PCT-TYT trail junction.

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The third substantial lake about a mile South of the TYT-PCT.

Trail along shore of third lake South of PCT-TYT in Tilden Canyon.

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South
from
PCT-TYT
Trail Junction
About a mile & a half of flattish-gently descending meadow & valley floor past two lakes to where we begin climbing to the junction for the trail West to Jack Main Canyon.

We climb to our Southwest out of the valley we see below, which is turning Tilden Canyon Creek to the Southeast, through a nifty gap into some nice terrain under Tiltill Mountain.

Check your Hiking Map!

Looking Southeast as we climb approaching the junction with a trail leading West to Jack Main Canyon.

We are looking across and out of Tilden Creek Canyon into and across next canyon to the West, that holding Rancheria Creek, just below where it flows out of Kerrick Canyon. Just below our position Tilden Canyon Creek turns and runs Southeast to flow into Rancheria Creek. It is bending East out of our sight under the dense forests we see down there.

Beyond Rancheria Creek's canyon (I figure it lays between the two domes in the middle of the image, being the near light-colored dome and the most-distant faint tiny gray dome to its Left) we can see the very faint nose of Rodgers Canyon, (to the left and behind the most distant center-Left gray dome) and beyond that nose we see the Southern Wall of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne making up the huge dark ridge undulating across the middle distance.

I figure White Wolf is located on the Right side of that dark ridge.

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Trail Junction
WEST
to
Jack Main Canyon

Trail West
The distance listed to Hetch Hetchy above is via Jack Main Canyon.

Trail 2.4 miles West to Jack Main Canyon from Tilden Canyon.

17.8 to Hetch Hetchy via Jack main Canyon.

We are hiking South to Hetch Hetchy, but by continuing down our present canyon, rather than switching over to Jack Main Canyon to our West. Check out where this trail intersects with Jack Main Canyon.

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Rock Stairs

Stairs West out of Tilden Canyon to Jack Main Canyon.

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Trail Junction

Jack Main Canyon
Trail Junction Altitude
8270 feet

2.1 miles South
of
PCT-TYT

South
7.8 to Tilltill Valley

17.0 to Hetch Hetchy

Trail Junction
NORTH

Back to Tilden Lake

Trail North, back the way we came to the PCT-TYT junction to the South of both Tilden and Wilmer Lakes.

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Trail
SOUTH
to
Tilltill Valley

Continuing South on our trail to Tiltill Valley sees us continuing to climb for a short distance up to the end of this climbing segment of trail on this otherwise dramatic plunge into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River.

We push up through a nice gap to find ourselves in another gently declining mix of meadow, rock, and forest for maybe two miles, to where the descent steepens considerably and the heat rises significantly with every foot we drop.

This Giant Fungus dwarfs my foot.

That is not a mushroom steak, it is a veggie "side of beef," if it was edible.

I have no idea. I observe, but not taste, the fungus.

Hidden Pond off the trail as we descend.

I needed water, and somehow I knew that this pond was here, though I was not consulting my map, and can't tell you exactly why. It looked to me like there was water off to my Right, West, so I figured I'd push West off the trail for a couple of hundred yards to see what was making me feel wet.

This was it. Not the best water, but OK.

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Hot Dry Switchbacks follow

First view of Hetch Hetchy from above Tilltill Canyon.

Our descent had begun to steepen, now we are entering switchbacks.

We can see the higher elevation lodgepoles have given way to Jeffery Pines, and the red mountain heather to manzanita, all physical signs of the increasing heat we feel.

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Descending into our first view of Tilltill Valley.

Note the lack of a Pond on the Right side of the Valley as indicated by the maps, or a creek feeding the pond. The shot above was taken in July of 2016, after a weak Winter and four years of hard drought conditions preceding a gradual drying out over the past thirty years.

The trail lands in the furthest-Left corner of the valley floor, just a bit out of the Left edge of the image. Tiltill Creek lays beyond the far-Right edge of the image, across which are sets of nice campgrounds.

RATTLERLAND
Oh, and a fat, short Rattlesnake that I found while scouting around.

Rattler was real fat, short and stubby. Rattler noted my observing him, but did not respond in the smallest way. I was aware of Rattler's presence curled up in a small depression in the middle of a path leading from my campsite to Tiltill Creek, so I did not need to, or accidentally approach him. Rattler noted me observing, I spoke a few sweet words, and Rattler appeared inclined to keep its overnight sleeping spot rather than relocate so late in the day.

We certainly are in Rattler Country, so our trail perception is now going to add serious Rattlesnake Objective Threat Observation to our normal list of hiking cautions.

Eyes always Open, now more so.

We will double our attention to the ground and the things blending into it. Rattlers are named for how they threaten away interlopers, but they cannot warn us away when they are asleep, so we will make sure we don't wake any sleeping Rattlers on our way through the hot zone.

Divine massive clumps of dense vegetation, especially these great "rafts" of ferns complimented by thick meadow grasses and trimmed around the edges of the meadow by thickets of dense reeds.

The vegetation was dense when I hit the floor of Tilltill Valley July 16 of 2016. I had to first locate the line of the trail through the dense grass, ferns, and reeds. Then I had to bust through, while being careful to stay on the line of the trail!

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Tilltill Valley Trail Junction

Tiltill Valley
Trail Junction Altitude
5600 feet

We've hiked
9.9 miles from PCT-TYT

We Face
2.7 miles to Rancheria Falls
9.2 miles to Hetch Hetchy

Triangular trail junction in Tilltill Valley Trail sits in the middle of the fully overgrown meadow when I arrived on July 16 of 2016.

Our trail down from Tilden Lake and the PCT-TYT route comes down across the middle of the meadow on the floor of Tilltill Valley and Tees-Out into a trail crossing the narrow width of Tilltill Valley. The sign above marks the Trail leading South from that Tee-junction .

The sign above is pointing us South, to the Left from this trail junction, across the 2.7 miles down to Rancheria Falls on our way down to Hetch Hetchy. The distances to Pleasant and Pate Valleys involves turning East from Rancheria Falls, where our trail to Hetch Hetchy continues South down into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River.

The trail sign marking our trail, pointing back the route we entered Tilltill Valley. Hiking this route entails making the steep climb up the West Flank of the Sierra Crest out of Tilltill Valley that we just now finished descending into on our way down from Tilden Lake.

All of the routes climbing from Hetch Hetchy to the Route of the PCT-TYT
are
HARD 1 TRAILS
(RATING SYSTEM)

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Trail junction bending Right leading West to Lake Vernon out of Tilltill Valley.

6.8 miles to Lake Vernon.

11.4 miles to Laurel Lake.

This is the trail leading us about a half mile West to a series of nice campsites we find on the far bank of Tilltill Creek.

One of the set of very nice campsites in Tilltill Valley.

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Reaching the South fringe of the meadow in the bottom of Tilltill Valley we turn to look Northeast across the valley at Peak 7585. Our trail down from Tilden Lake came around the backside of that feature.

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Kolana Rock over Hetch Hetchy at the end of our climb out of Tilltill Valley.

Climbing Southwest we climb to cross through a channel leading us over into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River. We get our first close-up look at Kolana Rock towering over Hetch Hetchy after passing through the channel and before dropping into forest and underbrush.

We also get our first look at the Western end of the O'Shaughnessy Dam beyond the base of Kolana Rock.

Rancheria Falls Trail Junction

Rancheria Falls
Trail Junction Altitude
4640 feet

12.6 miles from PCT-TYT
2.7 miles to Tilltill

6.5 miles to Hetch Hetchy Trailhead

The Rancheria Falls trail junction.

The sign above marks the trail back up to Tilltill Valley.

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Trail to the East, upriver above the North Shore of Hetch Hetchy climbing up to the route of the TYT-PCT at either Kerrick Canyon or at the Rodgers Canyon trail junction just North of Smedberg Lake, depending on route selection.

Check out
Steve's Hetch Hetchy Backpacking Loop
Returning to Hetch Hetchy from Kerrick Canyon via Bear Valley
(beyond Pleasant Valley Junction)

The trail up to Pleasant Valley bring us either up to the PCT-TYT via, first, Kerrick Canyon, or second, Rodgers Canyon.

From Pleasant Valley we can begin our climb bending Northeast up into the mouth of Rodgers Canyon or Southwest down into Pate Valley on the floor of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River.

End of the trail at O'Shaughnessy Dam.

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Rancheria Falls Trail Junction

Just about 300 yards South of the Rancheria Falls trail junction we will notice a long, wide, densely forested flat spot, well, a gently descending strip of terrain opening up between us and Rancheria Creek, which is about a hundred and fifty yards to our Left, to the East of the trail.

These are the location of the last campsites before reaching the trailhead at Hetch Hetchy.

There are lots of campsites here, and a long run of the river along a shallow descent, which makes exploring the rocky run of Rancheria Creek here easy.

Looking back at the location of the campsites below the Rancheria Falls trail junction, at where Rancheria Creek begins to descend more rapidly.

The trail leading Northeast for Pleasant and Pate Valleys climbs over the saddle visible along the Left end of the ridgeline. That is just the beginning of a long climb to the Sierra Crest, if so desired...

The flat with campsites running along it is located above the visible top of the whitewater.

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A view of Hetch Hetchy descending from Rancheria Falls.

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The bridge over Tilltill Creek.

We camped near Tiltill Creek in Tiltill Valley.

Yosemite has stated distances prohibiting camping from every trailhead.

This looks to mark the last four miles of no camping zone to the end of the trail at Hetch Hetchy.

The fact of the matter is that the nearest campsites to the Hetch Hetchy Trailhead are at Rancheria Falls.

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Myself and first light both moving rapidly down towards the surface of Hetch Hetchy.

The evening cool is rapidly dispelled by the approaching Sun, way down here at the 3797 foot elevation on the surface of Hetch Hetchy. Yosemite Valley and Hetch Hetchy are the lowest elevation locations I hike in. I know of no other places where deep mountain granites go so low in elevation. Nowhere.

I was racing the light of the rising Sun, both of us descending the walls of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River to the trail wrapping around the reservoir.

The Sun won.

Approaching Lake Level and our second view of O'Shaughnessy Dam beyond the bulky base of Kolana Rock.

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Second view of O'Shaughnessy Dam after descending from Rancheria Falls.

The entrance to the tunnel is located on the far Right flank of the great rock shoulder the North end of the dam is anchored on.
I can't see the corresponding exit on the other side of the rock ridge.

Wapama Falls Triple Bridge.

My physical status was completely degraded, causing me to defer my normal tasks of recording backpacker's experiences along the trail.

I was barely managing my own affairs, let alone properly recording and reflecting other's!

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First or Last
Hetch Hetchy
TRAILHEAD

Or Both
Hiking Great Loops out of Hetch Hetchy

Setting the Scene
South of Wapama Falls the remainder of our trail undulates over a series of irregular low features along the remainder of the very well grooved trail around Hetch Hetchy to the dirt road, O'Shaughnessy Dam, then the paved road out of this deep canyon.

Returning to CIV
Here at Yosemite civilization reaches out onto the trail to greet us before arriving at the trailhead. This is good, as it indicates that there will be traffic to give us a ride out of here!

Arrrg
The bad part is most of the folks visiting seem to be anti-social, unable to even look a backpacker in the eye. Those type of folks don't pick up hitch-hikers! No matter. I look everyone over, then in the eye, and give a sincere friendly greeting, "Hey," if they like human interaction or not.

It is the human thing to do.

Our next landmark of importance is the first trail junction North of the O'Shaughnessy Dam. I would call this the
Actual
Hetch Hetchy Trailhead.

Two Trails
EMINATE
from the
Hetch Hetchy Trailhead
means
Great Hiking Loops
in and out of
Hetch Hetchy

First Trail
Rancheria Falls
to
Tiltill Valley
to the
PCT-TYT
Here at the Hetch Hetchy Trailhead the trail out from the dam splits into two trails, one trail being our route running East upstream around the North Shore of Hetch Hetchy to where it begins climbing for Rancheria Falls and Tilltill Valley beyond Wapama Falls and the Tiltill Creek Bridge. That's the route detailed on the page above that we followed down from Tilden Lake. In our case we started down-mountain by taking the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route around Tilden Lake to line us up with our route down through Tilden Canyon.

Second Trail
Jack Main Canyon to the PCT-TYT
Our second trail out of the Hetch Hetchy Trailhead climbs very steeply to the North up some serious switchbacks to The Beehive on Moraine Ridge, which we continue climbing until we finally find a bit of relief descending into the very bottom of Jack Main Canyon. Then we continue climbing.

Amazing Parallel Graces
Our trail starting down Tilden Canyon from the PCT-TYT to Tiltill Valley and Rancheria Falls runs roughly parallel with the trail running down from Jack Main Canyon.

The
Ladder of Loops
Local backpackers can find a "Ladder of Loops" climbing higher and higher up towards the Sierra Crest, only ending at the last turnaround point on the West Flank of the Sierra through Tilden Lake. Continuing up Jack Main Canyon beyond Tilden Lake brings us out of Yosemite, either into the Toiyabe on the East Flank, or North into the Emigrant.

Variable Turnaround Points
We find our first turnaround point while still climbing North on Moraine Ridge at the trail junction Northeast to Lake Vernon. This trail continues climbing East over the South Flank of Mount Gibson from Lake Vernon to Tiltill Valley. Our return from Tiltill Valley to Hetch Hetchy is detailed on the page above

Continuing up Jack Main Canyon brings us to our next turnaround option at the trail junction leading East to Tilden Canyon, where we can begin descending to Tiltill Valley.

Climbing further up Jack Main Canyon beyond the trail to Tilden Canyon brings us to another trail East to Tilden Canyon, this time being the route of the Pacific Crest Trail turning East to climb out of Jack Main Canyon to Tilden Canyon via Wilmer Lake.
This route East on the Southbound Pacific Crest Trail runs through all of our potential routes back down to Hetch Hetchy in the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. This means that we can considerably widen the diameter of our Hetch Hetchy Hiking Loop.

The X Axis
The Southbound Pacific Crest Trail not only ties the trails down Jack Main and Tilden Canyons together, but runs East across the subsequent Kerrick and Rodgers Canyon trails that also run back down to the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River and our starting trailhead at Hetch Hetchy, though both of those options considerably expand our Hetch Hetchy Hiking Loop.
In fact, we can extend our, "Hetch Hetchy Hiking Loop" one more step "out" on the Y Axis by hiking further up Jack Main Canyon, beyond the PCT through Wilmer Lake, up to use the Northern trail junction to Tilden Lake to begin our homeward journey.

Variable Loop Diameters
OK, we can control the length, the Y Axis of our, "Ladder of Hetch Hetchy Hiking Loops" up Jack Main Canyon by selecting the best of the four "rungs" of the "ladder," being the best of our four potential turnaround points at Lake Vernon, Tilden Canyon, Wilmer Lake, and Tilden Lake that best suites our capabilities.

We can widen our Hetch Hetchy Hiking Loop. We can expand the X Axis of our hike by following the Southbound Pacific Crest Trail East from Jack Main Canyon to the canyon we selected for our return route to Hetch Hetchy, again selecting the turnaround point that best suites our endurance, goals, expectations, or even our time limits.
Our potential Southbound return routes after hiking North up Jack Main Canyon and then South on the Pacific Crest Trail are found through the Tilden, Kerrick, and Rodgers Canyon trail junctions. Each of these trails will bring us back to the Hetch Hetchy Trailhead, but around a bigger loop as we hike further East on the Southbound PCT.

Pick Your Pleasure
If we visualize our hiking loop options out of the Hetch Hetchy Trailhead we can easily see it as a grid where we can control how big our loop is by picking the appropriate X and Y axis turnaround points to create larger and smaller backpacking loops.

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Hetch Hetchy Trailhead
NORTH-NORTHWEST
Moraine Ridge to Jack Main Canyon

OUTBOUND HIKERS
NORTH AND NORTHEAST

O'Shaughnessy Dam
Altitude
3813 feet

Trail junction up the monster climb onto Moraine Ridge and then into the bottom of Jack Main Canyon.

Beehive 6.5 miles

Laurel Lake 7.6 miles

Vernon Lake 9.9 miles

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Hetch Hetchy Trailhead
NORTHEAST
Rancheria Falls to Tiltill Valley

OUTBOUND HIKERS
EAST AND NORTHEAST

O'Shaughnessy Dam
Altitude
3813 feet

6.5 miles to Rancheria Falls

9.2 miles to Tilltill Valley

17.1 to Jack Main Canyon Trail Junction

19.1 to PCT-TYT Trail Junction

HIKING
East-Northeast
out of
Hetch Hetchy Trailhead

Our trip hiking South-Southwest off the PCT-TYT through Tilden Canyon to Tiltill Valley and Rancheria Falls on our way here to Hetch Hetchy is about over
Back the way we came: The Trail upriver into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River. The second trail junction sign pictured above up onto Moraine Ridge begins a very hard climb up to the Beehive at the top of Moraine Ridge while our route wraps around the North Shore of Hetch Hetchy on a comparatively mellow trail East to where we begin our climb North out of the Grand Canyon up to Rancheria Falls and on to Tiltill Valley.

I've got to note the steel trail sign in Tiltill Valley reads out the distance to Hetch Hetchy at 9.2 miles, while the sign above reads it out at 7.9 miles.

Outward Bound
from
Hetch Hetchy
for
Hikers
All backpackers hiking East along and around the North Shore of Hetch Hetchy are forced to begin climbing out of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River up to the Rancheria Falls trail camps and trail junction after passing East of the bridge over Tiltill Creek.

Two Trails
Climbing
from
Rancheria Falls

Left-North, Northwest
From the Rancheria Falls junction we have two route choices with both trails climbing North & East up to the route of the PCT-TYT. We have the Northern-most route to our Left, which is exactly the route we followed down here to Hetch Hetchy through Tilden Canyon on the page above.

Right-East, Northeast
The trail climbing East, the trail branching off the Right to hikers climbing out of The Grand Canyon from Rancheria Falls climbs across Rancheria Mountain to cross the ridge making up the South wall of Kerrick Canyon to intersect with the PCT-TYT in Kerrick Canyon.
Before crossing the ridge into Kerrick Canyon that trail splits a trail East climbing steeply up to and through Pleasant Valley as it climbs high enough (8200 feet) to pass around the nose of the ridge overlooking an epic section of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne Meadows. This trail makes all these moves to the East to access the trail running from the PCT-TYT under Volunteer Peak down Rodgers Canyon to Pate Valley.

We can ascend from here to three different points along the combined routes of the TYT-PCT across the North Yosemite Backcountry. These are through Tilden Canyon Creek, into Kerrick Canyon at its PCT-TYT fording point, or up through Rodgers Canyon.

Taking the route to Rodgers Canyon brings us through Pleasant Valley, where we can either continue up to the PCT-TYT or drop down to Pate Valley on the floor of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne above the top of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

See the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne map for a good overview of all these North Yosemite backpacking trips.

Face of O'Shaughnessy Dam.

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Wapama Falls from O'Shaughnessy Dam.

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Road Maps specifying locations of the endpoint of our backpacking trip to Hetch Hetchy in relation to Mather, Highway 120, Crane Flat and Tuolumne Meadows.

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