Yosemite Upper Falls Trail – November 16, 2011

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Yosemite Falls is the largest two-tiered falls in North America, having a total height of 2425 feet (lower falls not shown). The upper falls is 1430 feet alone, and is the sixth largest waterfall in the world (shown above).

After a cold night at camp (~33 degrees F), Luke and I started out early on the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail. You’ll encounter a sign with a breakdown of several directions/destinations about 10 minutes from the trailhead. Today, we were just trying to reach the bridge just above the upper falls and would be ~ an 8 mile round trip.

Fortunately, the trailhead starts near the parking lot for Campsite 4 (see top left of map)… as as we found out the hard way that the shuttle system can not be time-efficient if your destination is far away.

The first half of the hike is mostly shaded, which made the hiking somewhat cold at this time of year… but may make hiking more pleasant in warmer weather. There were a couple of friendly deer along side the trail as well. 🙂

As you get increase in elevation, you’ll realize how well-kept and wide the trail is…

Not to mention the gorgeous views.

… and in about an hour or so, you’ll get a clear view of the upper falls (first photo) and a reach the base of it shortly after (above). Unlike Hawaii’s consistent rainfall patterns, the volume of water of Yosemite’s rivers and falls is driven by glacial melt. Though the falls were beautiful, I’m sure the discharge would be MUCH more impressive in the warmer months.

If you haven’t noticed from earlier photos or my earlier blog post on Vernal and Nevada Falls, the masonry / trailscaping here is IMPRESSIVE (left). Even the Bobcats you pass will be using the well kept trails, lol (right).

If you look up from the scenery adjacent the trail, you’ll notice some superb granite walls… likely over 1000 feet tall. No wonder Yosemite is the climber’s capital of the world and responsible for it’s development as a sport. I’ll entail more about bouldering in my next post.

I’m not usually big on pine cones, but there were a hundreds of them littering the ground. The two on the left were just sitting like that on a log, likely staged by some other photographer who passed by earlier in the day.

After about 2.5 hours or so from the trailhead, we encountered some snow… and we love snow, hehe… That heart was also staged there too prior to our arrival, *bible* hehe.

A few steps past all the pine cones and hearts drawn in the gravel, you’ll see what you’ve hiked hours and countless switchbacks to see…

Breathtaking panoramic views…

… of Yosemite Falls and Valley. I think that may be Sentinel Dome at the top of the photo, though feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

You might also notice “out-of-shape” hobos, snoring away at the lookout as well… Lol, jus’ playing… that’s Luke’s way of appreciating the warm rocks, as we’d been hiking a cold shadowy valley for most of the day.

Though it may not seem like it from the photos, it is cold up here.

There was even snow/ice in yosemite creek, just above the step pools… Notice Luke standing in the background near the top of Yosemite Falls. I do no suggest going up the creek this haphazard way. Instead, you should go back the way you came, to the trail junction to Yosemite Point… which will lead you to the bridge.

Since my boots were waterproof, I crossed the creek at the shallow point (left). The water was probably just above freezing and could feel the chill through my shoe. WARNING, at no point should you choose to get your feet wet under such conditions.

The bridge was a nice highlight to the hike, and maybe even more so than the top of the falls… Don’t get me wrong, the view from the lookout was amazing… but the falls itself from the top view was not very impressive, as you couldn’t get very close the water near it (obviously for safety reasons). On the contrary, you could easily get much closer to the top of the falls at both Vernal and Nevada Falls.

Since the sun set ~ 430 – 500 pm in the fall / winter months, we didn’t get to hike much further than bridge. If you have time, I strongly suggest you hike further up the creek… it’s really beautiful there. Exercise extreme caution, as the rocks are slippery… also stay away from the water in the summer months as the snow melt will largely affect the height and velocity of the creek / river.

Yosemite upper falls trail might be an intermediate trail. There doesn’t seem to be anything dangerous about it, but the trail is considerably lengthy. The majority of the trail is well maintained, despite the ground is uneven in many places. Though the elevation change is significant, there are myriads of switchbacks which make the grade fairly mild. In addition to typical hiking gear / water, bring warm clothes (especially in fall / winter) and a walking stick. The hike down can be jarring on the knees and I saw several older hikers having difficulties on the unevenness of the trail. Anymore questions, just ask… 😉

Keep in mind this is a 5-part series, which includes, camping, 2 waterfalls hikes, night photography, and bouldering while in Yosemite (see links at top of page). To view this location on a Google Map also known as my “Adventure Map“, Click Here. For more mainland and off-island adventures, Click Here!!!. Thanks for stopping by!!!