Ted's Hiking World Pywiack Cascade Overlook
Yosemite NP

July 12, 2011

Last week, while at the Glacier Point overlook, I spotted a roaring cascade at the upper end of Tenaya Canyon.  I am headed there today for a closer look.  Because hiking is actively discouraged in this canyon for safety reasons, there will be no trail to assist me for much of the way.

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The adventure starts at Olmsted Point on the Tioga Road

The objective is about two miles due south of the tourist overlook.  Starting on the Mount Watkins Trail, I abandon it within five minutes when it cuts back in the wrong direction.  Having no first-hand knowledge of this route, guessing the easiest way down is unlikely; but it really doesn't matter.  Already I see that I have descended to the bottom of the gully sooner than necessary; I could have made use of that long granite slab on what is now the other side of the wash.

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The Mount Watkins-Yosemite Valley Trail Into the forest
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I should have gone that way... ...instead of this way

A grouse startles me as I approach its nest, creating quite a commotion in an attempt to lure me away from the area.

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Sooty Grouse

At the edge of a cliff I pause to get my bearings.  It appears that I actually could bushwhack down this canyon all the way to the base of the falls; but that is not in today's plan.  Both a visual sighting and my GPS tell me to climb over to the west.

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A temporary dead-end

Presently my first view of the cascade appears.  I tread carefully along the edge of the slanted slab; for it could be disastrous to lose one's footing here.

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This is not quite a "Don't tell my wife" passage; but I wouldn't try it in a high wind or if the rock were wet

There are lots of wonderful flowers about; I mustn't ignore them.

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One-Seeded Pussy Paws Paintbrush
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Sierra Stonecrop Sierra Beardtongue

Finally reaching my planned first overlook, I am close enough to view most of the cascade, and what a sight it is!  I search for good vantage points, always trying to keep a big rock or a tree between myself and the edge of the chasm.

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Pywiack Cascade    ⇔

"Py-we-ack" in the native language means "glistening rocks", named after the abundance of glacial polish in the basin.  The 600-foot cascade drains Tenaya Lake, sending its waters tumbling down toward the Merced River in Yosemite Valley.

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Half Dome looms in the distance

This is a good-feeling place, so I hang out here awhile. There is another potentially great viewpoint a quarter-mile to the west, though, which could provide a more direct view of the falls; it is marked on the topo map as elevation 7646.  Scrambling over there, I maneuver as close to the edge as is prudent, for some photos.

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Another cascade above Pywiack Tenaya Canyon

My efforts are rewarded, because now I can see the base of the cataract for the first time.  Oh, my!

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This is why I go hiking    ⇔

What a magnificent view!  This perspective is unavailable from any trail or other viewpoint.  It was worth any effort to be here right now.

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It's thi-i-is big!

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I see that another hiker has made his way to Overlook #1.  I wave to him several times, but I don't believe that he ever sees me.

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That guy has the same idea as I

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Monkeyflowers Half Dome still is nearly four miles away

A telephoto view of the distant monolith reveals 40-50 hikers in the process of achieving what for most of them is the pinnacle of their hiking careers.  (So far, it is mine as well.)  Some feel that scaling Sub Dome on the left is a more difficult climb than the cable route, due to its 600 vertical feet of stone steps.

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Zoom in for a close-up of the hikers on the cable route    ⇔

Abandoning my original itinerary, I venture westward toward the Mount Watkins Trail.  This ploy turns out to involve more effort than expected.  Instead of sensibly following the creek upstream, I veer too far left, necessitating extra climbing and a detour around another cliff just in order to access the trail.

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The trail is right over there — so near, yet so far

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The water obstacles are pretty, but some crossings are problematical

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Snowplant

After an enervating manzanita bushwhack of many hundreds of feet upward, I finally access the trail.  Stopping to remove my boots, I discover a big blister on the bottom of a big toe, and another on the back of a heel.  This is distressing, because I simply don't get blisters.

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Overlook #2 is more than an hour away, by foot

Déjà vu.  This scramble was located not far from the one I incurred last year attempting to shortcut from nearby Hidden Lake over to this same trail, on my way to Mount Watkins (hike #99).  A passing backpacker remarks that my effort was quite an accomplishment, but somehow I do not feel particularly accomplished at the moment — just older.

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Mount Hoffman, 10771*

Being back on a real trail should make the remainder of the hike easier; but lots of snowdrifts and wet areas slow my progress.  It would be more fun if I wasn't weary.

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About half a mile from the finish line I abandon the trail once again, preferring to complete my journey on the level shoulder of the highway.

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The end is in sight


§: In retrospect, this adventure was a total success.  I got my hoped-for superlative, unique views of the elusive Pywiack Cascade, and I didn't fall off a cliff.  It would take little prompting to get me to revisit this place.  Next time, however, I will return to the trailhead by a more friendly route.

Note: one can access a fine view of the two cascades from the Mount Watkins summit, which is an easy hike.  But from that point the falls are three times as far away as from my Overlook #2.

Note also that, frequent misspellings notwithstanding, there is no "a" in "Olmsted Point".
 

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Pywiack Cascade
Tenaya Canyon
Olmsted Point
Mount Watkins
Half Dome cables