Upper Midwest - Day Thirteen (Modesto - Hetch Hetchy Reservoir)

Today I will be driving up to hike around the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (100 miles). With the back-and-forth to the Evergreen Lodge, it will be 130 miles altogether.

It looks a lot more fun with Terrain View:


Throughout the Park, there is evidence of the forest fires that raged through here in August 2013:

but growth is coming back, and logging efforts are clearing much of the devastation. At a turn in the park, the first view of Hetch Hetchy is wonderful:


I was up at Hetch Hetchy early in the morning 8 years ago, and was the only person in this magical place. John Muir said "Hetch Hetchy Valley is a grand landscape garden, one of Nature's rarest & most precious mountain temples." Initially protected by the establishment of Yosemite National Park, in 1913 the city of San Francisco won congressional approval to build the O’Shaughnessy Dam which buried this extraordinary wilderness valley under 300 feet of water. There is currently a fight to restore Hetch Hetchy (click here for hetchhetchy.org).



I wanted to do a morning hike, go back to the Evergreen Lodge to fill my water bottles and eat lunch, then do a longer hike in the afternoon. I thought the hike to Lookout Point would be perfect:
moderate,
2 miles round-trip,
begin at Hetch Hetchy Entrance Station,
"This quick hike takes you to a viewpoint overlooking Hetch Hetchy Valley."

Unfortunately, they had closed that trail "because of a wasp's nest". Ok, so I figured I would do another short trail - Poopenaut Valley:
strenuous,
3 miles round-trip,
"This trail provides quick access to the Tuolumne River, descending 1,229 feet to the river below O'Shaughnessy Dam."

Hey, I'm in pretty good shape - how "strenuous" can it be?

Of course, I'm used to going up first, then down - get the hard part over first.

Down at the river, looking upstream:

looking downstream:

and of course I love the meadows!

note - it was pretty "strenuous" coming up the last half from the river, but just put one foot in front of the other, and that gets the job done. Hey, that's why I do my Step Classes at the MAC! (Thank you, Shannon)

Back to the Evergreen Lodge, where they let me check-in early!

The trees on the property are wonderful!

and the pool "ain't half-bad, either"


So I altered my plans and took a swim and hung out at the pool for a little while. I was the only person there, in 73 degrees and blazing sunshine! Am I doing something wrong?? Wendy says that I am "taking advantage of opportunities", and I learned a long time ago to never argue with my wonderful wife, so I guess I will just enjoy this to the fullest.

Later, I parked up at the dam:


For my afternoon hike I was going across the dam and east along the north side of the reservoir - the Falls (Tueeulaia, Wapama and Rancheria) were all supposed to be dry, but we'll see what we see. The view from the dam looking east is Iconic!


It is a nice place to hike - there is almost no elevation change (a pleasant contrast to this morning's adventure), and the views are pretty nice:


This is a perfect time of day to do this hike - the changing sunlight on the granite is fabulous!




10.22 miles - a GREAT afternoon Hike!


I hate to say it, but my timing was perfect - I got back to the car at 6, just as it was starting to get dark. Headlights on for the drive back to the Lodge. I ended the day with a root beer, a rib-eye steak, and a big glass of milk (smores for dessert) - Thank You God for a Beautiful Day!