Summer is for Hiking: Glen Aulin Trail, Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite Natl. Park, Ca. September 1, 2012
September 1, 2012 over Labor Day Weekend an impulsive but beautiful hiking choice. I should have had my hiking shoes this time as the trail has vertical cobblestones as one nears the falls. For some reason the hiking book in use had a distance of around 2 miles (a glaring typo) but by the time 2 miles was reached, definitely did not want to turn back. The hike to and from Toulomne Falls is more like 5 miles one way or more, depending on where you begin so 10-12 miles total. This hike has nearly everything you would wish for from cascades to the Tuolumne Falls and connectors to high mountain lakes (such as McGee Lake and more) and the High Sierra Camps. The trail is part of the Pacific Crest Trail and the mountains one walks alongside are 8000 plus feet high. Went to McGee Lake and High Sierra Camp Glen Aulin all in one day – a long hike! The trail is not clearly marked for the return along the huge slabs of rocks – noted many off the trail including myself. The trail runs along the boundary of the rock slabs and the forest (up) on the return.
Tuolumne River alongside Glen Aulin Trail photo by Kathryn Arnold
sign marking Yosemite Wilderness photo by Kathryn Arnold
This is just one of the vistas. photo by Kathryn Arnold
Sheets of Solid Rock. The day of the hike someone was running the entire trail and up and down the mountainsides of rocks – seemed like a Greek god. photo by Kathryn Arnold
Tuolumne River along the trail a ways further, photo by Kathryn Arnold
Saw two sets of falls, this is Tuolumne Falls, photo by Kathryn Arnold
Sign to the mountain Lakes. Went to McGee Lake. Photo by Kathryn Arnold
McGee Lake, Glen Aulin Trail, photo by Kathryn Arnold
Sign to return, photo by kathryn Arnold
Better view of map, photo by kathryn arnold
On return around 8 PM, walked between a herd of deer, glen aulin trail, photo by kathryn arnold
