YOSEMITE TO TENAYA LAKE, TUOLUMNE MEADOWS AND MONO LAKE _via_ BIG OAK
FLAT AND TIOGA ROADS
(Lake Tenaya 57.7 miles. Tuolumne Meadows 65.2 miles. Mono Lake 88.2
miles)
Most charmingly scenic of all trans-Sierran routes is the historic old
~Tioga Road~. Built by Chinese labor in 1881 to transport ore from the
Tioga Mine (near Mono Lake) across the Sierra to the San Joaquin
Valley, it soon fell into decay when the venture was abandoned. In
1915 the road was purchased by a group of public-spirited citizens and
presented to the government. Since being well repaired it makes
Yosemite accessible from the east and opens up the wonderfully fine
camping country of the High Sierra to the automobile tourist. Hundreds
of motorists take this exceptionally scenic short-cut to Lake Tahoe.
In normal years the road opens July 15th and closes September 30th.
Detailed information may be obtained from the "Circular of General
Information regarding Yosemite National Park," or at the Motorists'
Information Bureau in Yosemite Village. The first twenty-three miles
of the following trip describes the Big Oak Flat Road as far as Carl
Inn, and should be of use to auto parties leaving the park by that
route.
From Yosemite we may follow either the ~Bridalveil~ or the ~El Capitan
Road~ westward. At El Capitan Bridge, four miles west of the village,
the ~Big Oak Flat~ road turns abruptly northward. All machines should
be registered at the nearby checking station. For safety, the park
regulations permit the ascent on even hours only and at a speed of not
more than twelve miles per hour.
Gradually mounting the talus slope of the rough canyon side, we emerge
1200 feet above the valley floor at ~New Inspiration Point~ from which
is our last comprehensive view of the ~Gates of the Valley~. The
outlook, although scenically not as perfect as that from the Wawona
Road, is nevertheless quite attractive, for the depths below when
viewed from this point seem almost always to be permeated by a
transparent blue haze.
Near the top of the steady four-mile climb is ~Gentry Checking
Station~, where motorists should again register. This is a possible
camp for motorists but rather a poor location. One-half mile further
is the "Gentry Townsite," laid out about 1914, and beyond, the site of
the old Gentry Sawmill. There are here a few good places for auto
camps. Water will be found at a spring above the road.
~Cascade Creek~ is crossed a short distance northward. The crossing
offers no good camp sites. Fishing is fair. The short steep grade
beyond the bridge is known locally as "Fords' Rest." We now ascend
~Lilly Creek~ to the crossing about half a mile above. Here the blazes
of the old ~Mono Trail~ may be seen at the left leading down to a
point on the rim of the canyon about three miles distant, where was
once the terminus of the Coulterville Road. In the early days this was
one of the chief routes used by the Indians and cattlemen.
Two miles beyond Cascade Creek is ~Tamarack Flat~ (Alt. 6390), named
from the "tamarack" or lodgepole pine here so abundant. This is a
splendid camping place, but somewhat cold. Fishing is fair and horse
feed may be found upstream. A trail branching to the right leads to
~Aspen Valley~, six miles distant. It is extremely brushy, poorly
marked and almost impassable.
Three miles westward is ~Gin Flat~, the summit of the Big Oak Flat
Road. The meadow, bordered by red and white fir and Jeffrey and
lodgepole pine, offers an attractive but cold campsite. There is a
tradition that a barrel of gin was once buried here by one of the
old-time whiskey peddlers, who was shortly afterwards killed. A more
or less desultory search on the part of not a few "old-timers" failed
to discover the prize, so after a few decades the matter became almost
legendary. But in 1909, as a battalion of negro cavalry were marching
to Yosemite for patrol duty, the tradition was in some way "picked up"
in Groveland by one of the troopers. The commanding officer could
hardly understand why his troops pushed on so readily the next day
until, when camp was pitched at Gin Flat, they started to dig. Not a
stone in the vicinity was left unturned--but the gin was never found.
At ~Crane Flat~ (Alt. 6311) two miles further west are many excellent
camp sites. This camping ground is the one nearest to the ~Tuolumne
Grove of Big Trees~. Water is conveniently piped from a spring to the
vicinity of the ranger cabin. It is a good plan, if camp is to be made
at Crane Flat, to gather firewood _en route_, for it is scarce in the
immediate region. Motorists should register at the log cabin of the
Park Ranger, and all east-bound cars should take water. A road
branching southwestward leads to ~Hazel Green~, about five miles
distant on the Coulterville Road, and to the ~Merced Grove of Big
Trees~, seven and a half miles away. It is narrow and steep, but in
fair condition. About a quarter of a mile from Crane Flat the ~Davis~
(private) ~Road~ turns to the left from the Hazel Green cut-off and
leads to ~Big Meadows~ (4.5 miles) and ~El Portal~ (11.5 miles).
The main road bears to the north a short distance after leaving Crane
Flat and, after one mile of steep descent, enters the ~Tuolumne Grove
of Sequoias~. Most of the thirty trees in the small grove are
advantageously seen from the road, but a short side trip to the
tunnelled ~Dead Giant~ (above and to the right) is well worth while.
This subsidiary road is steep and narrow and most people prefer to
walk to the giant.
One-half mile below the grove the main road passes beneath the rustic
gateway which marks the boundary between ~Yosemite National Park~ and
the ~Stanislaus National Forest~. There are two possible auto camps in
the next mile, but neither are very good. Bearing westward the road
follows down the canyon of ~North Crane Creek~. Good camp sites will
be found at the crossing about two miles below the park line. ~Hogdon
Ranch~, a little more than a mile further, is another good place to
camp. At this abandoned cattle ranch an old road branches to the left.
It is impassable because of washouts. A mile and a half further along
the main road is ~Carl Inn~, a mountain summer resort on the ~South
Fork of the Tuolumne River~. Accommodations are excellent. Gasoline
and oil may here be obtained. There are many fine camp sites in the
vicinity and fishing is fair. One may obtain saddle or pack animals at
the hotel for trail trips in the region.
Just west from the hotel is a main road junction. The ~Big Oak Flat
Road~ to Chinese Camp, Knights Ferry and Stockton continues down the
South Fork, while our road crosses the New England Bridge and bears
northward. One mile takes us to another junction where the ~Hetch
Hetchy Road~ (Road Trip V) branches to the left. The Tioga Road turns
eastward, ascends a rather steep grade thru a fine forest of pine,
cedar and oak, and in 4.2 miles again enters the park at ~Aspen Valley
Ranger Station~. Motorists should stop and register. A government
telephone is here available. There are excellent camping places in the
vicinity and a good spring about two hundred yards northwest of the
ranger cabin.
Two miles inside the park is ~Aspen Valley~, another abandoned cattle
ranch. The long meadow offers a delightful camp. The ~Carlin Trail~,
which is used chiefly by cattlemen, branches to the westward at this
point and makes a rough descent to ~Ackerson Meadow~ six miles
distant. Leading southeast is a trail to ~Tamarack Flat~ on the Big
Oak Flat Road. Over most of its six miles it is so brushy as to be
almost impassable and it is now little used. About one mile north of
Aspen Valley the seldom used "~Packers' Trail~" begins at the left of
the road and bears northward toward ~Hetch Hetchy~. From Aspen Valley
eastward good camping places are so numerous that several will be
passed each hour. They will therefore not be mentioned in the
following text.
Our road now ascends ~Long Gulch~, passes over a low divide, and in
4.2 miles crosses the ~Middle Fork of the Tuolumne River~. This is an
attractive auto camp but horse feed is scarce. The stream is well
stocked with rainbow and eastern brook trout. We now follow along the
well-wooded banks of the Middle Fork and in about three and a half
miles, where the road makes a big bend toward the southeast, we find
the beginning of the trail to ~Harden Lake~, ~Hetch Hetchy~, and ~the
Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne~.
The beautiful little ~Harden Lake~ (Alt. 7575) is only one mile
distant by trail. It is a most attractive place to lunch and the round
trip can easily be made in less than one hour. From points just north
of the lake a most comprehensive view of the Grand Canyon of the
Tuolumne is revealed. Harden Lake contains no trout.
~White Wolf~, some two miles beyond the Harden Lake Trail Junction, is
one of the many fine meadows which our road now traverses. The old
~Ten Lakes Trail~ shown on the U.S.G.S. maps as leading eastward from
this point has been superseded by the new ~Ten Lakes Trail~ up
Yosemite Creek. The old blazes may be followed eastward two and a half
miles to ~Lukens Lake~ (Alt. 8450), a charming little mountain lakelet
surrounded by a park-like forest. It has not yet been stocked with
trout.
About three miles beyond White Wolf the ~Yosemite Creek Trail~ (Trail
Trip 11) branches to the right (south). Yosemite is ten miles distant
by this excellent trail. Passing several small meadows, one of which
is ~Dark Hole~, we descend in about two miles to ~Yosemite Creek
Ranger Cabin~. The station is connected by telephone to Yosemite. From
here a good trail bears to the southwest and joins the main Yosemite
Creek Trail one and a half miles below. Good camp sites are numerous
in the vicinity and at the ~Yosemite Creek Crossing~, about a quarter
of a mile eastward, the new ~Ten Lakes Trail~ follows up the east bank
of the creek. Our road now ascends about two and a half miles of heavy
grades, finally passing over a flat divide and descending almost
imperceptibly to the large meadows at ~Porcupine Flat~, an excellent
camping place. One mile further the ~Yosemite Falls Trail~ branches to
the right and leads southwest five miles to ~Yosemite Point~.
In another mile ~Snow Creek~ is crossed. Fishing is fair down stream.
~Snow Flat~, two and a half miles further, is an especially good place
to camp. It is the usual base camp for the ascent of ~Mount Hoffman~
(Alt. 10,921), three miles to the northwest.
~May Lake~ (Alt. 9400) is about one mile north of the road by a
plainly blazed but rough trail which climbs about 500 feet _en route_.
Beautifully set in the rugged glacial amphitheatre at the east
shoulder of Mount Hoffman, which towers imposingly above, it offers
one of the most attractive side trips of the region. As a campsite it
is unsurpassed. In the days when troops were guardians of the park
this was the officers' private fishing lake--and fishing is most
excellent. It was stocked with Loch Leven trout in 1908, with eastern
brook in 1908 and 1917, and with rainbow in 1908 and 1913.
From ~Snow Flat~ the road rises abruptly for a short distance, then
descends 800 feet in the next three miles to ~Lake Tenaya~. Near a
sharp bend in the road about one mile from the lake, a trail to the
right (Trail Trip 5) leads to Yosemite via Mirror Lake.
~Tenaya Lake~ (Alt. 8141) is one of the gems of the High Sierra. It is
a large, deep, glacial lake imposingly surrounded by granite crags and
domes. Its Indian name, Py-we-ack, meant "lake of the glistening
rocks," referring to the glacier polished granite at its upper end.
The lake and the pyramidal peak to the east were renamed Tenaya when
the last remnant of Chief Tenaya's Yosemite Tribe was captured here by
the Mariposa Battalion on June 5, 1851. The lake is one of the best in
the park for a permanent auto camp. It was stocked with Loch Leven
trout in 1911 and with rainbow, eastern brook, black spotted, and
steelhead in 1917, 1918, and 1919, but fishing is only fair. From the
lower end of the lake the ~Forsyth Pass Trail~ (Trail Trip 6) bears
eastward across the rocky meadows, and the ~Yosemite Trail~ (Trail
Trip 5) takes off toward the southwest.
Our road skirts the western lake shore. At a point where ~Murphy
Creek~ enters from the north are the ruins of a log cabin which was
built by John L. Murphy, one of the early pioneer guides of the
region. The ~McGee Lake Trail~ to ~Waterwheel Falls~ here turns off
from the road. Rounding the polished base of ~Polly Dome~ (Alt. 9786)
we finally halt at ~Tenaya Lake Lodge~ near the white beach at the
lake's upper extremity. Accommodations are excellent and fishing
tackle and rowboats may be rented.
At the head of the long flat canyon bottom is a peculiar glacial
monument often mistaken for Polly Dome. Passing this, our road
continues up the stream to its source, where the great Tuolumne
Glacier overflowed and sent a branch southward to help carve out the
stupendous depths of Tenaya Canyon.
~Tuolumne Meadows~ (Alt. 8594), the most superb of all high mountain
pleasure grounds, lies seven and a half miles from Tenaya Lake. In the
region are innumerable side trips to alpine summits, to lakes and
streams teeming with trout, to thundering waterfalls, and to peaceful
green pastures of the highlands. ~Tioga Pass~ (Alt. 9941) is seven
miles further, and another sixteen miles takes us down Leevining
Canyon to the weird semi-desert region at ~Mono Lake~. The road then
continues northward to ~Lake Tahoe~ about 118 miles distant.