YOSEMITE TO HETCH HETCHY _via_ BIG OAK FLAT ROAD AND HETCH HETCHY
RAILROAD
(Round trip 77 miles--1 day by motor and railroad)
A new and exceptionally scenic one-day round trip between Yosemite and
Hetch Hetchy has been made possible by the construction activities on
the San Francisco Dam. Throughout the entire season a gasoline
railroad bus runs on daily schedule between Mather (Hog Ranch) and
Hetch Hetchy, stopping long enough to allow one to view the wonderful
canyon and to inspect the enormous engineering project. One may motor
privately from Yosemite to Mather or may ride by the auto stage, which
makes one round trip daily.
From Yosemite we follow the ~Big Oak Flat Road~ (Road Trips VI and IV)
to the road junction one mile north of ~Carl Inn~, a resort on the
~South Fork of the Tuolumne River~. At this junction (23.4 miles from
Yosemite) we turn to the left on the old ~Hog Ranch Road~, which bears
to the northwest thru the pines of the Stanislaus National Forest.
The following six-mile drive to ~Mather~ is entirely thru delightful
woods and meadows--a country quite attractive but with no startling
scenic effects. At Mather is the ~Hog Ranch Ranger Station~, which is
connected by telephone with Yosemite and outside points. Here we again
enter ~Yosemite National Park~.
In the nine-mile rail-motor excursion to Hetch Hetchy we first
traverse a dense pine forest for one mile and then, emerging at the
rim of ~Tuolumne Canyon~, have a wonderfully scenic ride to our
destination.
~Hetch Hetchy~ is a deeply sculptured Yosemite-like valley with the
broad meadows of its level floor flanked by dominating castellated
cliffs. Its most impressive feature is ~Kolana Rock~, a massive
promontory buttressing the precipitous south wall. The two great
waterfalls--~Tueeulala~, the spirit of gracefulness, and ~Wapama~, the
very soul of power--tumble over the north ramparts at the upper end of
the valley. Fortunate, indeed, will be the visitors of the next few
seasons, for the great gorge will be as yet unflooded.