Читать книгу 50 Best Short Hikes: Yosemite National Park and Vicinity онлайн

35 страница из 46

This trail has not been updated, a nice way to note that it has not been regraded in recent decades. Instead, it drops at an approximate rate of 1,000 feet in 1 mile, twice as steeply as most switchbacking trails in the Sierra. There are a few big steps and simply a persistent grade. Take your time, especially if your knees bother you. You continue down, never far from the creek, weaving in and out of the denser conifer cover in the riparian zone and the oaks that grow on the drier slopes. In spring you will find some beautiful low-elevation flowers, including wild ginger. And suddenly the trail abruptly turns to the left (0.8 mile from start) and then flattens, indicating that you have reached Poopenaut Valley.

You now approach a large meadow, through which the creek you were following forms a deep channel. As you enter the opening, the trail peters out. USGS topo maps indicate that it continues along the western meadow edge to the riverbank, but equally obvious tracks cut across the meadow. In spring, when the ground will be marshy, you will select the left-hand option, both to stay dry and avoid damaging the meadow. In fall and winter, all choices are acceptable and walking through the tall, dry grass is appealing. Either way, you will shortly reach the river’s edge. In spring you will be met by a raging torrent, while late season you will find delightful sandbanks for a picnic and a quiet river for swimming (1.2 miles). But the water will be cold, for it is released from the chilly depths of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir a few miles upstream. Faint use trails that head upstream along the bank are animal tracks that rapidly become difficult to discern—do not be tempted to follow them. Return to your car the way you descended, taking your time and drinking plenty of water (2.4 miles).