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

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Bearing right, you alternatively cross open slabs and pass small patches of meadow growing in an incredibly thin soil layer. In spring water pools on the underlying rock, creating miniature wetlands with beautiful flower displays, while by summer the soil and vegetation are parched. The few trees present, manzanitas and foothill pines, undoubtedly have their roots in cracks in the rock, accessing deeper, moister soil.

Soon you cross an unnamed seasonal tributary, whose waters cascade down the broken cliffs above and often straight over the trail. Beyond, the flat slabs transition into a steeper slope. For the next 3 miles, the trail follows a ledge system, a corridor through the otherwise impassable slabs. Shortly you cross the base of Tueeulala Falls on a wooden footbridge (2.0 miles); this waterfall flows only during peak runoff, for it is actually a branch of Falls Creek (the Wapama Falls creek) that fills only during the highest water conditions. (USGS topo maps mark Tueeulala Falls at the location of the previous tributary.) Continuing along, you find yourself under dense forest cover in places and on open talus slopes elsewhere. Stretches of trail have been recently rebuilt, and you can savor the beautiful stonework on the path. A final short descent takes you to the five bridges that cross Falls Creek as it splays across a giant boulder fan at the base of Wapama Falls (2.4 miles). In autumn you must cross the bridges to even see the waterfall, for the water actually cascades down the east-facing side of a corner. In spring you will be aware of the falls before you reach the bridges, for there will be a thundering sound and drenching spray. On one occasion in early June, water was flowing over the bridge and I was taking a shower until I was well beyond the bridges; take care under these conditions, for two people were recently swept off the bridge. Return to your car by the same route (4.8 miles).