Upper Yosemite Fall hike

"The Yosemite Fall is separated into an upper and a lower fall with a series of falls and cascades between them, but when viewed in front from the bottom of the Valley they all appear as one.

So grandly does this magnificent fall display itself from the floor of the valley few visitors take the trouble to climb the wall to gain nearer views, unable to realize how vastly more impressive it becomes when closely approached, instead of being seen at a distance of from one or two miles.

The views developed in a walk up the zigzags of the trail leading to the upper fall are as varied and impressive,and almost as extensive, as those on the well known Glacier Point Trail. One rises as if on wings. The groves, meadows, fern-flats and reaches of the river at once new over and over again as we go higher from point to point; the foreground also changes every few rods in the most surprising manner, although the bench on the face of the wall over which the trail passes is very monotonous and common place as seen from the bottom of the valley. Up we climb with glad exhilaration, through shaggy fringes of laurel and ceanothus, and glossy-leaved manzanita and live oak from shadow to shadow across bars of sunshine, the leafy openings making charming frames for the valley pictures beheld through them, and for the glimpses of the high alps that appear in the distance."

The hike from the valley floor to the top of Upper Yosemite Fall is 7.2 miles round trip (one source says 6.6 miles) with a 2,700 feet elevation gain. But the hike to Columbia Rock is only about a mile; it gains over 1,000 feet.

In the map below (courtesy of the National Park Service)

the dotted line in the upper left is part of the trail.

A warning sign at the trailhead:

(From the Yosemite Rockfall Year in Review: "There were 37 documented rockfalls in Yosemite in 2008 with an approximate cumulative volume of 6385 cubic meters." "There were 52 documented rockfalls in 2009, with an approximate cubic volume of 48,129 cubic meters (142,000 tons)." Read details at: Yosemite rock falls

After the first long section of switchbacks (the zigzags on the map), there are a few streamlets in wetter months to pump water at.

There's a railing at Columbia Rock (also called Columbia Point) to aid in taking pictures and a big section of granite to have lunch on. (Two photos below by Pavan Singh.)

There's a great view down to the valley. You can pick out rafters on the river (well, in the summer), bikers on trails and the various hotels.

Below, the view of worn switchbacks on the trail looking down towards Columbia Point.

Don't let the next section of switchbacks intimidate you, because the following section of trail isn't as steep and you get a view of the whole upper fall (a 1,430 foot drop), sometimes with a rainbow. Pictures below are from early February 2005, 2003, and a trickle in 2007.

In winter, when most of the pictures on this page were taken, the lower and middle sections of trail don't have much snow except for one stretch during some years:

Go a little farther (here a picture looking down the trail to the section pictured above)

and you can get photos the falls and the winter snowcone.

People have had to be rescued from the trail. One guy (not from our trip) in 2012 "slipped on a step covered by decomposed granite (very fine gravel). While one leg slipped forward, the subject's other leg slipped backward, forcing the subject to do the splits. The subject was wearing tennis shoes with slick bottom soles... While traveling downhill on steep sections of trail, slipping on gravel is common. Wearing trail shoes, hiking boots or footwear with sticky rubber soles can help hikers maintain traction on the park's tails; some hikers also use trekking poles to help with balance and avoid slipping."

In another rescue report the park said "scrambling off trail is one of the leading causes of serious injury and death in Yosemite". People on the Yosemite Falls hike are often tempted to go a bit off trail to see better views of the rainbow/snowcone. A bit off trail, maybe a few yards below the trail, is the farthest they should go, trying to go all the way down to where the waterfall flows is risking too much.

Quoted parts above are from http://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/Lessons-Learned-2012-Last-post-for-the-season.htm

Slip and fall how far???

http://www.friendsofyosar.org/safety/victimStory.html

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From a winter hike (February 2014) in cold, rainy (or snowy at higher elevations) weather:

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John Muir wrote "In winter the thin outer folds and whirling spray of the great Yosemite Fall are frozen while passing through the air freely exposed, and are deposited around the base of the fall in the form of a hollow, truncated cone, which sometimes attains a height of 400 feet.

In the building of this cone, part of the frozen spray flows directly to its place in the form of minute particles like the dust of wind-beaten snow, but a considerable portion is frozen upon the face of the cliff along the edges of the fall and attains a thickness of a foor or more during the night. When the sun strikes this ice-coating on the cliff it is cracked off in large masses and built into the walls of the cone, while in windy, frosty weather, when the fall is swayed from side to side, the whole surface is drenched, dinding the whole mass of loose blocks and dust firmly together. While in the process of formation the surface is smooth, and pure white, the outlines finely drawn, the whole presenting the appearance of a beautiful crystal hill wreathed with clowds of irised spray, with the fall descending into the heart of it with a tremendous roar, as if pouring down the throat of a crater."

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The big dark cloud moving in from the right of these 2003 pictures brought snow falling on the students who made it to the top of the falls, as well as rain and a hailstorm on them on the way down and on everyone making dinner or sitting around the campfire that night.

People who have made it to the top during our winter trips hiked through waist deep snow most years.

In 2007 Howard Wang (?) took this photo at the top:

next photo of hikers finishing after dark in 2009 by Peter Ye:

Four views of the same part of the top of the upper Yosemite Fall trail:

Upper Yosemite Fall drops 1,430 feet.

For info on our Yosemite winter camping trip this year go to:

Outdoor Club Coming Attractions

photos below by Quang-Tuan Luong/terragalleria.com, all rights reserved. Same trail, but not from our trip.

Yosemite nature podcasts: http://www.nps.gov/yose/photosmultimedia/ynn.htm episode #2 is Yosemite Falls

webcam of Yosemite Falls http://www.yosemiteconservancy.org/webcams

How much water will there be in the Yosemite waterfalls?

Enhance your hike by reading:

Day hike gear

GORP and hiking snacks

Thunderstorm and lightning safety

At altitude

Snow camp weather, hike safety and first aid considerations