2003jun16. Since we’re leaving California, we took one last trip to Yosemite and trail-walked to Wapama Falls. It’s only a trickle in this “virtual reality” panorama, but last Saturday the volume of water was enough to make some people think twice about passing through. Including us. But an older couple watching over their grandkids told us that they spoke to another younger couple who had come back drenched and said it was worth it, so we soldiered on and after it was all over, I ended up thanking them three times for the tip. The snowmelt seems to be delivering just the right amount of water so you get sprayed and have to cross some slighty submerged rock and wood bridges, but it’s warm enough weather to make the whole thing rather pleasant. The spray areas are sort of split in two, and the panorama doesn’t capture it all, despite being virtual reality and all (this panorama was also captured later in the summer). Bring shoes you don’t care about, because they’re going to get wet – or cross barefoot. The trail to Wapama Falls is five miles round-trip and starts out by crossing what the guidebook calls “OiShaughnessy Dam.” Downriver the mighty Tuolumne drops into Poopenaut Valley (pronounced “Poopenaut”) and then into my sippey cup. Photos later. Of the falls, not my sippey cup. That’s a personal thing.
