Muir Gorge (Grand Canyon of the ) Rating: 2C R VI ***** Vehicle: Passenger car Time: 3 days or more Car Shuttle: ~26.5 miles Season: Low: July-Sept Norm: Aug-Sept High: Aug-Sept Approach: ~15 miles Gear: 60 foot rope for handlines and lowering packs. One Exit: ~15 miles light weight harness per team for possible belays or Good Eats: The Resort just outside the east enough webbing to improvise a harness. Four locking entrance to Yosemite NP at Tioga Pass is delicious! “The biners, helmet, wetsuit, neoprene gloves Grill” in is a classic. Beer and ice Rubber: At least 3mm/2mm. 4mm/3mm would keep you cream can be had at the White Wolf Store. White Wolf warmer but weight is a factor on the long approach and serves diner nightly. exit Camping: White Wolf or Tuolumne Meadows are the Hazards: Very remote canyon, rescue would be difficult. obvious choices but can be difficult to get a site at. Significant flow, stiff downclimbs, lots of effort required to Tuolumne Meadows has a first come first served haul a big pack through the canyon. backpackers camp if you don’t mind being away from your car. The Porcupine Flat campground between the trailheads has nice sites and is usually not full, even on weekends.

Introduction: tired we simply lay down in restful comfort on the river The Muir Gorge is a fantastic semi-technical bank beside a wood fire, instead of trying to go down canyoneering adventure located in a remote and the gorge in the dark or climb over its high shoulder to spectacular corner of . John our blankets and provisions, which we had left in the Muir and first explored the Gorge in the morning in a tree at the foot of the gorge. I remember early 20th century. In Muir’s The Yosemite he wrote stir. Clark remarking that if he had his choice that night about the adventure: between provisions and blankets he would choose his blankets.” “In the morning of the second day out from we name to what is now known as "Muir Staring downsteam at the head of the Muir Gorge Gorge," and Mr. Clark without hesitation prepared to gives the canyoneer an ominous but excited feeling, force a way through it, wading and jumping from one The walls of the gorge are shear and tall as the mighty submerged boulder to another through the torrent, Tuolumne cuts through their ramparts. Within the bracing and steadying himself with a long pole. gorge the canyoneer will find amazing waterfalls and Though the river was then rather low, the savage, blue green canyon wide pools as narrow in places as roaring, surging song it was ringing was rather nerve- 20 feet across and bounded by granite cathedrals trying, especially to our inexperienced companion. many hundreds of feet high. With careful assistance, however, I managed to get him through, but this hard trial, naturally enough, Though the Muir Gorge is only semi-technical and can proved too much and he informed us, pale and be descended by an experienced canyoneer without trembling, that he could go no farther. I gathered some the need to rappel, the canyon should be given wood at the upper throat of the gorge, made a fire for respect as the location is very remote, the him and advised him to feel at home and make downclimbing stiff and the penalties quite high for himself comfortable, hoped he would enjoy the grand errors. Don’t let the rating fool you, do not enter this scenery and the songs of the water-ouzels which canyon with out previous class C technical haunted the gorge, and assured him that we would canyoneering experience. return some time in the night, though it might be late, as we wished to go on through the entire cañon if Since ’s exploration in the early 20th possible. We pushed our way through the dense centaury the Muir Gorge has only seen a handful of chaparral and over the earthquake taluses with such known descents. As such, it is in pristine condition and speed that we reached the foot of the tipper cataract holds a surreal and magical beauty. It is of the utmost while we had still an hour or so of daylight for the importance that all future descentionists work to return trip. It was long after dark when we reached our preserve this character. adventurous, but nerve-shaken companion who, of course, was anxious and lonely, not being Driving Directions: accustomed to solitude, however kindly and flowery A Muir Gorge descent requires a long car shuttle and full of sweet bird-song and stream-song. Being between White Wolf and Tuolumne Meadows.

This route description is licensed under a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved. (See www.sierracanyons.org for more information) Fortunately as of the summer 2008, the park was Towards the end of the approach the grade will flatten running a shuttle bus (the YART) between these two out and pass through a section of forest. After the trailheads twice a day. In 2008, the YART went from forested section the trail passes along a granite slab Tuolumne Meadows to White Wolf in the morning and at waters edge then up and over a series of granite from White Wolf to Tuolumne Meadows in the boulders. While hiking here, the Muir Gorge looms evening. Check with the park service of exact pick-up ahead. times. In this area, there are a few good campsites adjacent Due to this schedule, it is best to leave your car in to swimholes that make great places to spend the Tuolumne Meadows and catch the YART back to it night as the head of the Muir Gorge is less than a mile after your hike. away.

From the “Y” at Crane Flat on hwy 120 inside Day 2, ~6 hiking miles, 1.25 canyon miles: Yosemite National Park, follow the Tioga Rd. (hwy From your campsite, continue downstream on the 120) east for about 14.5 miles to White Wolf Rd.. Turn Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne trail until you reach Left on to White Wolf Rd. and continue about 1 mile to the point where the gorge clearly heads down and left the White Wolf Campground. This is the exit trailhead. (LDC) and the trail jogs right and starts to climb uphill You can leave a car here in the backpackers parking away from the gorge. This is where you enter the area. watercourse.

To reach the start trailhead, return to the Tioga Rd. Scramble left (LDC) down a short slope to join the (hwy. 120) and continue east up into the Yosemite watercourse. high country. In about 9 miles you will reach the Porcupine Flat campground (decent camping often Canyon: with vacancies, even on weekends). After about 16 Day 2 Continued: more miles just after the bridge over the Tuolumne Suit up on the rocks on the bank of the Tuolumne. At River in Tuolumne Meadows Turn Left on to the first the route requires a bit of river scrambling and Tuolumne Meadows Stables access road. Pass the wading with a swim or two thrown in for good trailhead immediately on your right. measure. Soon the river makes a sweeping bend to Continue about ¼ mile to a point where the road the right (LDC) and becomes boulder chocked. Here makes a shape right turn. This is the upper trailhead. exit the river on the right (LDC) and bypass the bend You can park on the shoulder anywhere along this in the river by hiking though the forest. Rejoin the river road that is not signed “no parking.” Please store all after the bend by carefully downclimbing large food that may be in your vehicle in the provided bear boulders. boxes. The PCT is accessed through the gate at this turn. At this point the inner gorge is in plain view ahead of you. Follow the watercourse down into it, Approach: downclimbing drops as necessary. Be careful some of A Muir Gorge descent is best staged as at least a 3- the downclimbs are stiff and the rock can be slippery. day trip. With this timing, the pace is fast but reasonable. Some teams may prefer to take 4 or more Be sure to make note of the many very deep potholes days as this will beak up the approach and exit hikes in this section of the canyon. One of these potholes and allow time to enjoy the absolutely incredible has scoured completely through to the pool below and siwmholes on the Tuolumne River along the way. makes an awesome downclimb experience.

Day 1, ~15 hiking miles: Further down canyon the canyon tightens further and Starting at the PCT trailhead down the road from the the walls soar. The scene is otherworldly and surreal. Tuolumne Meadows stables follow the PCT for about This middle section of canyon is characterized by 6 miles to Glen Aulin. Just after the bridge over the some very long swims through river wide pools. Toulumne River in Glen Aulin, leave the PCT and follow the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne Trail west All too soon, the canyon begins to widen and for about 9.5 miles passing , LeConte and vegetation reappears on the banks of the river. At this Waterwheel Falls as well as number of spectacular point the gradient steepens again and the river swimholes and campsites. plunges down a series of serious drops.

This route description is licensed under a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved. (See www.sierracanyons.org for more information) An experienced party with the correct ropes, anchor building tools and skills could descend this section if the river was at very low flow. However, most should bypass this section because of a dangerous siphon about two thirds of the way down the section. Do not underestimate this section, as even on rope a slip into the siphon would probably jam your body under heavy flow…

To bypass this final section exit the river on the left (LDC) just before a house sized boulder in the middle of the watercourse around witch the river drops away on both sides. Hike up and over a shoulder and then down slabs to rejoin the Tuolumne. From here, river scramble downstream and swim a couple more pools to a point where the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne trail gets close to the river again on the right (LDC) bank. Change on the rocks on the riverbank.

Exit: Day 2 Continued: Rejoin the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne Trail and hike down canyon about 5 miles past some of the best swimholes (outside of the Muir Gorge, that is!) of the trip all the way to Pate Valley. In Pate Valley, cross two bridges over the Tuolumne to reach a very large trailside campsite.

Day 3, ~ 10 hiking miles plus ~5000 vertical feet: Get an early start as you have a LOT of climbing to do to get to White Wolf. Follow the trail up, up, up following signs for Harden Lake and White Wolf at trail junctions. Behold never ending switchbacks, some sections of which put the golden staircase in Kings Canyon and Walter’s Wiggles in Zion to shame. Up, up, up you go. It will be hot and long, keep on stepping. The good news is that when you reach White Wolf you can get beer and ice cream at the little store there. Who, knows maybe you’ll even stay for dinner.

If you are riding the YART back to your car in Tuolumne meadows the bus stop is just outside the store.

Non-Technical: A nice feature of the Muir Gorge route is it is non- canyoneer friendly. If you have backpacking friends that don’t canyoneer they can do the hike with you. When you leave the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River Trail to descend the Muir Gorge they stay on it, climbing up and around the gorge. They’ll be up high wondering how you are doing in the gorge and you’ll be in the gorge wondering how they are doing up on the trail. You’ll all get to enjoy some nice backpacking, camping and swimholes together!

This route description is licensed under a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved. (See www.sierracanyons.org for more information) 2 84 000m E. 2 85 000m E. 2 86 000m E. 2 87 000m E. 2 88 000m E. 2 89 000m E. 2 90 000m E. 2 91 000m E. WGS84 Zone 11S 2 93 000m E. 01 N. 42 01000m 01 N. 42 01000m 00 N. 42 00000m

00 N. 42 00000m Gannd Canyon of the TuolumneTrail 99 N. 41 99000m 99 N. 41 99000m 98 N. 41 98000m 98 N. 41 98000m 97 N. 41 97000m 97 N. 41 97000m PCT

Upper Trailhead N. 41 96000m

96 N. 41 96000m The Muir Gorge 2C R VI (Map 1) 3mm+ wetsuit Very remote canyon Rescue would be difficult N. 41 95000m

95 N. 41 95000m Significant flow Stiff downclimbs Lots of effort required to haul a big pack through the canyon

2 84 000m E. 2 85 000m E. 2 86 000m E. 2 87 000m E. 2 88 000m E. 2 89 000m E. 2 90 000m E. 2 91 000m E. WGS84 Zone 11S 2 93 000m E. TN MN 0.0 0.5 1.0 miles 14°

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 km 12/03/08 This map is licensed under a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved. (see www.sierracanyons.org for more information) 2 75 000m E. 2 76 000m E. 2 77 000m E. 2 78 000m E. 2 79 000m E. 2 80 000m E. 2 81 000m E. 2 82 000m E. WGS84 Zone 11S 2 84 000m E. 05 N. 42 05000m 04 N. 42 04000m 04 N. 42 04000m

Gorge Exit 03 N. 42 03000m 03 N. 42 03000m

Entrance to the Muir Gorge

(camp in this area) N. 42 02000m 02 N. 42 02000m

Bypass 01 N. 42 01000m 01 N. 42 01000m 00 N. 42 00000m 00 N. 42 00000m The Muir Gorge 2C R VI (Map 2) 3mm+ wetsuit 99 N. 41 99000m Very remote canyon 99 N. 41 99000m Rescue would be difficult Significant flow Stiff downclimbs

Lots of effort required to haul a big pack through the canyon N. 41 98000m 98 N. 41 98000m 2 75 000m E. 2 76 000m E. 2 77 000m E. 2 78 000m E. 2 79 000m E. 2 80 000m E. 2 81 000m E. 2 82 000m E. WGS84 Zone 11S 2 84 000m E. TN MN 0.0 0.5 1.0 miles 14°

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 km 12/03/08 This map is licensed under a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved. (see www.sierracanyons.org for more information) 2 66 000m E. 2 67 000m E. 2 68 000m E. 2 69 000m E. 2 70 000m E. 2 71 000m E. 2 72 000m E. 2 73 000m E. WGS84 Zone 11S 2 75 000m E. 04 N. 42 04000m 04 N. 42 04000m 03 N. 42 03000m 03 N. 42 03000m 02 N. 42 02000m 02 N. 42 02000m 01 N. 42 01000m

01 N. 42 01000m Day 2 Camp 00 N. 42 00000m 00 N. 42 00000m

The Muir Gorge 2C R VI N. 41 99000m

99 N. 41 99000m (Map 3) 3mm+ wetsuit Very remote canyon Rescue would be difficult 98 N. 41 98000m Significant flow 98 N. 41 98000m Stiff downclimbs Lots of effort required to haul a big pack through the canyon

2 66 000m E. 2 67 000m E. 2 68 000m E. 2 69 000m E. 2 70 000m E. 2 71 000m E. 2 72 000m E. 2 73 000m E. WGS84 Zone 11S 2 75 000m E. TN MN 0.0 0.5 1.0 miles 14°

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 km 12/03/08 This map is licensed under a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved. (see www.sierracanyons.org for more information) 2 62 000m E. 2 63 000m E. 2 64 000m E. 2 65 000m E. 2 66 000m E. 2 67 000m E. 2 68 000m E. 2 69 000m E. WGS84 Zone 11S 2 71 000m E. 00 N. 42 00000m 99 N. 41 99000m 99 N. 41 99000m 98 N. 41 98000m 98 N. 41 98000m 97 N. 41 97000m 97 N. 41 97000m 96 N. 41 96000m 96 N. 41 96000m Exit at White Wolf 95 N. 41 95000m

95 N. 41 95000m The Muir Gorge 2C R VI (Map 4) 3mm+ wetsuit Very remote canyon Rescue would be difficult N. 41 94000m

94 N. 41 94000m Significant flow Stiff downclimbs Lots of effort required to haul a big pack through the canyon

2 62 000m E. 2 63 000m E. 2 64 000m E. 2 65 000m E. 2 66 000m E. 2 67 000m E. 2 68 000m E. 2 69 000m E. WGS84 Zone 11S 2 71 000m E. TN MN 0.0 0.5 1.0 miles 14°

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 km 12/03/08 This map is licensed under a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved. (see www.sierracanyons.org for more information)