I bought a new sleeping bag because the old one was not keeping me warm on cold nights any more. Actually I bought a quilt this time. This is unusual for me. I have always liked bags but I did the research and figured this time I would get the quilt. Off I went to Yosemite National Park to try it out. It would be 41 degrees at night. Not too cold but cold enough to give it a good test.
My plan: Chilnualna Falls for one night.
I arrived at the trailhead at 9:30AM. There were a lot of cars in the parking lot. There had to be at least 7 or 8 groups ahead of me but I saw no one on the trail for the entire hike. I did not even see anyone when I finally got to the top of Chilnualna Falls. Where did they all go? It was not until the very end did I finally see some people coming back down.
One person in particular needs to be talked about: He said to me, Oh are you just starting out your backpacking trip? Ah no, obviously, I started at the bottom. But you are going on a long trip, then? No, just one night. Ah, so it is a training trip, then? (Now I’m thinking, what is the deal with this guy!) Not a training trip, just seeing the waterfalls here. But your pack is so heavy! Ummm, actually 32 pounds is not very heavy at all when you have camera equipment but thanks for letting me know, Mr. Know It All. I may or may not have said that last phrase. Really people, have you heard the phrase Hike Your Own Hike? Not that it even matters but I did not take anything that I did not use or need on this trip. Oh wait. That is a lie. I had a couple charging cords with me but I left my battery pack at home (intentionally). So I guess I could have shed a couple ounces and left the cords at home. And I had one luxury item: my Kindle. All those things are not even a half pound. I think I did very well, actually.
But it would have helped if I was in shape. It is a 2200 ft. climb and I was very tired by the time I reached the top of Chilnualna Falls. I found a spot to camp near the upper falls. It was a great spot mostly hidden off the trail although you could still see my camp from the trail if you were looking. I did see a couple people go by but I don’t know if they saw me. I set up camp and made my dinner.
I have been to Chilnualna Falls before in 2009 (and at a better time of year). So why return, you may ask? Well, I had three goals for this trip. All were successful. The first was to see a new waterfall on the North Fork Chilnualna Creek. I did this on day one but the creek flow was pretty low. This one would be much better to see in the spring. The second goal was to get (some!) photos of the upper falls. I have been to it before, obviously (or maybe not so obviously), but somehow I lost all my photos of it. It is a mystery. After going to the first waterfall on the north fork I came back to the bottom of the upper falls. This gets very late sun so I had to wait until almost sunset before I could take photos. I was about 45 minutes ahead of time. It was very cold waiting in the shade at the base of the waterfall. Finally I could take my shots. You can only see the bottom section from here so I went back up to where I could see the entire length of Upper Chilnualna Falls. It is 145 ft. high with all the tiers included. It was sunset now. My hands were very cold. Thankfully it was a short walk back to camp. I hopped into bed. It was only 5PM. I did some reading for awhile. I tried to sleep.
For goal #3 you need to wait until my next post. It was a fantastic first day at Chilnualna Falls in Yosemite National Park.
