Chilnualna Falls: Backpacking Yosemite

Double Rainbow

We made a group “early season” backpacking trip to Chilnualna Falls in SE Yosemite in early June. Our destination above the falls was around 6,200′ if memory serves, and most of the snow had melted at that elevation. The river and falls were still raging from the runoff at the higher elevations, which was very scenic although it meant we’d probably not be able to make a crossing, were we so inclined.

Antony and I carpooled in his Taco, and met up with the others at the wilderness station next to the Wawona lodge in southern Yosemite. It was nice to be there again after several years.

The hike up to camp – and it was up – was just under 5 miles. The 2,400′ of elevation gain was overall pretty mild, although it wasn’t like flat terrain either. I’d not hike much the previous few months (just two very short hikes) and with the pack weight, I found my legs bothering me up beyond the falls. They both cramped badly at one point, so I had to sit and rest for 5 minutes or so, at which point they were working properly again and I could make it the short distance to camp. That was disconcerting, but they gave me no further trouble over the weekend, nor at all on the next couple of hiking & backpacking trips.

Once in camp and set up, we spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the wonderful setting and fresh mountain air. Some of the guys fished (not catching any of the stubborn fish though), I took photos, and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Wawona Dome from the trail

If we’d had another day, I’d have looked for a safe crossing and hiked over to the top of Wawona Dome, which was about a mile (as the crow flies) from our camp. My topo map showed that the direct route should have been the easiest way there as well.

We had a nice dinner campfire – a time I always look forward to – and then were treated to a wonderful display of stars and the Milky Way, as well as many shooting stars. I saw 5 or 6 of the latter. I finally hit my sleeping bag around 10 or 11. The river and falls made for very loud “white noise” and I slept very well!

Around the campfire

The next day we (well, most of us) were up around dawn. It was chilly until the sun’s rays reached us and then things warmed up quickly, eventually reaching the upper 80s. We packed up and made good time on the return trip, which was almost entirely downhill, and were out of the park in time for a proper post-hike lunch. After we were all stuffed, we made our separate ways home.

River fall at campsite

I’ve already shared some of the photos from the trip on Facebook but of course there are more (and much larger) images with caption here: Chilnualna Falls Gallery