The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne and Falls

Muir Gorge, sort of hidden away and hard to see. The Ten Lakes Basin canyon is above. In late season and low water, one could travel through Muir Gorge, as John Muir did, with Galen Clark.

Muir Gorge

The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne and Falls, June 2004

We climbed all over point 5637 looking for a good vantage point to see Muir Gorge, but nothing really presented itself for a worthwhile photo or view. The gorge was hidden by its very deepness and sheer walls.

Looking up into the canyon of Ten Lakes Basin. Look, another waterfall!

Muir Gorge was discovered by John Muir, and when he told the tale of its discovery, many people did not believe it, just as they did not believe stories of the Giant Sequoias. His journey of discovery was yet another of Muir's superhuman feats of climbing and endurance. Muir (casting aside many of his bulkier items) descended into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne probably somewhere near Ten Lakes Pass. His food was tea and crackers and he had minimal gear for camping. One also has to remember that Muir visited the gorge and canyon several times. Reading his accounts one would think he felt his greatest danger came from rattlesnakes, rather than the descents into the canyon. At one point on his first trip into the canyon, he recounts having to take his shoes off and wet his hands to get down steep granite slabs of the canyon walls. In all probability from the vague details of his writing, he first descended to the Tuolumne River canyon bottom by Double Rock canyon. To top it off, he found a different place to climb out of the canyon back to his camp, and in one day. Another time he may have descended 10 Lakes canyon, another discovery of Muir's. All that and no tails, and still he made as good time as modern backpackers on trails.