The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne and Falls

Looking back towards our camp below LeConte Falls, shade from Wildcat Point still invades the area.

The Lip of LeConte Falls

The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne and Falls, June 2004

The trail does not get very close to the brink of LeConte Falls. We had to shed our packs and make our way through some low bush on faint use trail to a large rock. Going around the rock there was a downed log to step over to get to the brink of the falls where I took my pictures. The banks of the river were pretty overgrown in this area, so there was not too much room to maneuver, unlike the far more accessible Waterwheel Falls.

Note the pronounced glacier polish on the rocks at the brink of the falls. Imagine the tons of pressure from ice it took to do that more than 10,000 year ago.

It was quite a feeling to be standing at this falls brink with the raging waters churning by beneath my toes. Looking down into the valley towards our former camp, I noted that the morning shadow conformed with the bend in the river below, and I wondered of the shadow had enough effect on the glacier that was here long ago to determine the course of the river. Shadows had an effect on the lay of the Merced River in Yosemite Valley.

After enjoying our little detour, we made our way back to our packs through the low bushes, and hit the trail.