mrchad9 wrote:Sorry you did not complete your trip but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. What was the recorded flow during your visit? Perhaps I'll see you there in a future year.

When we attempted the descent on October 15, the recorded flow on the Merced River was about 300 cfs at Pohono Bridge and 170 cfs at Happy Isles, which is about double the flow this September and about 10 times the historical median flow for October 15. The water level in many places was probably 1-2 feet higher than shown in those photos.

Osterizer wrote:I noticed that the route description says that the slab traverses/ascents are class four, does that mean they are actually stepper than the half dome cables? Does anyone know what the rock fall is like?

We found the slabs to the southwest of Pywiack Cascade to be class 3 friction climbing with exposure by the easiest route. I would estimate the angle to be about 35 degrees, compared to 45 degrees for the steeper parts of the Half Dome cables. The upper half of the steep slabs were mostly solid granite. In the lower portions there was some lichen covering the slabs. In the lowest 30-50 feet of the steep section the slabs were polished and very slick. We avoided this last section by bushwhacking in the brush to the side. To the right (northeast) side of our descent route much of the slab was wet. To the left (southwest) the slabs were steeper and more exposed as there was very little vegetation there. The top of the descent from southwest of the lone boulder was mostly talus and bushwhacking. The bottom of this descent was a mix of lower angle slabs, talus and brush. Only a 300-500 foot section in the middle of the descent consisted of steep, exposed slabs.

No shoes? I lost them somewhere in the slabs or the brush.

mlca wrote:I thought the recent snow would ruin it. Did you happen to find a pair of Green Salomon sneakers? They fell out of my pack just before the lost valley.

Do you think the water levels are too high to do the Yosemite Falls cascades or Middle Earth as some people are calling it? I would like to get this in as one last trip before the snow really begins to fall.

I think we saw a couple of pieces of clothing or gear on the route, but I do not remember finding shoes. We may not have passed exactly the same point on the route though.

I have not tried ascending or descending the Yosemite Falls cascades, so I cannot advise you on that route. I would expect water levels to be lower now compared to last week, and to continue to decrease through the end of October if the dry weather forecast holds.

mrchad9 wrote:Sorry you did not complete your trip but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. What was the recorded flow during your visit? Perhaps I'll see you there in a future year.

Hey there, do you think the record snowfall runoff would make it tough to get through the canyon this year? Trying to go next week!

When I went the Happy Isles flow rate was 100-150 cfs. Currently it is 500-700. Flow was low when I went and certainly the canyon would be easily doable with higher flowrate... but I do not know if this might be too much. I would have guessed 400 cfs might be a reasonable limit but it is only a guess and not really based on anything.

I would suggest looking at when the climbers log was signed by others on the SummitPost page and seeing what the flowrate was for others if you want a better idea.