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| East Ridge   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: California, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 37.94630°N / 119.7063°W Route Type: Hike/Scramble Time Required: A long day Difficulty: Class 2 - 3
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| Page By: mrolph Created/Edited: May 1, 2003 / Aug 15, 2003 Object ID: 158010 Hits: 960 Loading... Page Score: 85.94% - 1 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Approach
From the parking areas, cross O’Shaughnessy Dam and continue through the 500 foot tunnel. Hike up the old Lake Eleanor access road about a half mile to the first trial junction. Turn right on the signed Rancheria Falls trail. This trail traverses along the north wall of Hetch Hetchy passing several water falls including the impressive Wapama Falls. The trails climbs and descends considerably then crosses a lovely gorge containing Tiltill Creek before arriving at Rancheria Creek. A signed spur trail leads to a camping area shaded by Ponderosa pines and the base of the 25 foot high falls. Continue up the trail past the spur about a half mile to a junction with the Tiltill Valley trail. Turn right and cross Rancheria Creek in a few hundred yards. This is the last reliable source of water in the summer or fall. From here the trail climbs steadily 1,500 feet to near the saddle on the East Ridge of LeConte Point. The total approach is around seven miles, 4,000 feet of climbing and 2,500 feet of descending.
Route Description
Before the trail crosses the East Ridge, it comes within 25 yards of the cliffs guarding the low point of the saddle. Leave the trail and scramble over several short class 2 to 3 cliffs and gullies to the saddle. Alternately, these cliffs can be bypassed by following the trail all the way to the ridge then down climbing to the low point through several patches of brush. The broad ridge is a convoluted stretch of small cliffs, sandy patches, juniper and pine trees, and some brush. Route finding is not difficult or critical.
Where the grade on the ridge starts to rise, there is a short, 50 foot class 3 to 4 cliff. If this obstacle is too daunting, it can be bypassed with some careful route finding on the south side of the ridge. However, the rock is solid and the exposure is minimal—the climbing here is fun. The remainder of the route is straight forward Class 1 to 2 with no major problems. The summit is a small sandy plateau with a few weathered junipers for shade. The summit register is at the high point at the west end, overlooking Hetch Hetchy. Total distance since leaving the trail is about a half mile and 400 feet of climbing.
Essential Gear
Just the normal gear for a long day hike.
Miscellaneous Info
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Sierra Nevada
