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Jean and I parked near the Walter Fry Nature Center and walked
across the bridge to start our hike on the Tokopah Falls trail.
The trail meanders through the forest next to the Marble Fork
of the Kaweah River. As usual, the start of the trail was relatively
crowded. We passed families with kids, people wearing sandals,
etc. It thinned out the further we went.
Jean enjoying the sight of the Kaweah River
We'd seen lots of mushrooms the previous day, but few were to
be found on this trail. The forest is sparser, making conditions
hard for a mushroom, I suppose. The forest here is also composed
differently. There were a few scattered sequoias, but it's mostly
other conifers.
We scrambled next to granite rocks and along forest floor next
to the Kaweah, which was not nearly as loud as the South Fork
of the Kings River on the Mist Falls hike. Eventually we emerged
from the forest and had our first view of the 1200-foot Tokopah
Falls.
Marmot posing for the camera
We scrambled up the granite rocks to the base of the falls, where
we were greeted by a hungry marmot which readily posed for some
pictures. There were a fair number of picnickers here, and where
there's a picnic in the high Sierra, there's a marmot -- the largest
member of the squirrel family.
Jean sitting in front of the falls
The falls lie at the closed end of a U-shaped valley. Imagine
a huge granite plateau being carved by a giant thumb (print down).
The falls were at the tip of the thumb. There was nowhere else
for us to go, so we sat down and enjoyed the view. On the southern
wall lies the "Watchtower," a 1600 foot tall cliff. To the west
lies the forest. There's a very discernible treeline. It's as
if there was an army of marching trees which suddenly came to
a halt for fear of falling over a cliff.
The Watchtower
The trees stop their advance as if hitting an imaginary wall
The falls from further back along the trail
After enjoying our break we returned the way we came. Along the
way, we startled a large marmot. This one, as opposed to its more
human-friendly cousin near the falls, ran away quickly and disappeared.
Soon we, too, disappeared, as we were back at our cars and heading
out of the park all too soon.
Return to Sequoia/Kings Canyon trip report.
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