Yosemite Part 3 - Hetch Hetchy Valley

A few miles after entering the south gate into Yosemite is a beautiful National Historic Landmark. The Wawona Hotel has been feeding and housing travelers since the 1850's.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch in the Victorian Dining Room.

Being Saturday and the Park was busy, we planned a visit to the Hetch Hetchy area of Yosemite. It was here in this little visited region of the park that we found our "Hike of the Week".

From the overlook you can view the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, O'Shaughnessy Dam along with the Wapama Falls.

The project began in 1914. The Hetch Hetchy Project - a complex system of pipelines, tunnels, powerhouse, dams and reservoirs first delivered water to the San Francisco Bay area in October 1934. There was much controversy over the flooding of this beautiful valley, which John Muir likened to Yosemite Valley. The reservoir is estimated to contain 117 billion gallons of high quality drinking water to supply 2.6 million residents.

A five mile hike to Wapama Falls begins by crossing the dam and walking through the tunnel.

The views along the reservoir trail were outstanding.

The Wapama Falls are just around the corner.

Pictures do not due justice to the absolute beauty and power of these magnificent falls.

The pristine water collected here is snow melt and precipitation originating on the snow capped granite peaks of the Yosemite protected wilderness area.

Water stored here is safe for drinking. No filtration is necessary. So we proceeded to refill our water bottles out of the falls. The high elevation of the reservoir allows the regional water system to move water from Hetch Hetchy to the Bay Area using only gravity. This not only provides water but also generates electricity. No boating or swimming is allowed in the lake. This lightly used pristine area is well worth the journey. Most times we didn't see any other hikers. After spending the previous couple days in the very busy main park, it was nice.

The Lights of Wawona Hotel shown into the night as we passed by on our way home.