Did you know that we have our very own mini version of Devil’s Postpile at Yosemite? We visited what is known as Little Devil’s Postpile on our hike from Tuolumne Meadows to Glen Aulin. The morning reflections in the Tuolumne River, water holes, mud holes and pot holes were magnificent!
Where: Yosemite National Park Highlights: The hike along the Tuolumne River is a gorgeous one with early morning reflections in the river and just about any other water that is around at the time. On this hike, we still had some water holes and pot holes in the rocks that created gorgeous reflections. Little Devil’s Postpile is not far off the trail and a unique geologic feature of Yosemite.
There are several ways that you can hike to Glen Aulin. On this hike, we stopped at the day-use-only parking lot at the beginning of the road for a bathroom stop, which is where the Dog Lake trail begins. We then drove north on the dirt road to where the gate is across the dirt road and the bear boxes are located. We parked, stashed our snacks for after the hike and our other items that bears could like in the bear box. We then headed north and up the dirt road.
As we started down the trail, we looked back at great views of Cathedral and Unicorn Peaks and several of the Domes.
I couldn’t get enough of the reflections in the water holes along the trail on this early morning.
We weren’t sure how deep some of the water crossings on this hike would be and had brought our water shoes to use if needed. We came to our first crossing and utilized a log to get over the creek. The trekking poles helped us keep our balance while slowly walking across the log. We all made it just fine!
One of the reasons for this hike was to learn first hand about some of the geology of the area. Before this hike, I thought I was pretty smart to tell you that this rock was granite. Turns out there are about a million different kinds of granite. Well, maybe not a million but many, many different kinds, and Yosemite is the home to many of these sorts of granite called Granodiorites.
On this hike we saw granite that had been polished smooth and we saw granite that had stuff inside it, such as the rock in this picture does. Intrusions is the official name that geologists give for the stuff inside the granite and it got there 100 million years ago or so when this rock we see today was magma or molten material. How fast the rocks cooled had a lot to do with their appearances and differences they have experienced in their years of weathering and erosion.
As we hiked along the Tuolumne River we found Cathedral Peak Granite which is filled with large crystals of minerals called feldspars. These crystals look like little rocks embedded in big rocks.
Over the millions of years, the rocks and soil that was once on top of this granite has eroded away. And to make things complicated, about 25 million years ago, this area started to be uplifted and tilted, ultimately creating what we now know as the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. About 10 million years ago, volcanic lava flows, mudflows and streams started cutting through this area.
About 2-3 millions years ago, the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range had risen high enough for glaciers and icefields to form periodically along it’s crest and into its valleys. These glaciers moved an unimaginable amount of rubble and that scoured out the Yosemite area. A lot of this rubble headed down the rivers into the Central Valley but you can still see alot of what was left all around the Park.
I am not that knowledgeable about geology but one of my hiking companions on this hike is and helped make this hike an educational one. Yosemite National Park has put together a wonderful video explaining granite. I highly recommend this YouTube Video:
After our geology lesson, we headed up the trail where we spotted this Marmot watching a deer walk by.
Taking in the views along the trail.
Distance: 12 Miles
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
Elevation Range: 7,866′ – 8,660′
Date: May 30, 2013
Home » Blogs » Adventures with Candace » Tuolumne Meadows, Little Devil’s Postpile, and Glen Aulin Hike