Stream: This is another one of those high sierra experience runs, without the need to run class V rapids. I really enjoyed it and hope to go back. We took a bunch of photos, but someone broke into the vehicle we were driving not long after the trip (in Bakersfield) and stole the camera that still had the SD card in it, so Iv'e only got a couple cell phone shots that don't show the character of the run well.
The run is broken up in about half by the highway that leads to Hetch Hetchy. Above the highway the run is mostly boulder gardens, while below the highway there is more bedrock. If I wanted to do a quick run and only do a couple miles, I'd do the section below the road.
From the parking area near the put in, Priscilla sniffed her way down the hillside and found the path of least resistance. Anywhere else would be a bit of a pain, but it was not bad at all with the route she found.
At the put in was a series of three slides, class IV in nature. It was hot so we jumped into the water to cool off before getting started.
Around the corner more rapids continued, quickly turning into class IV boulder rapids that might be more IV+ with additional flow. We were able to find our way through with a number of scouts. We would jump into the water to cool off whenever we got a good chance during a scout (it was over 100 degrees).
One rapid did stand out, with a scout on the right. We both portaged most of the rapid, but class V boaters probably wouldn't think twice about running it.
As I recall, things eased below here, but stayed worthwhile and engaging. We knew we were close to the Hetch Hetchy road when we started seeing people, and had a quick portage for wood near here.
Below the bridge the run turned to bedrock, and the signature drop of the run is just downstream, this can be scouted beforehand from the day use area. There were lots of roosters, but we both found a clean line through.
More notable whitewater continued with a couple scouts, then there was a short class II section with lots of swimmers near a campground. There was another wood portage below here, then things went back to bedrock and there were a series of fun ledges.
These culminate with the biggest rapid on the run that we portaged on the left. The rapid created an obvious horizon line with gorge walls. The eddy situation might be iffy here at high flows, but I can't be sure. At low flows the eddy was easy to catch, but not obvious from above the lead in section of class two.
Below here more good whitewater continued, we scouted plenty and everything was runnable as I recall.
The takeout would be easy to miss, the river becomes non-descript and is lined by brush. To make sure we didn't go too far, I marked the take out with a pair of brightly colored boxers on a tree spanning the river.
The next day we did some hiking around Hetch Hetchy.
The MF Tuolumne was probably the best river we ran this year, despite how uninspiring the photos make it look.
Flows: We had about 150 cfs. We ran it at that flow because that was when we were there, and we didn't want to wait until next year to try it out. This was the minimum floatable level, and while it might be considered "in" if it was a rainfed run in the SE (or by my standards), I'd surmise that most California boaters would consider this below the minimum enjoyable level. I do not know what the ideal levels would be, my intuition says the friendliest class IV(V) flows are going to be in the 200-300 cfs range, and class V boaters would want more than that. But I just don't know for sure.
Access: Access is pretty convenient for the Sierra's, with a 4 mile shuttle for a 4 mile run. The take out and put in are both on dusty fire roads, so clearance is a good thing to have. We didn't run into any obstacles, but a saw wouldn't be a bad thing to have along. There were gates on both the put in and take out roads, signs on the road say they are open April-October.
