Walkin' West is sponsored by Chicken Ranch Casino in historic Jamestown, California, home to the great outdoors of the mother lode and its scenic landscape.

Chicken Ranch Casino, proudly owned by Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California.

Walkin' West is brought to you in part by Visit El Dorado, Visit Tuolumne and Visit Madera County Visitors Bureaus.

Discover the history of the gold rush, pristine mountain lakes, and the waterfalls of Yosemite all here in the heart of California's gold country.

I'm Steve Weldon and boy, do I love adventure!

Whether it's a good long hike, climbing a big old rock or checking out that secret swimming hole, I'm raring to go!

Join me as we hike from the crest of the Rockies to the beautiful Pacific coast, right here on Walkin' West.

♪♪ We're about to go on an epic hike, but before we meet our guide, I better find out exactly where I'm going and there's no better place than the visitor center near the south end of Yosemite National Park.

♪♪ Hi, how are you?

Oh, hi.

Welcome.

I'm Steve.

Hey, Steve.

I'm Brooke.

It's nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

And I'm excited.

I've never been to the southern part of Yosemite and I thought why not come to visit Yosemite here in Oakhurst and see you?

Great.

And get some information.

We're gonna hike two trails.

We're gonna do the Chilnualna Falls Trail.

Okay great.

And we're gonna do the Mariposa Grove.

Oh, excellent.

Those are two great choices.

And they're actually in the southern part of the park, so you're gonna be out of Yosemite Valley and seeing a different side of the park today.

Exactly!

And if you got a map or anything to, kind of get me started for the Chilnualna Falls trail.

You know I sure do.

We've got this great map here.

It actually has a hiking map of all- the whole Wawona area, which is where you're headed.

Okay.

Where do we start?

If you wanna do the Chilnualna Falls hike today, you're gonna start right here in the small town of Wawona.

And you're gonna go just over the bridge and the first road that you're gonna find there is Chilnualna Falls Road!

So, really easy, you're gonna take that road all the way to the end, find that parking lot, and then you're gonna hit the trail head from there.

Okay.

And how far is that trail?

So, the trail altogether is 8.2 miles round trip.

That's a pretty good lick.

It is, and there's about 2,000 feet of elevation too.

Whoa - Okay.

Did you bring enough water?

Yeah, I think so.

Come on, Steve, you can do this.

You got this.

So, yeah, so, you park at the trail head and head up.

There's about a half a mile that you're following the creek here.

Then have some switchbacks, and at the top you're gonna see five huge cascades of water.

And it's really roaring right now, in the springtime.

A great time to come.

I can't wait.

I'm really excited about this.

Okay.

Now we need to get a map for the Mariposa Grove.

Have you got that?

I sure do.

It's on this map as well, but there's a great little closeup here too, where you can see all the different trails that you can take in Mariposa Grove.

Okay, great.

And all those beautiful sequoias, I read that there are like 500 sequoias.

Yeah.

There's over 500 mature giant Sequoia trees in this part of the park.

It's beautiful.

And it's really spectacular.

But in the lower Mariposa Grove, this is where you're gonna see that Grizzly Giant tree.

It's very famous.

And also, you're gonna see the California tunnel tree, which is the tree that you can actually walk through.

Wow!

Okay.

People love seeing this part of Yosemite and it's really easy to access too.

Well, I can't wait.

And I'm glad I stopped here to see you.

And I want to thank you so very much.

Well, you're welcome!

They don't call me “wrong way" for nothing.

This map will help a lot.

Well, good.

Well, we'll send you the right way.

Thank you, Steve.

Thanks for coming in and getting this info.

You have a great day.

I'm really ready to go.

Well, good.

Have a great hike!

I will.

Thank you dear.

Okay, good.

We'll see you!

♪♪ Boy, I'm glad I stopped in and got the info and maps I need to keep me on the trail today.

This drive up to the Southern entrance to Yosemite is beautiful.

And the weather is absolutely perfect.

It's gonna be a great day.

♪♪ Good morning.

Would you like a map today?

Yes, please.

Thank you very, very much.

♪♪ Boy, I'm glad I bought that senior pass a few years back.

Now I get into every national park in America for free, for life.

Now it's time to get to the falls and meet our guide.

Hi, I'm Steve Weldon, welcome to Walkin West.

And boy, were they right when everybody said, Steve, you need to go to the southern part of Yosemite because all I've pretty much been to is the valley floor and up from Tuolumne Meadows and down.

And we came in from the Southern entrance and we ended up here at Chilnualna Falls.

And I'm here with my all star guide, Mr. Bryant Burnette.

How you doing, Bryant?

How's it going, Steve?

I'm doing great.

And there's so much here.

These falls are spectacular!

Aren't they beautiful?

Oh my gosh!

And how many tiers have we got here?

We've got five tiers we're gonna see today.

Okay.

Five different tiers of falls.

And this one behind us is tier one, right?

This is tier one.

Yep.

And I understand that tier three is a real doozy.

It's a real doozy.

So we got a lot ahead of us here.

We're gonna get the history of Chilnualna Falls.

We're gonna find out how it got its name, the whole nine yards.

And I guess we better get started because how long is this hike?

We got 8.2 miles total for the day.

Yep.

Okay.

8.2 miles.

And I understand a vertical climb of about 2200 feet.

Yes it is.

So we better get going here.

Are you ready?

I'm ready.

Let's hike my boy!

Let's do it!

♪♪ You know what's so magical about this place?

We've only hiked a short way and there are a lot of folks at the base of the trail.

And now we're here all alone.

And it's completely quiet except for the sound of the wind and the falls.

This really is God's country.

Mother Nature, you done good.

Well, we're only about a mile up the trail, and we've got it all to ourselves.

And this is the cool thing about Chilnualna Falls, it's kind of undiscovered by so many people.

Here we are at tier two, this one's about 65 feet, and the total of the falls is something like 600- I read 694 feet.

You're correct, Steve.

Of cascading five tiers all together.

And tier three, is that the big one?

That's the big one.

We're in for a big doozy here coming up.

Well, we better get it!

All right, let's do it.

♪♪ Well, we're about halfway up here, I think Bryant.

And about time for a break.

These old legs after about, oh, about 1000 feet of climbing, as far as altitude goes, it's a nice to take a little break.

And I couldn't help but notice, the trail is so beautiful and it's so, I mean, it's darn near manicured, but the rocks, the way that they've leveled them out and they've built this thing, it must've taken years to build this thing.

Yeah, it was built in 1895 by John Conway.

The Washburns hired John Conway to build this upper part of the trail.

And it... it must've taken a few years, don't you think?

I bet it took a whole lot of years.

And I guess it's gonna be this manicured all the way up to the top.

And I'm pretty impressed with it.

And I'm also impressed with the fact that I have not picked up one piece of paper and I am a very “anti-litter bug ” kind of guy & it's great to see these hikers showing so much respect for their environment.

And when you look up and you take a deep breath and you have all these scents, all these smells like these, I guess that's a redwood?

I don't know if that's a redwood or a cedar.

How do you tell these things?

Yeah, it looks like a ponderosa to me.

A lot of times, you wanna look at the foliage or cones, and this tree in particular has some bark beetle eaten at it.

So it's eating in the phloem layer and it's strangulating that tree.

That's why it looks dead, the way it does.

Wow, boy, it's deader than a doorknob.

Yeah, it is.

[Laughter] And I understand that, that the bark beetle, it was really a bad infestation here in California about four or five years ago.

And if two trees were together and one had bark beetle, they would cut the one that was infected down to keep it from, you know, transferring over to the other tree.

Oh, for sure.

They definitely jump tree to tree.

You gotta be real careful with those bark beetles.

Pretty epic deal.

Now how can I tell the difference?

Now, say one of these pine trees over here.

That looks kinda like a sugar pine.

How would I know for sure if that's a sugar pine or a Jeffrey?

So at this altitude, we have interesting trees, Jefferies, and if you get close to them and smell, you'll smell vanilla or butterscotch.

Vanilla or butterscotch?

Yeah.

Are you sure?

Yeah.

Why don't we go try it?

We're gonna know in a minute.

Let's do it!

♪♪ Hey boys...vanilla!

Well, I'm checking out another one of these pine trees and I didn't smell vanilla and I didn't smell butter squash or butternut or anything like that.

Well, what kind of tree is this?

Well, Steve, this is a a ponderosa pine, but what's really cool, if you look over here, we've got bear claws.

So this bear was climbing up this tree.

You can see the scratch marks there on the bark there.

So right here, that's bear claw?

Yeah.

Right there.

Yep.

Look.

Bear claws.

And you say this is a scratch from a bear?

Yep.

Oh wow!

And more bear claws over here, wow!

And look, scratches here.

Wow.

This is amazing!

It is, isn't it Steve?

Now do you think this could have been done like recently?

Oh yeah, for sure.

There was a fire that came through here.

And bears love to climb trees when they're scared.

Well, I was just gonna say, if it's been in the last few minutes, I am wearing clean underwear in case I'm in an accident.

We better get outta here.

Let's get out of here, Steve.

Well, we're about a mile from the top.

At least that's what I hear.

And I couldn't help but notice these two fine gentlemen walking the other way, coming down from the top.

And I noticed that Leo here is a volunteer for the National Park Service for Yosemite Park.

That's pretty cool, Leo.

That's right, Steve.

So are you doing this in your retirement?

Yes, I've been retired since 2018 and doing this volunteer gig since last summer, July.

And I bet you're having a blast, aren't you?

It's really good.

And how about you, Michael?

My wife and I have been up here for 12 summers, started as volunteers as a park ranger for a while.

Now we're back to being volunteers and our job is to go hike the trails every day and talk to people.

Boy, that's a tough job!

Yeah.

This is the office.

This is your office!

And I'm telling you, and I noticed you don't have a cell phone with you.

Yeah.

Don't tell anybody!

[Laughter] The silence, huh?

It's golden, isn't it guys?

And so you're gonna keep on doing this.

I mean, hiking keeps you in great shape and you guys look like you're in wonderful shape.

That's the plan.

Yeah.

It really helps you as you age.

I'm a little older than him and still can almost keep up with him.

And I thought you were his little brother.

Well, nice to meet you guys.

Keep spreading all that good cheer with all the hikers out here.

And I've noticed no litter.

I mean, I have not picked up one piece of litter, so somebody's doing a great job.

It's us.

Thanks guys.

Yeah, thank you Steve.

Keep walking!

Now here's come some fun-loving hikers.

How are you?

Are you on TV?

Yes, I am on TV.

Well, I'm ready for my close up.

[Laughter] That's great!

What's your name, young lady?

I'm Rachel.

Hi Rachel.

I'm Steve.

What's your name, sir?

I'm Danny.

Hi Danny.

Well, you guys looked like a fun-loving couple and I guess you've been up to the top of the falls, right?

We have, we just got there.

Okay.

And how was it?

Amazing.

It was beautiful.

A lot of water, huh?

Oh, it was fantastic.

So much water.

It was flowing today.

Oh boy.

Have you been hiking all over Yosemite?

Yeah, we have.

Yeah, this is our fourth day.

Yeah.

Wow!

Have you been to the Mariposa Grove?

I did that one, yeah.

Well, we're gonna do that tomorrow!

Oh wow.

Fantastic.

So we're excited.

Yeah.

Big trees, big trees.

Those are some big trees.

I'm telling you.

And the falls here are magnificent.

And I'm glad you guys are still hiking.

Now, are you new to California?

Kind of.

We've been living in Santa Barbara area since December.

Okay.

That's a tough tour of duty too, isn't it?

Yeah.

Very difficult living out there.

Hard life.

Yeah, but somebody's gotta do it Yeah.

Might as well be us.

Well I love people that have a zest for life.

These are the perfect hikers.

And you guys have fun.

And yes, you are gonna be on TV.

Oh yeah!

[Laughter] I'm a Star!

[Laughter] Thanks for being on Walkin West.

Thank you so much.

You just made my day!

Bye now.

Thank you so much.

Bye!

Now that's a young couple really enjoying life.

I'm so glad we're on this hike, this is amazing!

It sure is, Steve, it sure is.

♪♪ Well Bryant, we're nearly to the top of the world.

We've gone through several tiers of falls and it gets more amazing and more incredible as we go.

And let me ask you something.

How did Chilnualna Falls get its name, “Chilnualna?

” Well, Steve, the Paiute Tribe named Chilnualna Falls and it translates to “Leaping Waters.

” Leaping waters.

Well, I'd say that these waters are a leaping.

This is incredible!

[Waterfall roar] Looking at these falls and hearing that roar is something else.

It's hard to believe it's been a real dry winter.

I can only imagine what it'd be like in a normal year, and I guarantee you you're not gonna get this kind of payoff at a roadside pullout.

So put on those walking shoes and go that extra mile.

You'll be glad you did!

Listen to those falls.

[Waterfall roar] Well Bryant, we finally made it to the bottom of the top tier waterfalls here at Chilnualna Falls and you talk about a payoff!

Ho Ho Ho!

This is incredible!

Woo!

Whoa, man!

Isn't it?

Oh my gosh!

You have taken us on a beautiful hike up here and it's kind of undiscovered for so many people out there.

And I'm glad that we're able to share this with the viewers today because this is at the bottom of the park.

This is not up at the top end where you have the Vernal Falls, the Nevada Falls, and you've got a lot of people and it's beautiful up there on the trail.

But this is equally as beautiful and you don't have the people.

It's a great hike.

And tomorrow, we're going to be be up at the Mariposa Grove and we're gonna see some big old trees, aren't we?

Yes, we are.

Yeah.

Well, I'm excited about that hike and I want to thank you guys for being with me today, my son, Zach.

Great job.

Thank you so much.

And Landon, great job as well, my friend.

And we'll see you tomorrow as we continue this show.

Walkin West, Mariposa Grove, right here.

♪♪ After a beautiful day yesterday at the Chilnualna Falls Trail, we got a great nights rest, and today we're in the Mariposa Grove and oh my gosh, these Sequoias are something else.

And I'm back here with my all-star guide, Bryant Burnette and Bryant, we're beginning our hike at the Bachelor and Three Graces grove of giant Sequoias here.

Can you tell us about these trees?

Yeah.

So the bachelor behind us, I can estimate this tree around 1000 years old.

Wow!

Yeah.

These guys here have really shallow root systems, so the root systems are so shallow that if one fell, it would knock over all the rest.

Kinda like a domino theory.

Domino theory.

Wow!

And this tree is at least 1,000 years old?

At least 1,000, if I had to guess.

Yeah.

And we're gonna get up to the Grizzly Giant, which is maybe, what, 2000 years old?

Yeah.

Something around there.

Yep.

Oh, gosh.

I was just in grade school, then.

[Laughter] And we're gonna go all the way to the Wawona Point today.

That's our goal.

Yep.

So, let's get going.

The Mariposa Grove Trail, This is gonna be fun!

♪♪ When I hike these trails and see how pristine they are, I have to take a minute and think about all the men and women before us that worked their tails off to conserve parks like Yosemite for all to enjoy.

Now it's our job to keep it that way for the next generation.

And the bigger the crowds, the harder the job.

But we can do it.

We're here at the beautiful Grizzly Giant tree.

It's behind me.

And this is one of the record setting trees in Yosemite National Park.

And we got a lot of hikers out here, and they're all wearing a big old grin on their face.

And you can see why, because this is all, this is very spiritual, is what it is, and I'm here with Bryant.

Bryant, tell me about this beautiful Sequoia here.

Yeah, so this is the Grizzly Giant.

This tree is 210 feet tall, give or take.

Yep.

And it's anywhere from 1,900 years old to 2,400 years old.

Really?

Up to 2,400 years old.

Now that's been around.

Boy, if that thing had eyes, it would see a lot.

No doubt about that.

And tell me about this, was this a lightning strike here that hit this tree?

I believe so, yeah.

This is a lightning strike.

A lot of ground fires you'll see won't go up that high.

You can see the lightning usually comes from the ground up and it's jolting up the right side there.

Yep.

Okay.

Now does this have some sort of a way that it heals itself?

Yeah.

So the giant Sequoias will bleed out this black sap, this substance that is fire retardant.

So, it helps it replenish and regrow over that.

So if other fires come through, it won't keep damaging the tree.

And it kept on growing.

Yep.

Wow!

Well we're gonna go all the way to Wawona Point here.

We've got a lot of incredible trees.

We're gonna see the “Faithful Couple ” here in a few more minutes.

And we're gonna talk about the history of this area of the park on the Mariposa Grove.

Just another fine place to be on a beautiful spring day.

♪♪ Well, we've taken a little break here and we are at what's called the “Faithful Couple ” tree.

And I gotta ask you, Bryant, why do they call this beautiful Sequoia “The Faithful Couple?

” Well, Steve, it's actually not one tree.

It's two.

Really?

Yeah and if you look at the base here, they're fused together.

I'd be darned.

They're fused at the bottom.

And then you've got, they separate up top.

Yes they do.

So, I guess that's why they call it “The Faithful Couple.

” That's right.

Now do you mind if I make the left side, the left trunk, make that the guy, the male.

Okay.

And the right side, the female.

Okay.

And then the male could say to the female, “Honey, I'm gonna go out on a limb and I'll always be faithful to you because if I'm not, you can smack me in the trunk.

” Let's go.

♪♪ You know, there's all different kinds of places in this world, but the awesomeness, look at that.

I mean, my gosh!

150 feet high.

And then all the new stuff going up.

Look at all that new growth.

Look at all these babies.

Look at this place!

[Laughter] ♪♪ We're about halfway up the Mariposa Grove Trail and I had to take a minute to myself just to kind of take a deep breath and take in all this serenity, tranquility & all the beauty, the incredible beauty that Mother Nature affords us at this incredible park, Yosemite.

And look at all these Sequoia trees.

This one's probably 800 or 1000 years old and you're not gonna find that anywhere else.

So when you come up here, take a minute to yourself, take a deep breath and just love it for what it is.

♪♪ Keep on growing, good buddy!

♪♪ One thing that I really love doing when we're hiking out here, wherever it is in the West, I love the people we meet.

They're responsible.

They've got a smile on their face all the time.

They love to hike.

And I love it when seniors come out here and hike with me.

And I met a very nice group of folks here, Colin and Judy.

How you guys doing?

We're doing fabulous.

Well, I bet you are.

You're out here in God's country.

In Yosemite.

Blue sky.

Blue skies is right.

Perfect day.

Every day is a perfect day in Yosemite.

Exactly.

Being vertical, smiling and being here close to the Galen Clark tree...

I like that.

“Being vertical.

” You like that?

Yes.

Now you live near Fresno, right?

Yeah, live in Fresno.

I live in Fresno.

So this is basically your backyard.

It is, it is.

How lucky are we?

We were up here just last week.

And two weeks ago.

How many times a year?

Oh, probably 10 at least.

I was gonna say more 'cause we're in a hiking group.

We hike every Monday.

Yosemite.

It's in our backyard.

We love coming to Yosemite.

And you know what, you can put your cell phones in the cars, you can forget all your troubles and you can just get out here and get after it!

Yes, exactly.

Forget everything.

Exactly.

Except what you're looking at.

Listen to the birds and listen to nothing, the silence sometimes is deafening.

Or just the wind.

It's wonderful.

I like the way you worded that too.

And like I said, that's so cool.

I'm a senior and you guys are seniors too and you're out here and you're still getting after it.

Well we are, but this man is my hero.

Ask him how old he is.

I'm afraid to do that, but I'll try.

Okay how old are you Colin?

I'm 83.

You're 83?

Whoa!

And you're a picture of health.

I know it.

I'm gonna do this till I'm 100.

Well, I think you will.

And I want whatever you're eating and drinking.

And I could also use that head of hair.

See that?

I want your head of hair.

Amazon will deliver it.

[Laughs] Nice to meet you guys It was great talking with you.

Thank you.

Great talking with you, and you have a wonderful day.

We will.

Okay.

And thanks so much for being on Walkin West.

Come West anytime.

I'm gonna be west all the time.

Come to Yosemite more often.

Well, we gotta do that too.

Thank you guys.

Bye guys!

You gotta love the folks you meet while hiking.

They got a spirit all their own.

You know, I've never seen a smirk on a hiker's face.

It sure is nice to see folks living life to the fullest.

And as for me, I'm gonna go for all the gusto I can get.

We're here at the Mariposa Grove Cabin now.

We've gone up the trail a couple of miles and this is a very cool cabin.

Yeah, do you know what it's originally called Steve?

No.

It's the Galen's Hospice.

Galen's Hospice.

Wow.

Why did they call it that?

Well, they called it that because he used to house travelers that might be seeking shelter from a storm.

Oh really?

So he built this, I think in what, 1864?

That's right.

A long time ago.

And I think it was remodeled around 1983.

And it's twice it's original size.

That's right.

Yep.

And when open, it's a great museum.

And it's got all this history about Galen Clark, as a matter of fact, the Galen Clark tree.

That's next.

Are you ready?

Let's do it.

Come on!

♪♪ You know Brian, I sure am glad that old Galen Clark and John Muir did whatever it took, going to the national government, to the Feds to make sure they preserved this as a beautiful national park.

Just beautiful.

It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?

Yes it is.

♪♪ You know, sometimes I feel like pinching myself 'cause I'm one lucky man.

Yosemite is in my backyard and I get to come here as much as I like and be around all nature's critters.

And to be able to unwind among the wildlife and these Giant Sequoias is a very special treat that I'll never take for granted.

And to be able to share this with you at home makes it even more special.

Thanks to all of the folks that have helped to preserve Yosemite for what it is today.

Just look at that tree.

Beautiful!

♪♪ We're here at the Mariposa Grove, the upper part of the grove, and we had to stop and pay homage to the Galen Clark tree.

Boy, that's a beauty.

A beautiful Sequoia.

And we say to ourselves, how did they name it Galen Clark?

Well, apparently historians say that this was the first Sequoia tree that Galen Clark saw when he arrived into the Yosemite area.

And there's so much history, Bryant.

Tell us a little bit about that.

Galen Clark was issued as the first parks guardian for the Yosemite grant by Abraham Lincoln in 1864.

John Muir gets so much credit for everything that happened to preserve this park.

But wasn't Galen Clark a little bit ahead of John Muir?

He was, yeah.

So that was the first ever intrinsic valued land.

Right?

So, what that means is that this was the first ever kind of park that we ever had.

Okay.

And Galen Clark inspired John Muir and they both worked together to make sure that this area was preserved.

And I think in 1904, John Muir, as a matter of fact, brought Teddy Roosevelt down here to petition that this would become a park.

Yep that's right.

Two days of walking, and this is the very first piece of litter I've had to pick up.

Boy, those volunteers here at Yosemite are doing a great job.

Thank you.

♪♪ Wow.

Guys, what a wonderful hike we have had yesterday and today.

Yesterday at Chilnualna Falls, today at the incredible Mariposa Grove.

All things must come to an end, but I'll tell you what, we're gonna end it with a big old smile on our face.

And I gotta thank you Bryant, for a wonderful job guiding us today, and yesterday.

Thank you Steve.

You were wonderful.

And Landon, thanks for carrying so much of the load and doing a great job helping us out.

I wanna thank my son Zach.

I wanna thank Mark Brant, our wonderful videography.

And he, he's done a wonderful job.

I wanna thank Scott Gedman.

I wanna thank all the folks here at Yosemite, the volunteers, the docents, all these people that keep this park so nice and pristine and I hope you'll do the same thing.

We're gonna see you next time on Walkin West.

Be good to yourself.

You deserve it.

♪♪ I love goin hiking with my dear buds at the one and only Yosemite.

The hikes we took the last two days sure worked on my outer extremities.

We went straight up to see some falls, the ones they call Chilnualna.

I love the sound of water crashing down in the pretty flora & fauna.

Then we hiked the Mariposa Grove to see Sequoias at their best.

And thanks to all, we had a ball right here on Walkin West.

Yep.

Them big old trees brought me to my knees.

Right here on Walkin West.

That's all!

♪♪ Walkin West is sponsored by Chicken Ranch Casino in historic Jamestown, California, home to the great outdoors of the mother lode and its scenic landscape.

Chicken Ranch Casino, proudly owned by Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California.

Walkin West is brought to you in part by visit El Dorado, Visit Tuolumne and Visit Madera County Visitors Bureaus.

Discover the history of the gold rush, pristine mountain lakes, and the waterfalls of Yosemite all here in the heart of California's gold country.