From the road's bend near a cut through weathered granite, your trail drops below the Wawona Road and parallels it northwest. The trail quickly widens along an abandoned road, which it momentarily leaves. After about 1/2 mile of traversing, it begins a long drop to the South Fork Merced River. About 1.2 miles from your trailhead, you leave the Park and in the Sierra National Forest descend 0.8 mile to a springtime creek. In a short 1/4 mile beyond it we climb to a low ridge, on which you'll find about a half dozen Indian mortar holes, perhaps covered with black-oak leaves, just a few yards west of the trail. From the ridge you have a steady descent, one that winds in and out of gullies as it drops about 550 feet to the banks of Bishop Creek. From there you could continue down to the South Fork Merced River-a total drop of almost 800 feet along a dry, steep 1.4-mile course. However, the steepness, heat, and springtime ticks for many people make the descent not worth it.

On the Wawona Road 3.9 miles north of the Wawona Campground entrance and 280 yards west of the Alder Creek crossing; also 7.4 miles south of the Glacier Point Road junction. C6.

Your descent to Bishop Creek can be one of the Sierra's most pleasant springtime hikes, though by early summer the creeks run dry and temperatures soar.