Middle Fork San Joaquin Falls

This is a series of at least eight waterfalls along the upper reaches of the Middle Fork San Joaquin River in the Ansel Adams Wilderness. I stumbled upon this "waterfall Shangri-La" while following a use-trail on the western side of the river after I found the river-crossing to the east side impractical (at least where I looked, there is probably a decent crossing where the outlet from Garnet Lake reaches the river). The waterfalls are larger than they appear in the photos. The first one is very interesting as it crashes through and around big rocks. The fifth one is more of a long, steep slide. The eighth one is the largest and sits at the bottom of a slot canyon. Unfortunately, the seventh one was in full light so the picture is pretty terrible. There also appears to be at least one more decent waterfall (the Upper Falls) upstream of the first one, with probably a few more even further upstream. Obviously, people have gone by these waterfalls because in a lot of places the use-trail is right next to them. However, I can't find any reference to them online or on any topo maps. I'm guessing wandering fisherman or some adventurous hikers are the only ones that have seen these beauties. The first five (and Upper Falls) are in rapid succession of each other, then the sixth and seventh, and finally the eighth before the Shadow Lake Trail is reached (if walking from below Garnet Lake). Some or all of these may be accessible from the east-side trail (The River Trail) but we have not attempted this (may be too steep and dangerous in a lot of places).

Location

Upper Middle Fork San Joaquin Falls: 37.72102 N, 119.14782 W

Middle Fork San Joaquin Falls #1: 37.72025 N, 119.14474 W

Middle Fork San Joaquin Falls #2: 37.71932 N, 119.14269 W

Middle Fork San Joaquin Falls #3: 37.71845 N, 119.14175 W

Middle Fork San Joaquin Falls #4: 37.71811 N, 119.14066 W

Middle Fork San Joaquin Falls #5: 37.71783 N, 119.13982 W

Middle Fork San Joaquin Falls #6: 37.70999 N, 119.13055 W

Middle Fork San Joaquin Falls #7: 37.70972 N, 119.12973 W

Middle Fork San Joaquin Falls #8: 37.70518 N, 119.12449 W

USGS Topo: Mount Ritter & Mammoth Mountain

Directions

From Agnew Meadows, follow the River Trail to the Shadow Lake Trail and then to a use-trail on the west side of the river. For more specific details look at this hike description.