Hiked to the top of North Mountain, across the Tuolumne River canyon from Camp Mather. Rigorous 3-mile hike from Quarry Road off Cherry Lake Road (before Cherry River Bridge). From quarry it's straight uphill, cross country through poison oak, Buck Thorn and Manzanita, along ridge between Joe's Peak and North Mountain (elevation 5,753 feet). The elevation gain is 2,500 feet. Then straight down 3 miles back to quarry. Tough on the quadriceps.
View of Preston Fall along ridge shows that it's within a mile of Mather's Fisherman's Trail. There's about a mile of cross country, river negotiating between Fisherman's Trail terminus and the terminus of the Preston Fall trail.
Think it's possible to connect the two, which means one could hike from Mather down the Fisherman's Trail to the Tuolumne River, float/boulder hop to Preston Falls, then connect with Preston Fall Trail and exit at Early Intake.
Great discovery. Cross country section between Mather and Preston Fall would require further investigation... Hike would be challenging...
