There I was standing alone watching water cascading 1,310 feet over granite just hours after sunrise.

Some 15 minutes passed before another soul appeared.

Yes, the waterfalls ringing Yosemite Valley are indeed a bit grander — Yosemite Falls is the 18th longest in the world at 2,428 feet — and larger in number. But that comes with a price. People. A lot of people. So much at times you feel you are at Disneyland rather than enjoying a wilderness experience.

But Wapama Falls — and Hetch Hetchy Valley — is an entirely different experience. You can see why the flooding of Hetch Hetchy Valley by the City of San Francisco is said to have broken John Muir’s heart. It’s stark granite walls with numerous dramatic cliffs carved by glaciers much like its bigger cousin to the north are an impressive sight as is the surrounding wilderness that includes backpacking trips into the deeper southwest interior of the park or gazing over Hetch Hetchy from atop the highest vantage point in the area — Smith Peak at 7,551 feet.

I personally prefer to hike Yosemite’s high country opting for destinations accessed from Tioga Road — the continuation of Highway 120 through the park.

I never grow tired of taking in the falls in Yosemite Valley but I have long grown tired of the crowds. And with Tioga Road not likely to re-open until sometime in May, I opted to venture to Hetch Hetchy for the first time ever.

It took just one trip to realize that I will return.

You can reach the day use parking lot at the edge of O’Shaughnessy Dam in 2.5 hours from Manteca. It is a straight shot on Highway 120 with a left turn onto Evergreen Road just before the Big Oak Flat entrance station to Yosemite National Park.

But unlike the rest of Yosemite, vehicle access to Hetch Hetchy Valley is restricted. The gate is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. this month, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. from May 1 to Labor Day, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., from Labor Day to Oct. 31, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and from Nov. 1 to March 31, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

My ultimate destination was Rancheira Falls, a 13-mile round trip from the parking lot. It took me a little over six hours of actual hiking time. With a window of just nine hours to get out before being locked 

in for the night I had to allow almost an hour for driving back and forth once I got past the gate and the entrance station — which does not collect a fee — plus six hours for hiking. As a result, it didn’t leave a lot of time to explore Rancheria Falls that is a nice, large example of a ribbon-style waterfalls that is poplar for frolicking and camping nearby. The 13-hour window for day use this month and certainly the 14 hours available starting May 1 makes Rancheria do-able with plenty of time to play for moderate hikers and those who fall below that moniker. The nice thing is you never lose view of the crystal blue pristine Hetch Hetchy Reservoir for the entire hike except for a short tunnel you walk through after crossing the dam.

But if you’re not into hiking but you don’t mind a slight challenge making the trip just to see Wapama Falls is worth it as well as being do-able. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of other attractions in the Hetch Hetchy wilderness that almost anyone will find appealing because they are nearly endless. But if its a waterfall you are after, the 1,310-foot Wapama Falls  whose last 400 feet are currently covered by reservoir water will provide the “wow” factor without making you feel as if you’ve been on the Bataan Death March.

Wapama Falls is just under a five mile round trip. The first stretch across the dam and through the tunnel is flat. After that, it is wide and gentle trail for a long stretch before getting into moderate up and downhill hiking. After the junction, it narrows and gets a tad more difficult but not by much.

A series of bridges will take you across the falls. The snowmelt usually peaks in May often making this segment treacherous. A rule worth following is not to cross the bridges when water is flowing over them. That is how a pair of hikers lost their lives several years back. The drought, unfortunately, has tamed the falls a bit. Typically walking across in April and May during a normal year you will get hit with enough spray to feel as if you had taken a shower in your clothes. Now there is barely a mist. The odds are for April this year to be when waterfalls to be at their crescendo whether it is the Hetch Hetchy Valley or Yosemite Valley.

Those living in the 209 know that April is the best fair weather month to visit the park due to small crowds and the relatively nice weather. And while waterfalls normally would have more life to them in April since they usually peak in May, they aren’t shoddy now despite snowpack run-off being less than 20 percent of normal.

You can fish in Hetchy Hetchy Reservoir but swimming is prohibited. Dog and other pets are prohibited on all trails and the dam. There is plenty of poison oak and it is an active bear area.

Hetchy Valley — or more precisely what is left of it after The City of San Francisco made a sweetheart deal with Congress to pay $30,000 a year to destroy a large chunk of it a century ago by building the first and only reservoir ever allowed in a national park — definitely offers a unique twist to the Yosemite experience.

It’s relatively low elevation at 4,000 feet is a plus for year-round hiking and it doesn’t draw the crowds that would make it feel like downtown San Francisco or make it next to impossible to secure developed campsites.

In short if  you want to enjoy relatively roaring waterfalls then head up to Yosemite park this month. And consider Hetch Hetchy if you’re looking for different scenery or much smaller crowds.