Three days in a crowded paradise
It had been almost 60 years since I had been to “the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter” (John Muir).
The first time was with my family as a young boy and now well past retirement age, I was meeting former Palm Springs High School classmates for a three-day excursion to Yosemite National Park in October 2016.
We travelled from various points, one from Southern California, Richard, who picked me up at LAX from Auckland, and two from Northern California, Al and John.
We all met at the International Hostel in Groveland. The hostel lived up to its name with first time visitors from a range of countries to the US making Yosemite their initial destination. Certainly a good choice!
Groveland is the last town on Highway 120 before the entrance to this sprawling 3,027 km national park. It features great coffee shops and a rollicking saloon.
Yosemite National Park
Each morning we would drive the 40 kilometres through the Stanislaus National Forest to the park entrance.
The evidence from the 3rd largest wildfire in California’s history, the 2013 Rim Fire, which burnt an area of 1,041 km2, was painfully obvious. Everywhere you looked was still charred even after three years. It was the largest wildfire in the Sierra Nevada range ever and only contained after a “9-week firefighting battle”.
Luckily, this fire did not appear to have damaged the Yosemite Valley, so ‘normal transmission’ resumed as you
crossed the park boundary.
From there, you still had a 30 minute drive to the main park entrance. The Tuolumne and Merced rivers, along with Bridal Veil and Illilouette Creeks, generate the many spectacular pools and waterfalls that dot the park.
This is a popular park with over four million visitors annually. The Visitor Centre and complex includes accommodation, camp grounds, hotels, cafes, and displays. The focus in national parks globally is balancing the preservation of wilderness areas against the impact from ever increasing visitor numbers.
I remember asking a park ranger on our last day in the park after a walk in the Hetch Hetchy Valley, (a Miwok Indian word meaning edible grasses), why there were no signs about the distances, etc. on certain sections of the trail. “There are no signs in the wilderness areas as we want to keep them as pristine as possible,” he replied.
Day 1- Taft Point/Sentinel Dome Loop (12 km approximately.)
As you catch your first view of El Capitan, the largest granite monolith in the world, which was carved by glaciers, it is easy to see why this area still leaves
people breathless.
Over the next few days we would often see cars parked beside these meadows and crowds using binoculars to follow the dots of climbers scaling various domes and peaks in the area, particularly El Capitan and Half-Dome.
The expansive meadows were covered in a light frost and there were a few mule deer grazing on the edges.
Remember it was October, two months from the shortest day, so morning temperatures were in the low 30s (-1 C). We are prepared with lots of warm gear but having arrived from a heat wave in Hawkes Bay, it took me a bit longer to get used to the cold.
Richard and John had National Park Passes which let us in free of charge. The park ranger at the Information Centre suggested we drive up the Glacier Point road for about 30 minutes (closed from November to May) and attempt the Taft Point (7503 ft. /2287 m) and Sentinel Dome loop (8122 ft./ 2476 m).
The Glacier Point Road wound out of the valley climbing to over 2000 metres. There is a parking area at the trailhead complete with toilets, notice boards, etc.
We grabbed our day packs, walking sticks and began the walk to Taft Point. It is named after the 27th US president,
“who according to newspaper accounts, came across the point when he visited Yosemite for three days, hosted by John Muir in 1909”.
It was easy walking through the forest now dappled in early afternoon light. The trails were well-marked and there were lots of other trampers.
As we passed one couple and said hello, their response was “Gidday”. Turns out they were from the Waikato and heading back to NZ the next day. It is a small world after all!
As we neared the point, the sky was getting darker and the clouds were closing in. As it began to snow, we pulled up our hoods, got out warm gloves, etc. and continued.
As John said, “I think my favourite moment was the first time I felt the snow blowing in my face and realizing that it was actually happening. This grand experience among old friends was finally unfolding despite the problems of putting it together”.
I made a mental note that if the snow became ankle deep, then we should race back to the car. As we came over a rise, a mule deer doe was grazing on the trail. We edged quietly by.
A collective gasp escaped as we came across our first fissure. These fissures are breaks and cracks in the mile-high rocks that can drop down thousands of feet to the valley floor. However, nothing prepared us for that first look over the rail into the Yosemite Valley.
You know, the fight or flight breathlessness that almost sucks you into the vast caverns below. I grabbed onto the rail and took in the spectacular views of El Capitan, Eagle Peak, and Half Dome. The falling snow, the fading sun which heighted the colours of those distant granite obelisks and the ever-present urge to jump made this an unsurpassable moment.
We decided to get back quickly as the snowfall increased and Richard the ‘desert rat’ was feeling the cold. So we rushed by Sentinel Dome without going to the top for another valley view. Oh well, maybe next time? Besides you weren’t supposed to climb domes during thunderstorms, did that include snowstorms as well?
Day 2- Vernal and Nevada Falls- A strenuous hike of 15.2 kms. with 1000 metres elevation gain
We got up early at the Groveland International Hostel and headed back into the crowded paradise. We had planned our hike and parked near the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center.
Shuttle bus #16 took us to the Happy Isles stop and the trailhead start at 1230 m. This extensive use of buses is effective in cutting down the number of cars on park roads.
It was sunny and warm after a cool start to the morning. You cross the Merced River on the Vernal Falls Footbridge. A notice board reminds hikers not to swim in the rivers as some children were tragically swept away a few years ago.
There was a last chance water fountain and toilet stops and then the ‘almost entirely uphill trek’ begins. Many sections feature granite steps and the trail is well marked as you make your way to Vernal Falls.
In early October, the two main water falls weren’t gushing but there was enough flow to hint how spectacular they would be in Spring after the snow melt.
The elevation gain is over 1000 m, and you do feel it at certain times. However, you know that it will be all down-hill on the return journey! Working your way from the bottom of each falls to the top brings amazing visual rewards.
Watching the water cruise down the cliff face exerts a strange pull on you towards the edge and over…. There are flat areas on huge smooth boulders at the top of the falls and plenty of hand rails and lookout points to ensure you enjoy the amazing valley and dome views.
Near the top of the Nevada falls, there was a sign post for the ropes up to the summit of Half Dome, a few miles away. Richard was keen but we haven’t made a booking ahead of time so were unable to put the icing on the cake in this remarkable area.
Lunch on the top of Nevada Falls certainly beats the views from most cafes and food just tastes better in the ‘bush’. We turn and head for home.
As I get older, I find it easier not to brake on my worn-out knees but to go with the gravity-flow, and run easily downhill. The walking sticks added extra stability and I made my way quickly back to the bridge.
The ease of access to this trail seemed to encourage a lot of walkers whose fitness levels, poor footwear and late start meant that some of them wouldn’t have got that far or wouldn’t have enjoyed the experience as much as we did.
Day 3- Hetch Hetchy ValleyWapama Falls and beyond approximately 16 km
At John’s suggestion, we turned right this morning well before the Yosemite Valley gates and headed ‘to the peaceful northeast corner of the park’. John had been to music concerts in the meadow lands in this area. That famous Scotsman and Californian icon, John Muir, called this section, “a wonderfully exact counterpart of the great Yosemite”.
It turns out, we were the first people through the park gates that morning. So we had made the right choice!
It was even colder this morning, 28 F/-2 C as we drove towards the eight mile long Reservoir and the O’Shaughnessy Dam.
The Miwok Indians had lived in the area for over 6000 years and there were plenty of information boards displaying the aspects of their lives here.
Recent history of the area revolves around the fast growing San Francisco area and its chronic water shortage due to the 1906 earthquake and fire devastation. In 1913, Congress passed an act authorising the construction of a
dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley. The first stage was completed in 1923 with the final phase completed in 1938. “Today, the 117 -billion-gallon reservoir supplies pristine drinking water to 2.4 million Bay Area residents and industrial users.” At eight miles long, it “…is the largest single body of water within the park.”
Walking over the dam, reading all the information boards about its construction, taking in the magnificent view of the steep rock walls descending to the reservoir and then venturing into the 152 metre long tunnel which was blasted through solid rock were a fantastic way to begin our trek.
It was now getting hotter as we walked along the rocky trails bound on one side by the steep descent into the reservoir and the towering thousand foot granite cliffs on the other.
We appreciated the sections of thick California Black Oak trees and the views of Kolana rock, ‘a large granite dome towering 2000 feet over the edge of the reservoir. We walked past the Tueeulala and Wapama falls and could only imagine what they might be like in full flow. However, the perfectly-rounded granite shot put size stones at the base of the Wapama Falls Bridge testified to the power of the water’s force at other times of the year.
We had a late lunch, sprawled on large, flat granite boulders above the reservoir, surrounded by some of the most beautiful views in the world. Pure Bliss!!
We parted ways with Yosemite and each other the next day imbued with another cache of amazing memories stretching back 53 years.