Steep, Stunning, Spectacular

Yosemite is an American icon. There has been plenty of glowing press about it. Still, I wondered if I’d be awestruck. I was… Yosemite is one of those places that you have to see in person. Pictures don’t do it justice. It’s STUNNING. Credit goes to John Muir, Steven T. Mather (first Director of the National Park Service) and Ansel Adams -  for fighting to save this spot, largely unspoiled, for all time. The land was set aside in the 1860’s, and became a National Park in the 1890’s, part of a new movement to preserve national treasures.

Yosemite is huge (1100 square miles in the center of the Sierra Nevada mountain range) with its core being the Merced River valley and meadows, closely hugged on both sides by steep granite cliffs. The soaring cliffs are mega-walls of stone, straight up. The most famous symbols of Yosemite are El Capitan, the world’s largest piece of exposed granite,  and Half Dome, which looks like a quarter of a cut melon, (or a mammoth football helmet), 8800 feet high.

Elevation in the park is 5000-6000 feet, so there was still snow on the ground in some places while we were there. In the springtime the melting snow creates roaring waterfalls and streams everywhere, all running/raging at a fast pace. (We were fortunate to visit in the spring, because by late summer most of the waterfalls disappear.) Several roads were still closed due to snow coverage, which prevented us from driving to a few of the premier lookout points. Nevertheless, the views were plentiful and we were frenetically clicking away with our camera, just like the rest of the impressed, captivated tourists.

To celebrate my birthday on May 4, we had a luxurious dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel. The hotel, built in the 1920’s, is a charming and elegant gem. Modern hotels just can’t compare… The hotel was originally built to attract the wealthy and influential (us??) in order to promote and secure the National Park concept, then in its infancy. The hotel is understated and beautiful; dinner was accompanied by live piano music.

We hiked some of Yosemite’s intermediate-level trails and enjoyed the variety of scenery. Yosemite offers hiking possibilities for all ability levels, including expert rock climbers, who take multiple days to scale El Capitan, sleeping on ledges or in hanging pouches along the way. On one of our hikes we saw a bear. He was roly-poly, and hurriedly scampered downhill (which sounded like a tumble of rocks), then across the road and down another hill. The rangers at Yosemite are adamant about reminding you NOT to leave any food around, or the bears will get at it, even breaking into cars to do so. 

In addition to hiking, we enjoyed several guided walks given by knowledgeable enthusiasts. The subjects were how to take better landscape photos, the history of the Ahwahnee Hotel, and the flora and fauna of the valley. Amazing how much we’re learning! 

One shock at Yosemite was the number of people. Until now, we’ve been touring during the off season and attendance has been light everywhere. But Yosemite in early May was bustling, and there were full shuttle buses taking visitors from highlight to highlight. The packed buses reminded us of public transportation in New York City!

One day we drove to the Hetch Hetchy dam,  about 40 miles from Yosemite Valley, but still within Park boundaries. The dam provides water and electricity  to San Francisco residents, carrying the water via gravity, through miles of tunnels and generating systems. The dam was highly controversial when it was built in 1923; San Francisco faced a chronic water and power shortage at the time, but the preservationists wanted the valley to remain untouched wilderness. The government eventually authorized the building of the dam, creating a beautiful reservoir surrounded by majestic stone cliffs. The Hetch Hetchy valley and the Yosemite valley were considered “twins” by John Muir. When the dam was built, the Hetch Hetchy meadow (similar to Yosemite’s meadow) was flooded. It was interesting to compare the two sights, one dammed and one left natural.

 After five days in Yosemite we moved on to nearby Sequoia National Park. (Yosemite is a hard act to follow.) The rust-colored Sequoias, the earth’s largest living species, are regal in stature, with a scale that’s hard to relate to. The height of the trees reaches 29 stories.  It’s next to impossible to get a whole tree in one photo... The trees’ bases reminded me of giant lion paws. While there is much beautiful scenery in the park, the trees really are the stars, and can be found in only a few places on earth.

Leaving the Sequoia forest, we headed east toward the Arizona border. The route first took us out of the High Sierra mountains, a long steep road with many tight switchbacks. Then we crossed the fertile agricultural valley south of Fresno, where orange and lemon groves abound, and finally crossed the Mojave desert. We had seen the Mojave desert in February, but we were again in awe of its beautiful expanses, filled with soft colors, hearty shrubs, and jagged rock formations. California has an amazing variety in terrain.
 
We’re headed for the Grand Canyon next. They say it is named “grand“ for a reason, and we look forward to seeing for ourselves.

Love from us both, Patty