Power and Light (May 20)

Today we drove to Hetch Hetchy in bright sunshine. As the road climbed over 5000 feet, there was snow in the trees alongside, but the temperature was still warm.

John Muir described Hetch Hetchy as a valley equal in beauty and grandeur to Yosemite Valley, and he fought hard to keep it in its natural state. Unfortunately, politics intervened and the O'Shaughnessy Dam flooded the valley in 1923 to provide water and power to the city of San Francisco. The reservoir is 8 miles long and 300 feet deep at maximum. Two of the spillways were open, and the force of the water was tremendous as well as beautiful with rainbows in the heavy mist they created.

We walked across the dam and through a tunnel to start the 5 mile hike to Tueeulala and Wapama Falls. Taking photographs along the way, we made our way along the trail that hugs the reservoir. The flowers are just starting to bloom (very late spring here this year), and again the huge boulders provide a lot of amazement at the forces of nature. There are several smaller falls and water crossings. My tripod made a handy balancing tool. The last part of the trail approaching Wapama Falls consists of stone steps. As we descended, I said, “Remember we have to go up on the way back.” It was getting hot by this time, and the cool spray from the powerful falls felt great as we crossed the foot bridges.

After a Snickers snack, I put the camera away and we headed back across the bridges, up the steps, and along the trail back toward the dam. When we reached Tueeulala Falls, there was a mass of people enjoying picnics and lazing about in the sunshine. There was a group of families with small children; I even saw a stroller (even though it looked like the stroller equivalent of a mountain bike, I still can't imagine taking that along this trail). We passed many overnight hikers who were either on their way to or back from destinations farther than Wapama Falls. One guy was using the slippery rocks as a waterslide...looked refreshing!





There is a movement to restore Hetch Hetchy, but I am not hopeful for its success. Even if they were to somehow magically remove the dam and allow the Tuolomne River to return to its natural state, it would take hundreds if not thousands of years for the plants and animals to re-establish themselves. And the native Miwoks...would they return to the place they first inhabited 6000 years ago?

We stopped along the side of the road for a late picnic lunch on the way back to our hotel. We also stopped at a viewpoint with a spectacular view of El Capitan and Half Dome, but we would see more of Half Dome later (not more in the sense of two Half Domes make a whole because there is no other half). El Capitan, at 3000 feet, is the tallest unbroken cliff in the world. It is an unbelievable hunk of granite.

After a quick refresh and reconnoiter, the late afternoon light was beckoning, and we made our way to Bridalveil Falls. At this time of day, the sun creates a rainbow that moves up from the base of the falls as the sun gets lower in the sky. It was quite thrilling to actually experience what was promised in Michael Frye's The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite. I studied his recommendations before we left home, and it has been a very handy resource along the way, not only for the photography information, but also for the details on locations.

The final destination for the day was Sentinel Bridge. This location provides a great view of Half Dome at sunset, and, if conditions are right, its reflection in the Merced River. We were the first people on the bridge, but 10 minutes later the hoards arrived. The man to my left struck up a conversation by asking about the filter I was using, and we chatted away for the hour and a half we were there. He showed me some of his photos from earlier in the day, including one of a bear shaking the water from its fur after climbing out of one of the standing pools of water in the meadows right in Yosemite Valley. The guy on my right fretted the entire time over his camera settings. He had someone there helping him, but I don't think he was ever satisfied. You know things aren't going well when the manual comes out along with every piece of equipment in the bag.

While there was one little persistent cloud that came and went, Half Dome was visible in all its glory. So where is the other half? It didn't break off in some cataclysmic event, but rather slowly took its current shape through exfoliation, a process that removes irregularities so that only smooth surfaces remain.

The orange evening light was beautiful, and my worthy assistant provided lots of commentary and suggestions. Jerry was quite taken by the bubble level Mr. Equipment had attached to his flash shoe, and he wants me to get one because he is forever telling me my camera isn't straight (which it isn't; he is right).