and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks COPYRIGHTED …€¦ · and Sequoia & Kings Canyon...
14
Introduction to Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks C alifornia’s Sierra Nevada imposes rugged features on a state that many associate with sandy beaches and palm trees. It’s a mountain range of great beauty, hidden amid harsh wilderness, and nowhere is the terrain more dramatic than in Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. These truly special places combine moun- tains with meadows, waterfalls with wildflowers, and spectacular geology with awe-inspiring vistas that span, in some cases, nearly the breadth of the state. Together, the parks cover 1.6 million acres (roughly 2,520 sq. miles). They host over four million visitors a year and are home to thousands of species of plants and animals. Yosemite attracts more tourists than Sequoia & Kings Canyon combined, although all three are absolutely delightful parks. Yosemite covers 1,169 square miles—roughly the size of Rhode Island—and 94% is designated wilderness. Here you can enjoy the quiet beauty of a forest or a pristine meadow, observe a sunset from a towering gran- ite cliff, hike a half-mile-high waterfall, enjoy a moonlit night that’s as bright as day, climb a world-famous rock, and eat a gourmet meal before falling asleep—be it under the stars or in the luxurious bed of a top-rated hotel. Yosemite Valley, which attracts 95% of all Yosemite tourists, is just 1% of the park by area, but contains a number of the region’s jaw- dropping features, and is visited by over three million people each year. It’s a place of record-setting statistics, too: The highest waterfall in North America and three of the tallest in the world (Upper Yosemite, Sentinel, and Ribbon falls), as well as the biggest and tallest piece of exposed granite (El Capitan), are here. Wawona, a small community annexed to the park in 1932, is a 45-minute drive south of Yosemite Valley. Mostly a hodgepodge of resort cabins and private homes, Wawona is also home to the stately Wawona Hotel, a 9-hole golf course, and a main attraction—the 1 COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
Transcript of and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks COPYRIGHTED …€¦ · and Sequoia & Kings Canyon...
Introduction to Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon
National Parks
California’s Sierra Nevada imposes rugged features on a state thatmany associate with sandy beaches and palm trees. It’s a mountainrange of great beauty, hidden amid harsh wilderness, and nowhere isthe terrain more dramatic than in Yosemite and Sequoia & KingsCanyon National Parks. These truly special places combine moun-tains with meadows, waterfalls with wildflowers, and spectaculargeology with awe-inspiring vistas that span, in some cases, nearly thebreadth of the state. Together, the parks cover 1.6 million acres(roughly 2,520 sq. miles). They host over four million visitors a yearand are home to thousands of species of plants and animals.
Yosemite attracts more tourists than Sequoia & Kings Canyoncombined, although all three are absolutely delightful parks. Yosemitecovers 1,169 square miles—roughly the size of Rhode Island—and94% is designated wilderness. Here you can enjoy the quiet beauty ofa forest or a pristine meadow, observe a sunset from a towering gran-ite cliff, hike a half-mile-high waterfall, enjoy a moonlit night that’sas bright as day, climb a world-famous rock, and eat a gourmet mealbefore falling asleep—be it under the stars or in the luxurious bed ofa top-rated hotel.
Yosemite Valley, which attracts 95% of all Yosemite tourists, is just1% of the park by area, but contains a number of the region’s jaw-dropping features, and is visited by over three million people eachyear. It’s a place of record-setting statistics, too: The highest waterfallin North America and three of the tallest in the world (UpperYosemite, Sentinel, and Ribbon falls), as well as the biggest andtallest piece of exposed granite (El Capitan), are here.
Wawona, a small community annexed to the park in 1932, is a45-minute drive south of Yosemite Valley. Mostly a hodgepodge ofresort cabins and private homes, Wawona is also home to the statelyWawona Hotel, a 9-hole golf course, and a main attraction—the
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04_184073 ch01.qxp 1/25/08 12:06 AM Page 4
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04_184073 ch01.qxp 1/25/08 12:06 AM Page 5
Mariposa Grove, the largest grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite.There are two smaller groves located near Crane Flat, about a half-hour drive west of Yosemite Valley.
Yosemite National Park’s Tuolumne Meadows (an immenseplateau peppered with wildflowers during the summer) and theglimmering Tuolumne River are a 11⁄2-hour drive northeast of thevalley. Tuolumne Meadows is surrounded by a half dozen domes andpeaks. The high country also includes White Wolf Lodge, TenayaLake, and Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, though the two lodges are lit-tle more than restaurants with a collection of tent-cabins. All ofthese, plus backcountry outposts accessible only on foot, aredescribed in chapter 5, “Where to Stay & Eat in Yosemite.”
In the heart of the Sierra Nevada, just south of Yosemite, areSequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, home to both the largestgiant sequoia trees in the world and a deep gorge of a canyon thatrivals Yosemite Valley for awe-inspiring beauty. Sequoia & KingsCanyon are separate parks snuggled next to one another and man-aged jointly. Combined, they outsize Yosemite. Peaks stretch across1,350 square miles and include 14,505-foot Mount Whitney, thetallest point in the lower 48 states. These parks are also home to theKaweah Range, a string of stark and magnificently beautiful moun-tains nestled among the Sierras. Three powerful rivers, the Kings,Kern, and Kaweah, tumble through the parks. Despite their largesize, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks attract less than halfthe number of Yosemite’s annual visitors, making them a great alter-native for those looking to avoid huge crowds.
1 History of the RegionThis region of the Sierra Nevada has a rich natural and cultural his-tory. The landscape can change completely from one mile to thenext. High mountain meadows give way to turbulent rivers thatthunder down deep gorges, tumble over vast waterfalls, and turn intowide, shallow rivers as they meander through the next valley. Suchdiversity can be attributed to the region’s geologic roots, whichstretch back 10 to 80 million years when a head-on collision betweentwo immense plates of rock formed this mountain range. The rock,weakened by extreme temperature variations, was later carved byerosion into deep valleys, including Yosemite Valley and KingsCanyon. In a process described more fully in chapter 9, “A NatureGuide to Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks,”the Ice Age brought glaciers that smoothed the faces of rocks such as
C H A P T E R 1 . I N T R O D U C T I O N6
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Yosemite’s El Capitan and Half Dome, some of the towering peaksof Yosemite’s Tuolumne Meadows, and Kings Canyon itself.
American Indians were aware of Yosemite at least 5,000 years ago.While Egyptian scholars were making their first use of numbers,American Indians in California were living as their forebears had forthousands of years. By 1000 B.C., there were tribes—including theAhwahneeches (Ah-wah-nee-ches), a subtribe of the Miwok—livingin Yosemite Valley. Archaeologists have since documented 36 livingsites on the valley floor that supported a vast number of inhabitantswith lush vegetation and numerous animals. The largest village layjust below Yosemite Falls.
Despite the fact that the early inhabitants were called Ahwah-neeches, the valley was named Yosemite by soldiers sent to oustAmerican Indians who refused to relocate to the plains. While seatedaround a campfire, a doctor among the group suggested the soldierssettle on a name for the valley. Among the suggestions were ParadiseValley and Yosemite, the name by which the Indian tribes in theregion were known. Some were offended by the suggestion of hon-oring American Indians in the valley, but in the end, the nameYosemite won. Ironically, however, Yosemite was the soldiers’ mis-pronunciation of the word Oo-hoo-ma-te, the name of just one set-tlement of Ahwahneeches, whom soldiers drove from YosemiteValley in 1851.
The Ahwahneeches’ neighbors, the Monaches (also known as theWestern Monos), lived in Kings Canyon and met their end during asmallpox outbreak in 1862. The Monaches kept villages in thefoothills all year long, although they sometimes moved to the forestin the summer. The Potwishas and Wuksachis were sub-tribes of theMonaches who also lived in the foothills, around Sequoia’s AshMountain. Kings Canyon was named in 1806 by the SpaniardGabriel Moraga—the first European to lead an expedition in theseparts. Moraga’s party discovered a major river on January 6, theRoman Catholic day of the Epiphany. Being a good Catholic, Mor-aga christened the river El Río de los Santos Reyes, or “the river ofthe holy kings,” in honor of the three wise men who visited theinfant Jesus on the same date, albeit many years earlier. The namewas later shortened to Kings River.
The land of Kings Canyon and Sequoia remained untoucheduntil 1827, when trappers arrived. The California gold rush drewhordes more in 1849, and abandoned mines dot Sequoia & KingsCanyon National Parks, especially in Mineral King, a region unsuc-cessfully mined for silver in the 1800s.
H I S T O RY O F T H E R E G I O N 7
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Despite being plagued by natural upheavals, such as prehistoricearthquakes and glaciers, Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon sur-vived. Then the parks faced another challenge—each was destinedfor destruction by dams, logging, and consequent flooding. Largestands of giant sequoia were obliterated in the late 1800s. Ranchersallowed their sheep to graze beneath the big trees. Sawmills werebuilt, and zip-zip—down came entire forests. Adding insult to injuryis the fact that the wood of the largest giant sequoias is brittle andgenerally pretty useless. Nevertheless, early loggers chopped down athird of the ancient trees in the region. This travesty would likelyhave continued if not for a few mid-19th-century conservationists,who pushed the government to turn the areas into parks. In 1890,Sequoia National Park was created, along with the tiny GeneralGrant National Park, established to protect Grant Grove. Unfortu-nately, the move was too late to spare Converse Basin. Once thelargest stand of giant sequoias in the world, today it’s a cemetery oftree stumps, the grave markers of fallen giants.
In 1926, the park was expanded eastward to include the small KernCanyon and Mount Whitney, but rumblings continued over the fateof Kings Canyon itself. For a while, its future lay as a reservoir. Itwasn’t until the 1960s that Kings Canyon was finally protected forgood. In 1978, Mineral King was added to Sequoia’s half of the park.The parks have been managed jointly since World War II.
While the fight to save the giant sequoias raged, a similar battlewas taking place over Yosemite. Here the threat came from oppor-tunists hoping to cash in on Yosemite Valley’s beauty. Soon after theAhwahneeches were driven out, homesteaders came in. They builthotels and crude homes and planted row crops and orchards. Some-how, during the Civil War, Congress convinced President AbrahamLincoln to sign legislation protecting the valley and the nearby Mari-posa Grove of giant sequoias. Yosemite Valley was, in effect, the firststate and national park in America. But the thousands of acres sur-rounding these relatively small federal holdings were still subject toexploitation in the form of mining, logging, and grazing. Happily,on October 1, 1890, a week after approving Sequoia National Park,Congress established Yosemite National Park. The new park did notinclude the valley or Mariposa Grove, which were still part of theolder Yosemite Valley Park, but it encompassed enormous tracts ofsurrounding wilderness. With two administrations—one overseeingthe valley and big trees, and one overseeing the new park—theexpected overlap occurred and frustration mounted. In 1906, legis-lators decided to add the valley and big trees to the new park and to
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reduce the park’s size to follow the natural contours of the land,while excluding private mining and logging operations. Everyonewas set to live happily ever after. No one would have predicted thatYosemite would become one of the most popular places on theplanet. (Though some argue that tourism has accomplished thedestruction that logging couldn’t.)
Recent years have brought a sense of foreboding to this wildernesshaven. Take one trip to Yosemite Valley during peak season and you’llunderstand why. Traffic backs up for miles; trees and branches alongthe Merced River become clotheslines; and candy wrappers, cigarettebutts, and other paper products litter the roadside. The songbirds canbarely be heard over the din of voices yelling and hooting. This is thebiggest challenge facing Yosemite today and, to a lesser extent,Sequoia & Kings Canyon. Big changes are expected as the NationalPark Service grapples with the best way to permit access without caus-ing more irreparable damage to this natural wonderland.
Who would have thought that preservation would wreak its ownbrand of havoc here? But we can only imagine how this beautifulplace would look today had it been left in the hands of profiteers.
2 The Parks TodayIn Yosemite, rock slides and torrential flooding in the mid-1990sforever changed the park’s appearance; but to be fair, we have toadmit that human influence has had an even greater impact. Atten-dance has tripled in the past 50 years, and now more than three mil-lion people visit Yosemite annually; in the summer, the average dailycensus hits 20,000! The major difficulty facing park officials today,due to the park’s increasing popularity, is balancing humanity’s accessto Yosemite’s wonders with the need to maintain and improve thepark’s health. The National Park Service issued a master plan in2000, aimed at reducing vehicle traffic in Yosemite Valley. Parts ofthis plan have already been put into effect, and additional changesare planned that will somewhat limit access, especially personal vehi-cle access, to the park. Many who love Yosemite say this is a smallprice to pay to protect a treasure.
T H E PA R K S T O D AY 9
ImpressionsThe clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
—Author and naturalist John Muir
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It’s a far different scenario at Sequoia & Kings Canyon NationalParks. They get crowded in summer, too, when RVs and slow driverscan turn into a convoy dozens of cars long—but it’s nothing likeYosemite. Sequoia & Kings Canyon are much less developed, andthe spots that are developed are much more spread out. Frankly, offi-cials here learned a lesson from Yosemite and worked hard not tomake the same mistakes. The park is awe-inspiring, with voluptuouscanyons and some of the most spectacular trees and vistas in theSierra, but they are not all crammed into a 7-mile valley, and youwon’t find a crowd three deep jostling for a view, as in Yosemite.
Crowds aside, there’s a movement at both Yosemite and Sequoia& Kings Canyon to return the parks to a more natural state.Nowhere is this more evident than in Yosemite Valley, where natureis forcing officials to make changes long planned but never imple-mented. For the past 20 years, Yosemite National Park had been gov-erned in part by a general plan that called for restoring meadows,phasing out some campgrounds, and moving others away fromwaterways to reduce the human impact on rivers, streams, andwildlife. However, little progress had been made.
Then in January 1997, a torrential downpour turned into one ofthe most destructive winter storms on record, and when the rainstopped several days later, Yosemite Valley was Yosemite Lake. Swollenstreams and creeks swept tons of debris—trees, rocks, brush—into thevalley, clogging the Merced River. Campgrounds were submerged,employees’ quarters were flooded, and much of Yosemite Lodge wasunder 2 feet of water. Despite frantic attempts at sandbagging, hun-dreds of people were forced onto higher ground—the top floors ofbuildings—and everyone was stuck. The water was so high and soferocious that it washed out the roads and stranded about 2,000 peo-ple in the valley. So much was damaged that the valley closed foralmost 3 months, and, even after it was reopened, travel was restrictedfor several months to the park’s all-weather highway. In 1997, a deci-sion was made to reconsider rebuilding the hundreds of lost campsites.And, since 2001, litigation has held up pretty much any and all con-struction and reconstruction projects in Yosemite Valley (though a2007 ruling allowed the park service to undertake “critical” projectssuch as repaving roads).
The storms remind us of the history behind these parks. Millionsof years of water, snow, and glaciers have carved the unique canyonsof Yosemite Valley and Kings Canyon. So the folks who live here doso with a measure of understanding: They’re living at the mercy ofnature.
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But the post-flood political battle highlights the Park Service’s dif-ficult dual mission: to not only conserve wilderness, but also to allowrecreational access. In this context, park management reconstructionplans must walk a very fine line—and rarely is everybody happy, ifever.
In Sequoia & Kings Canyon, park officials have a 16-year sequoiaforest restoration project under their belts at Giant Forest, where oldbuildings were torn down and roads and parking lots moved in aneffort to return this area of the park to a more natural state. The goalis ecological restoration—to cease damaging the sequoias’ root sys-tems, repair the topsoil, plant sequoia seedlings, and get out of theway while Mother Nature does her thing. An added benefit is thatwithout the buildings this area is more attractive.
Interestingly, park officials also hope that natural fires will returnto the area once the heavy human impact is reduced. Fires are animportant part of the sequoia’s life. The bark of the giant trees is fireresistant, but a blaze will dry out the sequoia’s cones. The dried conesthen open, dropping seeds onto the fire-cleared ground, which is,conveniently, the preferred growth medium for seedlings.
3 Best of Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings CanyonIt’s hard to pick the best of anything, and it’s especially difficult todeclare something “best” when nature is involved. There are so manyheart-thumping hikes, roaring waterfalls, and mind-blowing vistasto explore in these parks that it’s almost impossible to pick ourfavorites. That being said, we’re ready with a few suggestions.
THE BEST VIEWS• The Panorama from Tunnel View outside Yosemite Valley: If
you’re approaching the park on CA 41 from Wawona, thisamazing panorama will sneak up on you, offering a breathtak-ing surprise. There’s plenty of space in the two parking lots topull over and look. See “Orientation” in chapter 3.
• Yosemite Valley from Glacier Point: The easy drive to the topof Glacier Point (open summer only) will leave you speechless.From here, you’ll get an eye-level view of the great rocks, suchas Half Dome, North Dome, and Cloud’s Rest. The stunningvalley and waterfalls are spread far below. See chapter 3.
• Mist Fall from the Bottom in Kings Canyon: Standing at thebase of this waterfall, you’ll really appreciate its force, especiallyduring spring and early summer when it’s fed by the snowmelt.
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The crashing of water onto the rocks below drowns out allother noise, and there are rainbows galore. Keep back from theslippery rocks at its edge! See chapters 6 and 7.
THE BEST CAR CAMPGROUNDS• North Pines Campground in Yosemite Valley: Smaller and
slightly more isolated than neighboring campgrounds, NorthPines offers a true forest camping experience that makes it themost enjoyable of Yosemite Valley’s car campgrounds. See p. 76.
• Buckeye Flat Campground in Sequoia: This is a small, espe-cially pretty, and secluded campground in the foothills, with aprime location amid a grove of oaks. The only downfall is thatit can get very hot in the summer. See p. 132.
• Sunset Campground in Kings Canyon: Spread over a rollinghilltop beneath tall trees, this is a peaceful place that glows lateinto the evening as the sun goes down. It offers some nicelysecluded sites, and it’s in a good location to hike to some of thepark’s most impressive big trees. See p. 133.
THE BEST PRIMITIVE CAMPGROUNDS• Yosemite Creek: Just outside Yosemite Valley on CA 120,
you’ll find this great out-of-the-way campground. It lacksamenities but is far enough off the beaten path to offer solitude.Few venture down the 5-mile dirt road to this campground, butthose who do tend to prefer roughing it. See p. 80.
• South Fork Campground in Sequoia: This is the smallestdeveloped campsite in the park. It’s just inside the park’sboundary, set at 3,650 feet along the south fork of the beauti-ful Kaweah River. See p. 133.
• Atwell Mill Campground in Sequoia: The site is situatedalong Atwell Creek near the east fork of the Kaweah River inthe Mineral King region of the park. You’ll need time andpatience to reach it—allow at least an hour for the 20-miledrive—but it’s well worth it. See p. 133.
THE BEST DAY HIKES• Vernal Fall in Yosemite: A must-see for anyone with the stam-
ina. It’s just 3 miles round-trip if you follow the Mist Trail, butit requires a strong heart and enough gumption to make the lastquarter-mile, ascending 500 stairs. Once at the top, hikers arerewarded with fabulous views and enough space to loungearound like marmots in the sun before the hike back down. Seep. 45.
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• Moro Rock in Sequoia: A short but steep climb up a historicstaircase that snakes through rock crevices to the top of MoroRock. Rewards include one of the most awe-inspiring views inthe Sierra Nevada. The walk offers plenty of places to rest onthe way up. See p. 111.
• Mist Fall in Kings Canyon: This 8-mile round-trip hikeclimbs 1,500 feet to the spectacular Mist Fall. Along the way,the hiking ranges from moderately strenuous to easy strollingthrough woodland areas that have lots of places where you cancatch your breath. See p. 115.
THE BEST HIGH-COUNTRY HIKES• May Lake in Yosemite: This is an easy 2.5-mile hike that
begins near Tioga Road, east of White Wolf (accessible bymotor vehicle in summer only). This picturesque walk offersfishing but no swimming. May Lake is dead center in YosemiteNational Park. It’s a good place to survey surrounding peaks,including the 10,855-foot-high Mount Hoffman rising behindthe lake. See p. 50.
• The High Sierra Trail in Sequoia: This popular backpackingtrail offers day hikers a glimpse of what’s out there. It’s a mod-erate, 10-mile hike with pretty views of the middle fork of theKaweah River and the Kaweah Range. See p. 110.
• Paradise Valley in Kings Canyon: This hike extends beyondMist Fall to a broad valley bisected by a welcoming river. Thelong 14-mile round-trip hike is a bit much to do in 1 day, butit is possible with some planning and an early start. See p. 116.
THE BEST MEALS• The Ahwahnee Dining Room in Yosemite Valley: No surprise
here—it’s a knockout feast. Every course is almost worth itsweight in gold, which is about what it’ll cost you, too. See p. 82.
• Mountain Room Restaurant in Yosemite Valley: Some peo-ple like the Mountain Room even better than the top-ratedAhwahnee. Not only is the food here top-notch, but you alsocan’t beat the views of Yosemite Falls. See p. 84.
• Wawona Hotel Dining Room in Yosemite: Located outsidethe valley, this spacious restaurant is a favorite of locals for milesaround. The excellent chef concocts delectable meals, and theviews through the expanse of windows provide food for thesoul. See p. 85.
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THE BEST PLACES FOR REFLECTION• Yosemite’s Glacier Point at Night: You’re sure to be quietly
overwhelmed, either by the number of stars or the way themoonlight reflects off the granite domes surrounding the valley.See chapters 3 and 4.
• Tenaya Lake in Yosemite: The solitude and beauty of thishigh-altitude, crystal-clear lake (accessible by road in summeronly) outshines others in the park. Tenaya Lake is larger andmore dramatic, edging up against an iridescent granite land-scape. See chapters 3 and 4.
• The Backcountry: Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyonoffer great backcountry getaways. Modern backpacking wasinvented in the Sierra Nevada, and remains one of the corner-stone recreational activities in the summertime here. Few placesare as well-suited for contemplation as a trail into the wilds. Seechapters 4 and 7.
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