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Published: January 13th 2009
Yule time is a special time of Christmas trees, carols, cheer, church, family, friends, gifts, candy and Santa Claus. Nearly anyone who lives in the Northern Hemisphere can relate- December 21 is the death of darkness when the days only get longer. Others can relate to the birth of Jesus on December 25. We welcome the light of the world by bringing a conifer tree into the home, singing songs and giving gifts. There's just something about the mystique of the snow and the forest that seems to echo the solitude and splendor of Winter.
How fortunate to be able to drive just 3 hours north on Christmas day and find yourself amongst the forest, snow and mountains of Yosemite! Perhaps the most impossible of landscapes Mother Nature has provided humans, this time of the year the
3.5 million annual visitors were all very far away. A
strong Pacific storm, a blizzard in fact, dumped 1 meter of snow the night before in the
entire Sierra Nevada. In turn this caused trees to fall over and roads to be closed. After spending Christmas with my family, Laetitia and I chased the tail of this storm north from Fresno into the majestic mountains of California.
I agreed
to be a guide during the holiday for a
fellow travelblogger. Stopping for 4 days in California before a 2 week adventure in Costa Rica,
laetitiaaroundtheworld got the full American Christmas of food, presents and a Protestant Church service. Then it was off to the fabled valley of Yosemite and finally Big Sur. We drove a total of 1,159 km through Central California in 5 Days, and this trip to Yosemite this was the first leg!
There are
3 major highways into Yosemite Valley. The southern freeway(Highway 41) is arguably the most efficient, with just 90 relatively straight foward kilometers from the flatlands of Fresno to the
Mariposa Grove of Sequoias at the park's southern entrance. Leaving from Fresno there was blue skies to the west, and grey clouds to the east. Chasing its tail as the passing storm moved east, we saw the gifts in its wake: rain and snow. So much snow in fact, so low, that the first patches appeared at under 1000 meters which is rare for this part of California. Just outside Fresno Laetitia said "how strange to see palm trees and in the distance snow covered mountains." This is why I love
California and
Chile!
Once were within
Upper Yosemite Falls Panorama
a free fall of over 1,430 ft (436 m)striking distance of the entrance to Yosemite, wet snow became ice on the road making chains mandatory. After a quick stop we were on our way again through the snow covered forest above Oakhurst. It was truly magical- for what is in summer a bland continuity of manzanita bushes, oaks and assorted pines became a
scene from a fairy tale in winter. Just 10 miles shy from Yosemite traffic stopped. We got out of our cars as everyone else did, sliding on the icy road and watching as
impatient assholes who obviously have little experience driving in snow first pass, then slide into embankments! Do they think all traffic is stopped because the road ahead is passable? It was comical to watch the man get out, put chains on (finally, but onyl one tire?) and try to get out of the snow. Word came from a local that someone had slid into a snow drift on a steep curve and we were waiting for a towtruck to pull the car out.
As we waited, we heard a abrupt, almost unoticable noise in the distance. 10 minutes later a man who had walked all the way up the chain of cars returned with news: A
large pine tree had just fallen
on top of a car with 8 people! No one was hurt, but its a virtual guarentee that no one is getting to Yosemite through this road anytime soon. I decided it was best to be first to turn around the car and get into Yosemite through another route. So that's what we did, going back downhill, taking off the chains, driving through more snow flurries and very heavy rain. By the time we got to Mariposa it was totally dark with 2 hours left to drive. Following the
Merced River with no other cars in sight, the biggest concern about the central route into Yosemite along
highway 140 is landslides. Soon the rain turned to snow, and we arrived in Yosemite at 11pm. What should have been a 3 hour drive took 8 hours!
I've been to Yosemite dozens of times, but even in the dark I knew I had never seen it like this. Snow, LOTS of snow. Over a meter of snow, so much I could not find the usually easy entrance to
Curry Village. Parking consisted of driving through 2 feet of snow, spinning tires and finding a decent spot so as not to get stuck the next
day. I didn't have the chains on!
We found reception, our tent cabin and quickly fell asleep. Not that sleeping was terribly easy, for right across from us a tree had recently fallen on another tent cabin!
The next day was something happened that I had hoped for- crystal clear blue skies. This is the nature of storms in the Sierra Nevada. When they come, they dump meters of snow- then they leave quietly, leaving in their wake blue skies for weeks. It was magical,
Yosemite Falls had even frozen overnight and was just a trickle. We drove up to to Tunnel View, hands down
the best "Holy Shit!" view of Yosemite Valley. We stopped at the El capitan overlook and watched as avalanches and ice went into a 400 meter freefall before making a thunderous crash as the landed in the valley. After a quick change, the journey up to Yosemite Falls began in earnest.
I wasn't sure if the trail would be totally impassible without snowshoes. Basically a series of switchbacks, the trail to
Columbia Rock and then Yosemite Falls seems impossible from the bottom of the valley. But up it goes nevertheless, and thankfully we were not the first ones
on the trail that day. After an hour or two we reached Columbia Rock- and the view was breathtaking. The misty clouds were forming from sublimated snow and evaporated rain, clinging to the forested granite cliffs as a child clings to its mother. The valley below us was glistening in the snowy gift mother nature had given the night before. Half Dome looked on with benevolence. It was truly the most beautiful thing I had seen in the past few years!
We took many pictures and realized it might be best to descend before it got too late. Our feet wet and cold, our senses tuned, our attitudes giddy we went down the trail talking about this or that. Our chatter was the very reason I was so shocked to run into a
Black Bear on the trail, 10 meters away! He was as shocked as we were, very large, a
Yosemite Bear and very close- all reasons for me to be very afraid. This first moment is the most crucial. Is he a wild bear uninterested in my food? Is it a momma with a cub? Does he feel threatened? I followed the bear sighting protocol, and slowly we stepped
backwards uptrail while I spoke out loud to the bear. "We aren't going to hurt you Mr. Bear! Im sorry we surprised you, we are just trying to get back home Mr. Bear!" After a brief stare, he turned downhill and walked away. WHEW!! I had NO idea what I was going to do if he came towards me. This bear was about the 8th bear I'd seen in the Sierra's in 8 years of trips- but he was by far the largest! This is probably because we was fat for hibernation, and had had enough of the cold and snow and finally decided to make a den for the winter. Yosemite Valley bears are notoriously active all year long and actively seek out human food. Fortunately this bear was totally wild and looking back, as just as frightened as we were!
When we made our way down trail, Mr. Bear had continued uphill, cutting a switchback. He climbed over large boulders with his massive paws, always looking back at us to make sure we weren't going to cause trouble. Wow. What an experience with what some call the
apogee of mammal evolution, the Bear. They can run 50 km an hour,
climb trees, have eyesight as good as humans, a sense of smell like a dog, the endurance of horse, the strength of an ox- yet still they choose to avoid humans instead of devouring us for dinner! No
Stephen Colbert I disagree, bears are NOT
Godless Killing Machines!
--Steve
http://www.sphaydenphotography.com A Zen Master was serving tea to the King of a Great Empire. He poured his cup full, and then kept on pouring. The King watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!" "Like this cup," the monk said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"
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AnnaAdventuring
Anna Louise
Ooooh!
Wow! You've got some beautiful scenery around there! Absolutely stunning photographs as usual. Yosemite looks like an amazing place - I hope to see it myself one day. :) Enjoy your snowy holidays!