First Visit to Hetch Hetchy

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Geo: 37.948, -119.788

On our drive the day before, we saw that Hetch Hetchy Reservoir was open. I hadn't ever been there that I could remember, and I've been trying to do at least one new "thing" every visit to Yosemite for awhile now. So, we decided we'd head there today. As it turned out, we were the ONLY visitors there that morning. And, unlike the rest of the park, they actually take down licenses and give temporary "passes" for visitors entering the park towards the dam. My brother, later, made a good point- it's a huge reservoir that supplies water for San Francisco and much of the East Bay Area. Of course they regulate it. BUT, we had the whole place to ourselves. There was a rock slide on the loop road near the dam so we had to park at the backpacker's camp and walk the quarter mile down to the dam itself. It was another beautiful day, punctuated with the loud vocal retaliations of a toddler. Once again, I was grateful to be the only family there. 'Cause while I personally have the patience of a saint when it comes to my kid, I'm well aware that most other people wouldn't remain so calm. She still hated the snow and the cold. She hated being carried but hated walking in her snow gear even more. And mostly, she was on day three being out of her usual routine and she was just utterly out of patience with us. Still, I enjoyed our walk. I'd never seen Hetch Hetchy in person- only what I'd seen and read in books. That John Muir once compared its scale and beauty to Yosemite Valley before it was dammed and flooded. I understand why they did what they did but I'm on Muir's side. Why would you destroy something so beautiful? Wapama Falls was still flowing while we there. There was a tunnel on the far side of the dam that we inspected but decided not to go through because it was flooded. If Arya had been in a good mood I would have done the trail as far to the falls as we could have. She just wasn't into it- or anything- that day. So we walked up towards some buildings above the water. All abandoned at that time. After that, we headed back to the car, ate lunch and then headed out on the long drive home.

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