Thanksgiving in Yosemite

Trafton B.

November 28, 2009 - 9:25 AM

I've never been to Yosemite National Park.

There, I said it and now it's all out on the table. You see, being an outdoorsmen, it's been a personal blemish and a pang on my conscience that I'd never been to Yosemite. My mother tells me that I went once when I was in diapers, but I apparently blocked that from my memory. Better late than never, though. And what better way to experience Yosemite Valley than with my family and the Wagstaffes, our family friends, over Thanksgiving weekend. It was a holiday to cherish.

We stayed at the Evergreen Lodge, which is actually about 8 miles outside of the park, and, after the initial queries and jokes about the summer camp, ecotourism atmosphere, the lodge turned out to be a quaint spot to call home for a few nights.

Thursday morning, we woke up and heading out for a morning hike after a hearty oatmeal breakfast. We walked around Hetch-Hetchy Reservoir (aka - our drinking water for anyone from the Bay Area) to the Wapama Falls. It was a modest hike, nothing too special except for a little bouldering off the trail at the base of the waterfall. The reservoir was absolutely pristine surrounded by a few trees that still had some color to their leaves. And it was amazing to think that the water level was grossly low to its springtime norm.

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir  

Then it was off to Thanksgiving dinner at the Yosemite Lodge. Wine was drank, laughs were had and thanks was given. Some of us were thankful to be surrounded by nature, and others thankful just to be out of it. We were all grateful, however, to be in the presence of friends on the holidays. Just as with the faux Thanksgiving dinner in Eugene, it made me wish that I could stay at home forever.

Friday, we ascended to the valley floor one more time to hike along a portion of the John Muir Trail called Happy Isle. As we drove in, we caught a view of the entire park: El Capitan, Half-Dome, and a frosty Bridalveil Falls. We trekked up to Vernal Falls, near the southeast corner. It seemed a reasonable hike to begin with. Not even the weak of heart could complain about the paved trail that lead us to the bridge overlook about three quarters of a mile short of the falls. But the first half of the hike was shockingly inferior compared to the actually climb around Vernal Falls. After the bridge, it seemed like a slow, vertical trudge up natural stairs to the top. It reminded me a walking on the Great Wall of China. The view from the top was stunning though, and I kept that in mind the next day while I was rubbing my aching knees and calves. It was worth it.  

Friday night, we were back at Evergreen for dinner, after a tireless drive through fresh snowfall out of the park. I could go into detail about putting on and taking off the chains from our cars, but I don't want the thorns to take precedence over the roses of the trip. Let's just say, we started with four chains on the tires, and there were only three left when we finally arrived home.

As a believer and follower of the environmental movement, I have my own unease about the modern day outdoors. There was the famous photo hanging at the lodge of John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt standing atop a Yosemite peak claim in tweed suits before Yosemite Valley became Yosemite National Park...tourists welcome. Hetch-Hetchy was once a pristine valley before the O'Shaughnessy Dam was constructed in the 1920's. Vernal Falls might have been a little bit nicer had there not been hundreds of camera-ready, Ugg boots wearing sightseers on the bridge. But in the end, I'm really can't complain. Yes, I wish I could experience nature in the same sense than transcendentalists of yesteryear did, but I guess I need to search a little harder for it.

In the mean time, Yosemite was a great vacation. My feet are sore from hiking and my stomach is sore from laughing so much. All in all, I couldn't have dreamed up a better first trip to Yosemite. I'll be headed back over spring or summer break, without question.

But now, it's back to books for one last push before Winter break.

Me, my dad and sister at the top of Vernal Falls