High Sierra Topix

Greetings rjones787

Unless you are familiar with ice ax and crampon travel to cross Glenn Pass, Hetch Hetchy would be more accessible that time of year.

John Muir described Hetch Hetchy as comparable to Yosemite Valley: "Hetch Hetchy is a grand landscape garden, one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples. As in Yosemite, the sublime rocks of its walls seem to glow with life . . . while birds, bees, and butterflies help the river and waterfalls to stir all the air into music."

balance wrote:Greetings rjones787

Unless you are familiar with ice ax and crampon travel to cross Glenn Pass, Hetch Hetchy would be more accessible that time of year.

John Muir described Hetch Hetchy as comparable to Yosemite Valley: "Hetch Hetchy is a grand landscape garden, one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples. As in Yosemite, the sublime rocks of its walls seem to glow with life . . . while birds, bees, and butterflies help the river and waterfalls to stir all the air into music."

now now I believe that quote was only in effect before it became Hetch Hetchy reservoir hahah. Still a great place.
Here's a photo of Wapama 2 weeks ago.

Greetings KevinDo

The quote from John Muir describing Hetch Hetchy did indeed relate to the HH Valley before the dam was built. That was a battle to protect Yosemite which he waged with fervor.

Continuing the quote which I cited, he went on to say, "These temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism, seem to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and, instead of lifting their eyes to the God of the mountains, lift them to the Almighty Dollar. . . . Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man." John Muir, "The Yosemite," Century, 1912, pp. 249-62. He was deeply mortified at losing that battle to the commercial interests of his day.

Nowadays, Hetch Hetchy is an early season gateway to Yosemite. It is a reasonable option for rjones787 to consider rather than contending with Glenn Pass which could require ice ax and crampons in late May.

Thanks for the photos.

Peace

In 2006 I did an early June trip from Hetch-Hetchy, over Rancheria Mountain and into Pleasant Valley. Piute Creek was not crossable (to get past Pleasant Valley). I climbed Piute Mountain (total snow), and returned. Just another option to the Laurel Lake loop. If you do any trips out of Hetch Hetchy this time of year, you likely will run into bears.

Also did a Memorial Day trip to Paradise Valley in 2003. This is the northern part of the Rae Lake Loop. At that time there was no bridge - now there is a bridge- much easier to get up to Castle Dome meadow. You could then do day-hikes to higher elevations depending on the snow. Not a loop but it would be part of the hike you originally wanted to do.

Memorial Day is also a great time to do Yosemite Valley hikes. There will be crowds, but the scenery is worth it. Pohono Trail is a good option with great viewpoints. Or up the Merced River to Echo Valley, loop to JMT, climb Clouds Rest. Use the Mist Trail one way, and the JMT the other.

balance wrote:Greetings KevinDo

The quote from John Muir describing Hetch Hetchy did indeed relate to the HH Valley before the dam was built. That was a battle to protect Yosemite which he waged with fervor.

Continuing the quote which I cited, he went on to say, "These temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism, seem to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and, instead of lifting their eyes to the God of the mountains, lift them to the Almighty Dollar. . . . Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man." John Muir, "The Yosemite," Century, 1912, pp. 249-62. He was deeply mortified at losing that battle to the commercial interests of his day.

Nowadays, Hetch Hetchy is an early season gateway to Yosemite. It is a reasonable option for rjones787 to consider rather than contending with Glenn Pass which could require ice ax and crampons in late May.

Thanks for the photos.

Peace

Hey Balance,

I was just teasing you But yes that quote is a good one. First heard it in the BBC doc on Muir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oURZwXZQJI[/youtube]

Hetchy is definitely a great early season trip. Was getting a bit hot when I went but still nice. Also Kibbie might be an option too!

-Kevin

Greetings KevinDo

That incredible documentary contains a wonderful reflection by a park ranger.

The BBC One Scotland documentary The Last Explorers tells the story of John Muir, the Scottish-born American naturalist who explored the Sierra Nevada mountains in the late 1800's. We see a young man with a restless spirit who grows beyond his strict religious upbringing to personally experience the Creator's beauty and handiwork, eventually becoming a heroic protector of the natural world.

Standing on a vista overlooking a glacier-carved valley, Yosemite National Park Ranger Shelton Johnson eloquently conveys the unspoken message of the tree lined basin and towering granite walls: "That's right. The constancy of change that's happening right now as we're talking. There's something here that says it has happened, it is happening now, and it will happen. It's almost as if all the tenses are here at the same time, moving with the wind around us." Ranger Johnson interprets Muir's vision, "He saw that human beings were a part of it. They weren't at the center of it; they were a part of it. And he didn't see any diminishment. He actually saw the opposite! I think Muir had this recognition that there was no shame in being such a small part of creation. That all those parts add up to creation itself."

Peace

Hey guys,

So we landed on hetch hetchy. We plan on doing some fishing at lake vernon, Laurel lake, and jack main canyon. Any advice fishing, route, or otherwise? we have 3 nights/four days. Trying to make a route that makes sense right now on caltopo. Thanks for all your suggestions!

Wilma will be to early, also good luck getting thru Jack Main Canyon, Falls Creek becomes a high speed creek, flooding certain sections, making it impossible to cross. Stick with Vernon, you can go to the far north end of the basin to the Falls, Branigan Creek, and follow the creek up to the lakes. Check out this previous thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13961&hilit=vernon

Thanks Maverick! Based on what things will look like in May- do you think it would make sense to make a loop that goes up to Lake Vernon, up Branigan Creek, and then down Tiltill creek? I'm looking at some topo's, and that looks like it could be interesting. We're fishing the first two days (Vernon, Branigan) and then we have one more night to camp before we hike out, so I'm trying to make a loop that makes sense and is really pretty.

Getting from Vernon to Branagan will require you to cross Falls Creek, which you could do below Lake Vernon...but either way, you have some steep granite to climb up to get to Branagan. We came down Falls Creek to Vernon out of Jack Main Canyon--just about the steepest thing we've ever hiked down. And if you are close to the creek, that rock may be slippery. Be careful, both in climbing the granite and crossing any creeks.

here's photo of what we climbed down:



And Tiltill Valley will be a snow covered swamp in the afternoon. Not fun.