Yosemite Valley today - 2011
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:59 pm
Yosemite Valley – 2011
Just returned from the Valley and happy to announce that all the falls are indeed running wild – as expected. Great fun to see all sorts of normally dry waterfalls alive and vibrant where usually there is not any water at all coming over the rim.
Ribbon Falls, a large falls just west of El Cap, now looks just like a second Yosemite Falls – 2000 foot drop (see picture) – amazing.
There is some bad news to report however regarding the Valley BP campground, (the one behind the Stables). Due to recent spring erosion, they are rerouting all the sewer lines in the north-east end of the park. Now, instead of the sewer lines flowing down the general north river basin, and following close to the Ahwahnee road, as has been in the past, now they are digging trenches (piles of dirt everywhere), starting at the stables and heading south, installing pumps (to push the sewage- thru 1-foot pipes) across/over the stone river bridge, and then eventually leading/pushing the chit west, intending on following the Curry side of the river down. This is probably a good thing, ground pollution-wise, but the greatest result seen is that some facilities, (specifically the old stone/wood restroom building) in the BP camp is now gone.(No more flush toilets and running water spigots there.) All that remains of that archaic building now are the bull-dozer tracks where the BP Camp restroom once stood (see picture). Also, at the present time, there is no potable water spigot available/seen in the BP camp.
The ranger I talked to said YNP does intend to install a water spigot and some porta-potties there eventually, for us backpackers to use this summer but this is not yet done. Until that time, the BP camp in the Valley is closed…sigh!
Just returned from the Valley and happy to announce that all the falls are indeed running wild – as expected. Great fun to see all sorts of normally dry waterfalls alive and vibrant where usually there is not any water at all coming over the rim.
Ribbon Falls, a large falls just west of El Cap, now looks just like a second Yosemite Falls – 2000 foot drop (see picture) – amazing.
There is some bad news to report however regarding the Valley BP campground, (the one behind the Stables). Due to recent spring erosion, they are rerouting all the sewer lines in the north-east end of the park. Now, instead of the sewer lines flowing down the general north river basin, and following close to the Ahwahnee road, as has been in the past, now they are digging trenches (piles of dirt everywhere), starting at the stables and heading south, installing pumps (to push the sewage- thru 1-foot pipes) across/over the stone river bridge, and then eventually leading/pushing the chit west, intending on following the Curry side of the river down. This is probably a good thing, ground pollution-wise, but the greatest result seen is that some facilities, (specifically the old stone/wood restroom building) in the BP camp is now gone.(No more flush toilets and running water spigots there.) All that remains of that archaic building now are the bull-dozer tracks where the BP Camp restroom once stood (see picture). Also, at the present time, there is no potable water spigot available/seen in the BP camp.
The ranger I talked to said YNP does intend to install a water spigot and some porta-potties there eventually, for us backpackers to use this summer but this is not yet done. Until that time, the BP camp in the Valley is closed…sigh!
