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EXPLORING YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK WITH YOUR KIDS
Kurt Repanshek
Frommer’s
15 August 2007
You can’t avoid being impressed by Yosemite Valley. On the valley floor, you might get caught up in the everyday world of buses and campgrounds, but then a patch of light will catch your eye, way up at the top of your field of vision where all you expect to see is blue sky. And it will suddenly impress you again: That’s solid rock up there, catching the light straight above you. Just to see the granite cliffs, you have to tip your head back, so the wonder of it keeps surprising you whenever your attention settles back to the earth. This is one of the world’s unique places, where you can stand at the foot of a waterfall that’s nearly a half-mile high. Unfortunately, being unique, it’s also terribly popular and fills with people in the summer. Sometimes seeing the cliffs up above is a special relief because it takes your eyes away from the uncomfortable crowd you’re standing in.
What most people haven’t discovered, or don’t care to know, is that Yosemite Valley is only a small part of Yosemite National Park. If you dislike crowds, as we do, spend just a day in the valley to see the sights, then head out to the other 1,169 square miles of the park. In the Wawona area, the Hetch Hetchy valley, or the high country of the Tuolumne Meadows, you can hike all day and see only a few other people. One memorable day we hiked a couple of miles to a mountain lake and found we had it to ourselves, surrounded by rock and water and sky. These were some of the most beautiful and spiritually refreshing places I’d ever visited. I had the feeling we’d left the city behind in Yosemite Valley, and now we were visiting the real national park. No one should miss Yosemite Valley, but the park is big enough to do much more, and to do it without being in a crowd.
Yosemite Valley
As you enter Yosemite Valley, the mountains seem to open like a curtain onto one of the world’s main attractions. It’s not something you can be prepared for. The granite walls of the valley soar up to 3,000 feet, more than a half-mile, where the sun treats their bold shapes differently than the shadows in the ordinary world below. Waterfalls tumble from the top, disintegrating into showers of mist and spray during the long free fall. As you stand below in the sun, the water cools your cheek.
There’s a lot for a family to do in Yosemite Valley, including fun stuff like floating down the Merced in a little raft, biking the paved trails to hiking trail heads and other sites, seeing the museums, and hiking to the spectacular waterfalls. But it’s not a wilderness experience, or even, much of the time, a natural experience. The valley is a city, or at least a town. It has thousands of visitors and the workers to serve them, stores, health facilities, churches, and everything else a town has, all squeezed into the 7- by 1-mile valley floor.
Yosemite Village is a busy pedestrian mall served by frequent and often-crowded buses. On the short trail to Lower Yosemite Falls one summer day, I was so surrounded by people I felt claustrophobic, unable to get far enough away not to smell others’ perfume and cologne. While the trail has been rebuilt and the parking is being removed, the people will still be there. Steeper trails are less crowded once you get beyond a level that weeds out hikers in poor physical shape, including the wonderful Mist Trail and John Muir Trail to Nevada Falls from Happy Isles, with its unfolding series of waterfalls, and the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail, from Camp 4. But the steepness that weeds out couch potatoes also eliminates most kids younger than about age 10. (Consider instead the trails on Glacier Point Rd., in the next section.)
While the Mist Trail can be grueling for inexperienced youngsters if you try to drag them to the top of Nevada Fall (a steep, 7-mile round-trip), it’s a great hike to let older kids test their endurance. They won’t get bored, either, watching as the Merced River crashes out of the high country. On a hot summer day, the spray is especially cooling, and you can stop by the riverbank to splash along the way. A good turn-around point, and a noteworthy goal that will pump up a younger hiker’s self-esteem, is the 3-mile roundtrip to the top of Vernal Fall.
For many families, the solution is to take advantage of the fun here and accept all the other people. Just plan to find your solitude elsewhere. The families I saw floating and splashing in Merced River had the right idea. They were using Yosemite Valley as the world’s most beautiful playground, knowing that playgrounds are crowded. The maps contained in the park newspaper, Yosemite Today, are handy for understanding the layout of the valley, the walking and bike paths, and the order of the bus stops. It also has schedules of activities and other changing information. Our valley map is useful, too, but it may not be as up-to-date.
Glacier Point
This is a mind-blowing overlook directly above Yosemite Valley’s Curry Village. Standing at the railing, you are at the top of a 3,200-foot vertical cliff, able to see almost straight down. It’s a short, paved walk from the large parking lots to the overlooks. From different spots you can see in different directions across much of the park. Rangers wander through the crowd to answer questions and offer talks, which you can find out about in Yosemite Today. A snack stand is open 10am to 4pm during the summer, but go earlier than that to avoid the crowds.
After you get a load of the view, use Glacier Point Road to get off into high country, away from most other people, on some terrific family hikes. The road is 16 miles long, splitting from the Wawona Road south of Yosemite Valley, and is closed beyond the Badger Pass Ski Area during the winter. From the point itself, two paths lead down to the valley. Hiking both ways would be well beyond most families’ abilities, but you can take a shuttle bus one-way. The Four-Mile Trail takes you right down into the valley, a walk that should take 3 hours or less.
For a longer and even more interesting hike, with three incredible waterfalls, take the Panorama Trail and John Muir Trail via Nevada Falls, a downhill hike of 8.5 miles. These are busy trails. At mile 13.2 of the Glacier Point Road, some great short hikes may be less crowded (still, get there early) and offer little ones the chance to climb one of Yosemite’s granite domes. Sentinel Dome is 1.1 miles from the trail head, an easy climb with incredible views. At 8,122 feet it is the highest viewpoint into the valley other than Half Dome. Taft Point, 1.1 miles the other way from the trail head, has weird and scary cracks as well as cliff-overhang views. The hike itself isn’t threatening, but hold hands near the end. You can link both into a 4.5-mile loop by using a 2.3-mile section of the Pohono Trail from Sentinel Dome to the midpoint of the Taft Point Trail. (From the Sentinel Dome end, it is confusing: Follow the sign to Glacier Point, turning left or west at the T).
Sequoia Groves
About 500 giant sequoias grow in Mariposa Grove, the park’s largest, near the south entrance. These huge, ancient trees are among the world’s greatest natural wonders. You can’t help but be impressed by the 2,700-year-old Grizzly Giant, with its immense base, or the amazing length of the fallen monarch. The grove’s most famous tree, the Wawona Tunnel Tree, with a 30-foot vehicle tunnel cut in 1881, died of the wound, falling in 1969, but there are other trees you can walk under, including the bizarre Clothespin Tree, with its natural tunnel.
The grove covers a large area, and the big trees are separated more widely than at the groves in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. This more sparse character, combined with the land’s steepness, forces visitors to decide how to see the Mariposa Grove. The popular way is to ride an open-air tram pulled by a tractor over a road up to the Upper Grove area, site of the thickest stands of trees and the Wawona Tunnel Tree. There it stops for a look at the tiny, dark Galen Clark Museum and a chance to get out and hike back down, skipping the last half of the tour. The tram usually leaves every 20 minutes in the summer for a 1-hour ride (call tel. 209/375-1621 for departure times) and costs $16 for adults, $10 for children 5 to 12, free for children under 5. It’s appealing to get a ride up the hill, but the forest seemed diminished by the corny narration and the crowded cart. A guy sitting next to me said, “That tree don’t look so big,” an impossible reaction for someone walking through this grove. Instead, I recommend picking up the 50[ce] guide brochure and hiking up the hill as far as you can; a 2.5-mile round-trip, with little elevation gain, will take you to the Fallen Monarch, Grizzly Giant, California Tunnel Tree (still standing), and the Clothespin Tree. The museum is 2.1 miles from the trail head, one-way, and the top of the grove is 3 miles.
Parking is a problem at the grove. The lots at the trail head fill quickly (again, starting early helps). When they do, you have to take a shuttle, which stops at the park’s south entrance, where the small lot fills fast, and at the Wawona Store. That’s inconvenient, since Wawona is several slow miles away and you have to wait for the bus both ways. The solution is to plan plenty of time for your visit; half a day would be reasonable.
Two other, smaller groups of sequoias, Tuolumne and Merced groves, are along Big Oak Flat Road, north of Yosemite Valley. Tuolumne has 25 trees and Merced even fewer. You have to walk into both groves, so they’re more peaceful than Mariposa Grove. To get to Tuolumne Grove, you park near Crane Flat and walk 1 mile on an old road that meets a half-mile nature trail. Merced Grove, a little farther north, is 1.5 miles off the road; if you make the hike, you might have it to yourself.
Hetch Hetchy
The Hetch Hetchy area at the north of the park is an easy and little-used way into the wilderness. This canyon on the Tuolumne River is most famous for the conservation fight over the O’Shaughnessy Dam, which was approved by Congress in 1913 over the objections of John Muir and still gathers drinking water for San Francisco. But even with the reservoir, the valley remains a grand area with good hiking and great views. As with Yosemite Valley, and on a similar scale, river erosion started digging Hetch Hetchy and glaciation followed to straighten out the valley, deepen it, and widen it. Unlike in Yosemite Valley, however, glaciers here continued to come right to the top of the canyon during each ice age, grinding the sides to the end of the last glacial period, 10,000 years ago. The result is that Hetch Hetchy’s walls are relatively smooth, without the cracks and spires that give Yosemite some of its character. It’s a good place to find glacier tracks such as polish and chatter marks.
The roads coming here are narrow, winding, and scenic. Exit the main part of the park at Big Oak Flats and drive 7.5 miles north through a thick, dark forest on Evergreen Road, then reenter the Hetch Hetchy entrance and take Hetch Hetchy Road 9 miles to the dam. The views into Poopenaut Valley are dizzying, and remote trails climb and descend from the road. The best family hike leads across the dam, through a tunnel, and 2.5 miles to Wapama Falls, which tumbles 1,000 feet down the canyon walls. It’s an easy, mostly level trail though rocky, arid terrain under 4,000 feet, and can be warm. Many other trails lead from here for steeper hikes or backpacking expeditions. The campground at the dam is for backpackers with permits only. Other than the bathroom and pay phone, there are no services.

DATE WITH A MODEL: ANTIQUE CARS LET IN YOSEMITE’S BEAUTY
Guy Keeler
Fresno Bee
25 August 2007
Every day is the Roaring `20s at the Tin Lizzie Inn, where the garage is full of Model T and Model A Fords and David Woodworth will teach you to drive them.
Woodworth and his wife, Sheran, who opened their bed-and-breakfast in June, also rent antique cars for people to drive into Yosemite National Park.
Model T Tours operates like a regular car rental company. If you’re 21 and have a valid driver’s license and auto insurance, you can rent a Model T or Model A. Rates are $250 for a half-day and $400 for a full day.
The old cars, all restored originals dating from the teens and 1920s, are well suited for area trails because of their high ground clearance. And since all are either roadsters or touring cars with open tops, they also are perfect for viewing Yosemite’s imposing granite walls, which often are blocked by the roofs of modern cars.
“It was a fantastic experience,” says Paul Arlin of Covina, Calif., who rented a 1929 Model A a few weeks ago for a trip to Yosemite Valley with his wife, Tammar. “I’ve spent a lot of time in national parks behind the wheel of a car, but the Model A gives it a completely different flavor. You feel like you’re stepping back in time and you can relax and enjoy the scenery.”
Drivers and passengers in the old cars also become part of the scenery when they venture onto the highway.
“People would honk and wave at us but they were very courteous,” Arlin says. “When we stopped, they would come up and ask questions.”
Britt Anderson of Los Gatos, Calif., had a similar experience on a recent trip to Glacier Point and back in a 1928 Model A with his wife, Karyn, and sons Braden, 13, and Justin, 16.
“It’s surprising how far technology in cars has come,” he says. “It was a real eye-opener to drive one of these old cars. They’re low-powered and you have to work with them going uphill. I was surprised at the number of people who wanted to have their pictures taken with the car.”
More than 15 million Model T Fords were built between 1908 and 1927, when the Model A came out, and David Woodworth says the sturdy little workhorse is one of the most significant cars ever built.
“The Model T opened up the world to people,” he says. “Before then, most lived and died within 50 miles of the place of their birth.”
By producing a car the masses could afford, Henry Ford put the horse and buggy out to pasture and created a wanderlust limited only by road conditions and the amount of gas in a car’s tank.
Woodworth says driving a Model T or Model A gives people a chance to experience a slice of early motoring history.
“And after you’ve rented one, you’ll probably love your current car even more,” he says with a chuckle.
Driving a Model T is a bit tricky. There is no gear shifter and no gas pedal. The accelerator is attached to the steering column like a modern turn signal lever and the gears are activated by foot pedals.
“You drive the car with your feet,” Woodworth says.
The Model T has two forward gears and three pedals. Push the pedal on the left to the floor and you move forward in low. Let it up all the way and you’re in high.
Pushing the middle pedal to the floor puts the car in reverse, but only if you’ve got the left pedal in neutral, halfway to the floor. By the way, if you need to stop, the brake pedal is on the far right. Hope you’ve got enough feet.
“When in doubt, push everything,” Woodworth quips.
Actually, driving a Model T is much easier than it sounds. Most people quickly get the hang of it after taking lessons from Woodworth in the parking lot at the nearby Tenaya Lodge.
“We’ve been renting cars since 1999 and I’ve only had three people who didn’t feel comfortable driving one,” he says.
John Puffer of Wilbraham, Mass., drove both a Model T and a Model A during a July visit to Yosemite.
“I had a great time,” he says. “Unlike modern cars, with the Model T you’ve got to be thinking all the time about what your feet are doing. The hardest part was putting it in reverse. I stalled it out more than once.”
The Model A has a three-speed transmission with a floor shifter and clutch that is less confusing to operate. But drivers who are used to revving up their engines before shifting gears may have some trouble getting used to how the Model A moves from low to high at much lower speeds.
The top speed limit in Yosemite is 45 mph, and many sections are posted for 35 mph or less. Woodworth says top speed for a Model T is around 30-35 mph, while a Model A can reach 50 mph.
Woodworth, a retired Baptist minister and real estate investor, got interested in old cars while collecting tent trailers and motor homes dating from the teens, 1920s and `30s. He thought it would be a good idea to own an antique car to pull his old trailers and bought a 1928 Model A 40 years ago.
The trailer and motor home collection, which Woodworth recently sold to the Recreational Vehicle and Manufactured Housing Hall of Fame and Museum in Elkhart, Ind., led to a job as national historian for the recreational vehicle industry. For the past 16 years, Woodworth has traveled around the country, doing media interviews and making public appearances to talk about RV history.
Woodworth has made six cross-country trips in his Model A, and one year, while passing through Lancaster, Pa., he became fascinated by the Amish buggies he saw on the road. He thought motorists might have the same fascination with Model T cars, and decided renting them would be a good hobby business for someone who loves history and nostalgia as much as he does.
The Woodworths designed and built the Tin Lizzie Inn with the cars in mind. There is room for eight in the ground-floor garage. Woodworth owns 10 - eight Model T’s and two Model A’s - and hopes to add two more Model A’s to round out his fleet.
Woodworth does most of the maintenance himself, and recently put a new engine and radiator in his 1928 Model A. Several companies make replacement parts for the old cars, which makes it easier to keep them running.
“You’re always adjusting things,” Woodworth says. “You’re lubing and tightening up nuts and bolts.”
While drivers are on their own once they leave the Tin Lizzie Inn, Woodworth provides them with satellite phones they can use if the cars develop mechanical problems.
“One time, an ignition wire came loose and a car wouldn’t start,” he says. “Another time, a guy ran out of gas. The Model T has no gas gauge. You can get about 150 miles to a tank of gas, which is usually plenty for a trip to Yosemite. But this guy drove all over. He was coming home and going up a hill about five miles from here when the engine quit.”
Woodworth says Model T’s with less-than-full tanks were notorious for getting starved for gas on uphill climbs.
Depending on the slope, he says, Model T drivers used to call steep grades either “seven-gallon” or “five-gallon” hills, referring to the amount of fuel needed in the tank to maintain adequate gas flow to the engine.
Woodworth installed electric fuel pumps to reduce the fuel pressure problems in his cars. He also added distributors and different brakes, but has kept everything else in line with original equipment to make the driving experience as authentic as possible.
“Renting one of these cars gives people a chance to build memories in a unique way,” he says. “How many people can say ‘I’ve driven a real Model T’?”

Selecting The Right Climbing Gear: Harness

By Darron Robbins

A climbing harness attaches you to your climbing rope, so it’s important that you know what harness you will need for the type of climbing you’ll be doing. Your harness should fit your body shape for comfort and safety. There are three general styles of climbing harnesses: Alpine, Sport, and multi-purpose. Construction varies among these categories to meet your specific needs. Women’s and children’s harnesses, for example, have special fit characteristics. The following suggestions will help you find the right harness.

Consider Your Climbing Style

You should first decide the type of climbing that you will do the most often. Once you know your climbing style, you can select the right harness for your needs.

Multi-Purpose – Multi-purpose harnesses are known as all-around, crag or sport harnesses. Multi-purpose harnesses are ideal for beginners because they are designed for a number of climbing applications such as top-roping, sport and gym climbing. Most multi-purpose harnesses have padded leg loops and waistbelts for which provides more comfort, especially if you take a fall. Some multi-purpose harnesses have detachable leg loops which will allow you to detach your legs while remaining attached to the rope. Most climbing harnesses have gear loops for carrying your climbing hardware such as carabiners, chalk bag, quickdraws etc. Multi-purpose harnesses will usually have a front loop that allows you to attach a belay/rappel device.

Alpine – Alpine climbing harnesses are made for long mountain trips. These harnesses are pretty basic and usually have minimal padding and very few extras so that they will be light weight with low bulk. Alpine harnesses are made of non-absorbent materials so that they will withstand the rough environment of glacier and alpine climbing. The waistbelt and leg loops on alpine harnesses are very adjustable to make it easier to get in and out of when the harness is not needed. The leg loops are sometimes removable so you can take potty breaks while staying tied into the rope.

Big Wall – Big wall harnesses are for climbers doing multi-pitch, multi-day climbs like in Zion’s National Park or Yosemite Valley. Big wall harnesses will have lots of padding on the waistbelt and leg loops to relieve pressure during hanging belays or aid climbing. Big wall harnesses will also have multiple gear loops that will help put much of the wait on your harness instead of on your shoulder gear sling. They usually have a full-strength haul loop in back for towing a rope or heavy gear bag.

Competition – Competition harnesses are the best choice for climbing competitions like “On Sight Difficulty” or “Speed” events. Competition harnesses have a slim design and narrow webbing to allow a full range of motion. Most competition harnesses will typically have little padding and few, if any extras.

Compare Types of Harnesses

Leg Loop/Waistbelt — This popular style of harness consists of a padded waist (or “swami”) belt and a pair of leg loops joined together in front with a belay loop. The waistbelt buckles in front or off to the side, and the leg loops are usually held up in back of the harness with elastic straps. Leg loop size may either be fixed or adjustable..

Full Body Harness — Full-body harnesses are designed to keep you safe in a wide range of climbing activities. The harness holds your shoulders as well as your legs, preventing you from slipping out if you rotate upside down during a fall. Since full-body harnesses have a higher tie-in point than seat harnesses, they reduce the chance of flipping over backward in the first place. Full body harnesses are often used in climbing safety courses to ensure the safety of beginners while they are learning to climb.

Chest Harness — Chest harnesses are typically worn only on climbs where you could likely turn upside-down. Falling into a crevasse during a glacier climb or rappelling with a heavy pack are examples of such situations. The chest harness is made to be used in conjunction with a sit harness. The resulting combination is the same as the full-body harness, but with the versatility of adding or removing the chest portion, as needed.

Test Fit Your Harness

Finding a harness that fits you well is essential. If the harness is too tight it will restrict your movement. If your climbing harness is too loose, it will slip, chafe and, in an inverted fall, maybe even let go of you. Just like clothing, different harness brands fit different body shapes better than others. Be sure to find one that works well for you.

Whenever you test-fit a harness, make sure you’re wearing the kinds of clothes you’re likely to be climbing in. If you plan on carrying a pack with you as you climb, wear it as well so you can make sure it doesn’t cause any discomfort when worn with the harness.

The Waistbelt — Your harness waistbelt should be snug, but not too tight that it is uncomfortable. It should ride just above your hips, but it shouldn’t restrict your breathing. You should not be able to pull the harness down over your hips, no matter how hard you try. Children and narrow-hipped adults — if you can’t get a harness to stay above your hip bones, use a full-body harness until your body shape works with a waistbelt-style harness. Be sure that there is at least 3 inches of webbing extending out of the waistbelt buckle once it has been properly secured and doubled back.

Leg Loops — Your harness leg loops should also be snug, but not so tight that it causes discomfort. If they are an adjustable design, the webbing straps should be long enough for you to double them back through their buckles with at least 2 inches left over.

You should be especially careful when fitting a seat harness. If you choose one that’s too small, it will squeeze your hips and legs, reducing mobility. If you choose one that’s too large, the harness may slide up onto your lower ribs, restricting your breathing. You should have between 1 and 3 inches of clearance between the tie-in loops at your waist.

Buckling up and tying-in

Most harnesses use full-strength buckles to join the waistbelt. Read the manufacturer’s instructions carefully and learn how to use your harness and the buckle correctly. If your harness and buckle are not secured properly, you risk injury and possibly even death.

Most harness buckles must be buckled a certain way to be secure. Be sure you follow the recommended procedure every time. In a high risk sport like climbing, you never want to take short cuts. Short cuts and carelessness will put your life at risk. Always double back all webbing straps through your harness buckles. Under the impact force of a fall, webbing straps that are not doubled-back can pull through buckles, causing you to fall out of the harness altogether.

Remember that your harness is only as reliable as the knot you use to tie yourself into it. Make sure you know how to tie into your harness correctly. Read, understand and follow the manufacturer’s instructions that come with the harness. Be careful — different styles have different tie-in procedures. It is your responsibility to know how to use your harness correctly, along with all of your other climbing gear.

Harness Care

Protect your harness from direct sunlight, heat and harsh chemicals like bleach. Wash your harness in cool water with mild, non-detergent soap. Always check your harness before you climb for frayed stitching, cuts or other forms of damage.

Remember that your harness will not last forever. If you climb every weekend, your harness should last a couple of years. The harder you climb and the more often you fall, the weaker your harness will become. Replace your harness whenever it shows signs of wear or damage.

About the Author: Darron Robbins. President of OuterSports, LLC http://outersports.com

Source: www.isnare.com