Yosemite Reservations

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HETCH HETCHY: YOSEMITE’S FLOODED TREASURE
Thomas Atkins
29 May 2008
Sierra Mountain Times
With the waterfalls reaching their celebrated climax in May and June, visitors are flocking to Yosemite Valley, cramming between the granite walls like sardines to witness the spectacular performance – while less than 25 miles away, a similar valley seems to go unnoticed. Although smaller and more compact, Hetch Hetchy Valley, located in the northeast corner of the park, was often referred to as Yosemite’s twin, and many believed it rivaled the magnificent Yosemite Valley. However, the beauty competition between the two valleys came to a bitter end in the early 1920s when the Tuolumne River was dammed and the Hetch Hetchy Valley was flooded, drowning out the competition and making Yosemite Valley the preferred choice for a sightseeing destination. Over 80 years later this still rings true, and the majority of cars traveling along Highway 120 seem to ignore the exit to Hetch Hetchy, and continue to the overcrowded Yosemite Valley. I must admit that until a few years ago, I too was ignorant of the treasures Hetch Hetchy withheld and was not easily swayed from my familiar destination. Keeping my car on the road well traveled, I would spend most of my adventures within the confines of Yosemite Valley’s granite chambers, sharing the views with thousands of other sardines. However, after my first trip to Hetch Hetchy, this all changed, as I found myself falling in love with Yosemite’s flooded treasure.

During my first visit to Hetch Hetchy I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I could tell by the road leading into the valley, it was going to be an adventure. Chiseled through solid granite, the road twisted and turned, slowly spiraling down into the rocky depths of the Tuolumne River canyon. After catching glimpses of my destination from breathtaking viewpoints along the way I was eager to reach the end of the road. Twenty minutes later I found myself in a nearly empty parking lot a few hundred yards from the infamous dam and reservoir. Passing only a few Forest Service huts, I was impressed at the valley’s lack of services and facilities, and was pleasantly satisfied with its humble offering of spectacular scenery and peace and quiet. Without dozens of buildings and tour buses I found it to be a much more wild and rugged valley than Yosemite…exactly what I was searching for! I was truly impressed at the raw beauty that surrounded me and couldn’t believe that I had bypassed this magnificent canyon for so long!
Standing on the massive dam I was in awe as I soaked in the stunning panorama of the valley. Kolana Rock stood tall and proud like a sentry over the southern edge of the valley while Tueeulala and Wapama Falls splashed into the sky-blue reservoir as they spilled over the northern wall. For awhile the captivating beauty made me forget the mound of man-made concrete I was standing on, but as I stared into the 400-foot deep reservoir I couldn’t help but wonder what it would’ve looked like without the ominous wall and what it must have been like to first discover this valuable valley.
Historians believe that the first white man to discover this astonishing Sierra secret was either Nate or Joe Screech, who stumbled upon it during a bear hunting expedition in the late 1840s. Yet of course the valley was no secret to the Paiute and Ahwahneechee Indians who for centuries made yearly visits to this ancient canyon to gather acorns. The Indians however did wish to keep it a secret to outsiders and when one of the brothers asked the Indian chief who claimed the land in the area about this wondrous valley, the wise chief acted ignorant and told the brother that he had never seen such a valley. But the chief also added that if the brother could find a valley like the one he had described, it would be his. To the chief’s dismay, in 1850 Nate Screech managed to descend into this ‘unknown’ valley where he found the chief – and true to his word the chief left the valley to Screech as promised. Over time Joe Screech blazed the first trail into the valley from Big Oak Flat, some 38 miles away, allowing sheepherders and cattleman to graze their stock in the fertile valley meadows on the banks of the meandering Tuolumne River. Because there were few oak trees in the higher elevations, Indians continued to harvest acorns and seeds in the valley, and the name of Hetch Hetchy was created by Screech’s English version of the Indian word ‘hatchatchie,” meaning a variety of grass with edible seeds.
In 1870 John Muir made his first exploration of the valley now named Hetch Hetchy, calling it “A grand landscape garden, one of Nature’s rarest and most precious mountain temples.” However, during this time this ‘temple’ was being eyed by San Francisco engineers who were prowling the Sierra for reliable sources of drinking water to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding population. After studying 14 possible Sierra water sources, they chose Hetch Hetchy’s Tuolumne River in 1901, resulting in one of the stormiest conservation fights in history. The next 12 years, Muir, the Sierra Club and other preservationists battled to keep the valley from being dammed and flooded…which never should have been able to happen in the first place considering Yosemite was already protected and designated a national park in 1890. Nevertheless, due to the Raker Act passed by President Woodrow Wilson (who had never seen the valley), water rights on the Tuolumne River were granted to the city in 1913.
To Muir and most preservationists it didn’t make sense to tame an untouched wilderness to supply water to a growing city 150 miles away, or to violate a public domain supposedly protected by federal law, and to Muir, “this was the single most tragic of all man’s abuses of nature, one that meant the destruction of a wild valley as dear as Yosemite itself. Damming Hetch Hetchy was like damming a cathedral or church, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.” Yet sadly, Muir’s beloved valley was defiled and by 1923 the waters of the mighty Tuolumne River were held captive behind O’Shaughnessy Dam.
The dam, named after the chief engineer, was built between 1919 and 1923 and was part of the largest project ever attempted in the West at that time. Despite the controversy, there is no denying that the Hetch Hetchy Water Project was an engineering masterpiece.
Spanning nearly 20 years the project brought Sierra water by gravity flow to San Francisco through an extraordinary vast and complex system of reservoirs, canals, dams, flumes, tunnels, pipes and aqueducts. Even a railroad was created to services its mind-boggling construction needs and huge workers camps. The dam alone required almost four years, 24 hours a day in all seasons to pour concrete hauled in by the Hetch Hetchy Railroad. The original project cost up until 1934 when water first reached San Francisco was $100 million! Yet to insure more water capacity, the dam was raised another 85 feet between 1935 and 1938, bringing it to its present height.
Today, this monstrous dam is 364-feet high and spans 910 feet from canyon wall to canyon wall creating an 8-mile long reservoir which imprisons 306,000 acre-feet of water (or 117 billion gallons!) - insuring a supply of 400 million gallons of water per day for drinking, power and irrigation. Water from the dam provides 85 percent of San Francisco’s total water needs and serves 2.4 million Californians in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Alameda Counties, as well as some communities in the San Joaquin Valley. It also generates electricity for San Francisco. Because Hetch Hetchy is a municipal water supply and its water is not filtered, swimming and boating are prohibited. However, fishing is allowed as long as it is done from the shore.
For fishing enthusiasts and hikers, the best place to get started is at the far end of the dam where a path leads through a 500-foot lighted tunnel. Starting at an elevation of 3,800 feet, the trail stays relatively level as it meanders above the reservoir. On a hot spring day the most popular hike is the 2.5-mile hike to the base of 1400-foot Wapama falls where one can enjoy its cooling mist. Those interested in a longer, more strenuous trek can continue across the bridges at the base of Wapama Falls and follow the trail for another four miles to reach Rancheria Falls. Bring plenty of water and a picnic and take advantage of these impressive waterfall hikes while runoff is at its peak!
For those who have never witnessed this wild and magnificent valley, be sure to take a detour the next time you are heading to Yosemite Valley…you won’t be disappointed. Dammed it may be, but Hetch Hetchy is not nearly as damned as many believe – it is still a spectacular place!

NATIONAL PARKS OFFER PLENTY OF PLAY
Fresno Bee
27 May 2008
The Aguirres were not camping people. We did not pack the car with gear to enjoy nature and visit the outdoors.
I theorized it was because my parents had grown up working in fields. Having fulfilled the American dream of homeownership, why would they want to go outdoors to see trees (even extra-tall ones) when there’s one in the backyard?
It turns out Hispanics here aren’t visiting our national parks at the same rate as non- Hispanics. Only 10% of visitors to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks were of Hispanic descent, according to a 2002 survey. While Hispanics represent nearly 50% of Fresno County’s population, only 8% of visitors to Yosemite in 2005 were Hispanic.
“I think it’s a matter of Hispanics not being plugged into camping information or not having friends who camp,” says Philip Hoelzel, author of the 80-page guide “Como Acampar” ["How to Camp"] ($12.95).
Hoelzel, who is bilingual, will pro- mote the wonders of the great out- doors at National Parks Family Day, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at Roeding Park. And no, you don’t have to be Hispanic to attend.

The free event will feature park rangers discussing nature, wildlife and the history of national parks. In addition to music and dance performances (not by the park rangers), folks can enter to win one of 400 free day passes to the parks.
Hoelzel, 39, experienced a childhood filled with camping trips in Florida, North Carolina, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. He’d like more families to take in the scenery.
(During a phone interview, I didn’t have the heart to tell Hoelzel that we have never taken Natalie to Yosemite. She enjoys lording this fact over us, too.)
Hoelzel suggests shorter outings for non-outdoorsy types like me.
“You can get away for the day and have a picnic or go fishing,” he says. “You can hike in Sequoia. You’re creating family memories, and you don’t even have to camp.”
The Chicago native recalls camp- ing with his family from kindergarten to his high school years.
“I enjoyed the fishing and learning about the outdoors from park rangers. We would star gaze and tell jokes around the campfire,” he says.
Fresno resident Laura M. Guzman Magill, who was raised camping, has enjoyed family trips to Yosemite. “We love Yosemite and taking day or overnight trips and staying in the campgrounds.”
She says they ride rental bikes, go ice skating, watch the waterfalls or swim in the river.
If others travel great distances to see Yosemite, she says, why wouldn’t locals visit the park? Her family’s last Christmas card showed them at Yosemite. She was surprised 99.9% of friends didn’t recognize the Glacier Point landmark.
“We really appreciate the beauty that surrounds the valley,” she says. “We had a great time when we took our trip for our Christmas photo. With no electronics, we all just sat by the fire, made dinner over the fire, roasted marshmallows into the late night and talked. How often can you do that with teens these days?”
For more info on the event at Roeding Park, go to www.npca.org/familyday.

U.S. parks keep sister ties in other nations
Michael Doyle
The Fresno Bee
3 May 2008
Four years after the National Park Service curtailed international travel when Congress complained about foreign junkets, semi-grounded park officials are improvising to maintain ties with colleagues abroad.
The move saved money and political heartache, but it also complicated park diplomacy.
Now, officials at parks like Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon must find other ways to keep up meaningful relations with sister parks in other countries.

“Hopefully, we’re not so arrogant to think that we in the United States know everything there is to know about the protection of natural resources,” said Craig Axtell, superintendent of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
In theory, sister parks help each other out. Parks trade tips, swap rangers and find common ground. They are becoming more popular.
In October 2006, for instance, Cambodian and U.S. officials convened at Giant Forest to sign an agreement linking Sequoia and Kings Canyon with Cambodia’s Samlaut Protected Area.
The five-page agreement calls for park managers to share law enforcement “methods and techniques,” environmental education ideas, fire management tactics and more.
The agreement further anticipates “short-term personnel exchanges” between the U.S. parks and Samlaut, a 148,263-acre mountainous area in northwestern Cambodia.
In late January, Axtell and five other U.S. representatives traveled to Samlaut. Axtell said the Cambodian affiliation could help Sequoia and Kings Canyon to reach out to the San Joaquin Valley’s sizable Asian population.

Last year, Yosemite officials signed similar sister park agreements with parks in Chile and China. Nationwide, about three dozen cross-border sister park deals exist.
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area near San Francisco is tied to parks in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. The John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez is linked to the one-time United Kingdom home of the Scottish-born conservationist.
“There are a lot of benefits,” Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said.
“It provides us with different perspective. It offers an exchange of ideas.”
Yosemite Superintendent Mike Tollefson traveled to China’s Huangshan National Park and Chile’s Parques Nacional Torres del Paine in mountainous Patagonia to endorse the respective sister park deals.
The National Park Service would not pay for Tollefson’s overseas trips.
Instead, Tollefson had to rely on corporate contributions donated through the nonprofit Yosemite Fund.
“We’ve been fortunate, here in Yosemite, to have private funding for those kinds of trips,” Gediman said.
Axtell’s National Park Service team had its way to Cambodia paid for by the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which helps manage Samlaut. The foundation is supported by Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
The foundation paid for two teams of Cambodian park rangers to visit Sequoia and Kings Canyon, and more Cambodian rangers will be coming this summer.
“Had it not been for that funding, it would have been very, very difficult” to travel, Axtell said.
In fact, the agreement linking Samlaut, Sequoia and Kings Canyon specifies that “all travel costs” for National Park Service employees “will be sought from funds” outside of the federal government. Other sister park agreements face identical travel constraints.
Axtell said the private funding makes sense, given the other pressing needs facing his parks. It would be difficult, he said, to justify using limited public funds for travel to Asia.
Such concerns prompted the curtailment in international travel.
In the 2003 fiscal year, National Park Service employees made 194 trips to foreign locations at a cost to U.S. taxpayers of $324,231, an Interior Department Office of Inspector General audit found.
Headquarters staff accounted for many of the trips, traveling to China, France, South Africa and Japan, among other countries.
Officials further noted a “steadily increasing number of trips” overseas starting in the late 1990s, according to the Government Accountability Office. Auditors warned that poor accounting and oversight made it difficult to accurately monitor the foreign travel, and lawmakers quickly amplified the message.
“It doesn’t help to have a herd of bureaucrats spending goodness-knows-how-much public money for a junket,” then-Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., told reporters at the time.
Facing bipartisan congressional ire, the park service’s then-director Fran Mainella essentially banned foreign travel for agency employees.
In recent weeks some park advocates have quietly broached on Capitol Hill the possibility of allowing more foreign travel for sister parks. Stephan D. Bognar, a Canadian who oversees Cambodian programs for the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, helped make the pitch for liberalizing park service travel policies.
“The United States has something to offer to the world,” Bognar said.
“We can actually bring park management experience to other countries.”