Thus far, I may have portrayed hiking in Yosemite as nearly ideal and this is not really my intent. Yosemite (and all of the National Parks I have visited) are beautiful places with special qualities. They each have their own “personality” if that word can be used in this context. Arches is unlike most of the others and remains near the top of my favorites list. Zion is so vast and varied; truly a marvel. I could go on and on, but I think I have made the point.
We must keep in mind that whenever and wherever we have crowds of people, there will be the less glamorous side of the experience and our National Parks are not immune. Someone has to take care of the trash, the porta-potties, etc. and this is not always done to our personal preferences. We must remember that it is not possible or desirable to have a flush toilet on the top of Half Dome. There are some decent bathrooms, when considering park standards, at Glacier Point and other out-of-the-way locales.
As we hiked through the many trails at Yosemite, we would come across certain areas that were less than scenic or may have had some recent litter. The parks need to rely on everyone to carry their trash out and most comply. There are always exceptions.
Not every inch of the park can be groomed. It is a natural environment so there are going to be fallen trees, rocks and boulders in places that become inconvenient and trails that may be a bit circuitous. We need to keep in mind that this is nature. Natural environments are not necessarily the most comfortable for humans.
The picture above is a field across from Bridalveil Fall which sits directly opposite of El Capitan. El Cap looms so large that it often looks closer than it is. This field was a wild place with fallen trees and large rocks that can be seen in the foreground. It is perhaps a bit unsightly, but El Capitan still manages to provide an umbrella of grandeur over the area.
We always need to remind ourselves that this is not a man-made amusement park. It is a place of nature with all the attributes that encompasses.
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.
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Meta Data – Day 137 YOY – Year of Yosemite
File Name: 0269.NEF
Capture time: 6:39:08 PM
Capture date: June 7, 2016
Exposure: 1/15 sec @ f/16
Focal Length: 18mm
ISO 160
Nikon D3300