Note that most snakebites occur to people handling the snake or to rock climbers unknowingly placing a hand on a snake-containing ledge.
DEER AND BEARS It is natural to be a little intimidated by Yosemite’s black bears, but they have caused no fatalities and few injuries in Yosemite. All they want is your food. Be sure to store unattended food in bear lockers and keep your lunch and snacks with you at all times. If a bear does get hold of your food, it is hers; don’t try to reclaim ownership of it. On the other hand, the seemingly harmless deer have actually caused several fatalities because people are more likely to attempt to retrieve stolen food from a deer. Heed the advice of signs throughout the park: don’t approach or feed wildlife. Note that all bears in Yosemite are American black bears, but they range in color from light brown to black.
WATERBORNE ILLNESS Water in Yosemite’s streams and lakes may be contaminated with the protozoa Giardia, Cryptosporidium, or with various disease-causing bacteria. Although these contaminants are rare, it is advised that you do not drink untreated water, and instead fill your water containers from taps around the park. The closest water taps to each trailhead are indicated in the trail descriptions.
WINTER WEATHER From November–April, and sometimes even until June, the high-elevation reaches of Yosemite are subjected to strong winter storms, dumping many feet of snow in 24 hours. The roads accessing these regions are closed in winter, so you will not experience quite these conditions. However, the same fronts pass through Yosemite Valley and Wawona, with the colder storms dropping snow and the others drenching rain. During these months, be sure to read the forecast. Unless you have excellent raingear and a heightened sense of adventure, it is best to venture no farther than the well-trodden tracks to Bridalveil Falls or to Lower Yosemite Falls on particularly stormy days.
LEAVE NO TRACE
Yosemite National Park is a national treasure and needs to be left the way you found it—leave only footprints and take only photographs, as the saying goes. You have likely chosen to visit Yosemite so you can unwind from daily life in a spectacular natural setting with limited signs of human visitation, and the next hiker wants to do exactly the same thing.
Most simply, leave no trace means that you take away all your trash, including toilet paper. Human garbage is the ugliest of sights in a wilderness area. But the phrase means more.
Leave no trace means:
Leave the flowers attached to their roots. Nothing is sadder than watching a person yank off a woody stalk of rose spirea from atop Lembert Dome, clearly unaware of how long that branch took to grow, or seeing someone collect an enormous bouquet, only to cast it aside an hour later when it inevitably starts to wilt.
Leave the rocks and pinecones for the next person to look at and enjoy. Let your child carry them for 5 minutes, but then place them back on the ground.
Don’t create new trails or widen existing trails, even if this means getting your feet wet when the trail is boggy.
Decide not to follow use trails, even those described in this book, when they are boggy to avoid creating deep troughs. Constructed trails are hardier under these conditions.
Keep wildlife wild by not feeding squirrels, birds, or other creatures.
And my pet peeve: Don’t collect all the rocks in a meadow and launch them into the nearby lake for fun, as this destroys animals’ homes and exposes the roots of meadow plants, potentially killing them.
As for that toilet paper, bring a small zip-top bag to carry your used supplies and drop it in a garbage can at the end of the day. If your walk is long enough to require a toilet pit, carry a small plastic trowel and dig a 6-inch hole at least 100 feet from trails and water.
HETCH HETCHY RESERVOIR
Regional Overview
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is a symbol of the exploitation of a national park landmark, as well as an aspiration that the construction of the O’Shaughnessy Dam was the last time that one of our national treasures is so compromised. Sad as I am not to see Hetch Hetchy Valley as John Muir once did, this is still a location to visit. The bottom 312 feet of the valley are hidden, but the impressive granite walls rise an additional 2,000 feet, and the enormous body of dark-blue water provides a picturesque foreground. If you have never visited Hetch Hetchy, I strongly encourage you to take the walk to Wapama Falls (Hike 3).
The Hetch Hetchy region has a quite different atmosphere from the rest of Yosemite. There is the wonderful feel of continuous granite slabs and domes that dominates northern Yosemite, just with shorter summits; granite outcrops interspersed with drought-tolerant trees and shrubs are everywhere.
The three walks in this section are best done fall through spring, as they are all at low elevation and summer temperatures are sizzling. Lookout Point (Hike 1) is the easiest walk here for younger children, for Poopenaut Valley (Hike 2) includes a steep climb, and Wapama Falls (Hike 3) is a bit long. However, an energetic 8-year-old child would thoroughly enjoy Wapama Falls. Poopenaut Valley is a scenic location and reaching it is a lovely walk, but it is tough, so head there only if your knees and legs request a workout.
1 Lookout Point
Trailhead Location: Hetch Hetchy entrance station
Trail Use: Hiking
Distance & Configuration: 2.8-mile out-and-back
Elevation Range: 4,750 feet at the start, with 560 feet of ascent/descent
Facilities: A water faucet is located to the side of the buildings just to the right of the entrance station, but no toilet is at the trailhead.
Highlights: Fall colors, views to Hetch Hetchy, and a feel for the foothills
DESCRIPTION
This short hike leads to the summit of a small granite dome from which you can view Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and its surroundings—one of the few at this elevation that provides an expansive vista. Take the walk in the late afternoon for the best lighting. Also wonderful are the fall colors: the orange oak leaves and tall yellow grass.
THE ROUTE
Departing from the southern edge of the ranger’s compound, locate a small trail disappearing south into a stand of tall incense cedars and Jeffrey pines. Just beyond is an unmarked X-junction where you turn left; straight ahead leads to Lookout Point by a much longer route. Heading left, you now parallel a broad turn in the Hetch Hetchy Road—a little frustrating to watch the cars as you walk, but there is no parking where the trail finally diverges from the road (0.5 mile from start).
