Hetch Hetchy 2008

The best way to start this trip report is with words from none other than John Muir, who created and defined the wilderness preservation movement.

"Yosemite is so wonderful that we are apt to regard it as an exceptional creation, the only valley of its kind in the world but Nature is not so poor as to have only one of anything. Several other Yosemite's have been discovered in the Sierra that occupy the same relative positions on the Range and were formed by the same forces in the same kind of granite. One of these, the Hetch Hetchy Valley..."

John Muir called it Tuolumne Yosemite and stood it side by side as an exact counterpart of Merced Yosemite, with " sublime rocks and waterfalls... gardens, groves and meadows of its flowery park-like floor." It is a shame not to be able to see the lower magnificence of this flooded valley, but what still exists is awe inspiring. Among the prominent features are Kolana Rock, Le Conte Point and the Wapama and Tueeulala falls.

We made three days trips into the valley, each with it's own unique flavor. Sunday was a Naturalist hike with Christine White Loberg, an experienced Park Ranger and photographer. Monday was an early morning hike with John Senser to capture the essence of wildflower photography, and soak in his archeological and historical knowledge of the Sierra. And Tuesday was topped off with an energetic hike to the waterfalls for evening light photography with Christine again. The weather was hot but we made good use of the overflowing Wapama falls shower to cool off.