Yosemite National Park
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Mariposa Grove Yosemite National Park |
September 13, 2018
Too Many People. That's why this highly popular grove was closed down for three years; the congestion was out of hand. A beautifully designed new shuttle depot and a big parking lot have been constructed a couple of miles from the grove itself. The depot features a small gift shop, but there no longer are any such facilities at the other end.
I'll opt for the Grizzly Giant Loop Trail
Although I am on just the second shuttle run of the day, there are more riders than there are seats.
Entering the sanctuary
The renovation has not been limited to the bus station. Everything in
the grove has been redone — fences, boardwalks, information
kiosks, and trailside interpretive signs. It is a real pleasure to be here
now, just three months after the reopening.
Today I am especially proud of my favorite park
No small part of my current good cheer stems from the knowledge that I am standing
in the world's first-ever parkland. (That's right.
See Addendum.)
Charcoal remains
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As can be seen, visitors are admonished to stay on a trail or boardwalk at all times. Of course, this has become necessary, because there are Too Many People.
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Just ahead is the grove's best-known feature:
The 25th biggest sequoia of them all
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My thanks to these folk
More views of the Grizzly Giant
That's the branch that is bigger than most trees
About a hundred yards from the Grizzly Giant is perhaps the area's favorite attraction:
California Tunnel Tree
In fact, the famous Pioneer Cabin Tree in Calaveras State Park fell in 2017, leaving this one as the only living giant sequoia with a tunnel in it.
Yours Truly
View from the other side
I drove through the old Wawona Tunnel Tree more than once back in the early 1960s, yet have no decent photograph of it. Pshaw.
That high arrow on the tree accommodates winter skiers
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That tree is crooked!
The only flower in evidence today is this Wild Strawberry
Apparently, it gets wet here sometimes
This giant doesn't seem to have a name
This one has been studied extensively:
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§: I am delighted finally to have revisited this grove, for it
had been more than twenty years. I really was remiss, however, in not
walking more of the trails here, because several interesting features were
missed. Had I not been thinking about also exploring Merced Grove later
today — which turned out to be closed, I would have done a more
thorough job at this one. Shame on me.
In any case, being here today made me proud to be an American.
| Scenery |  |
| Difficulty |  |
| Nostalgia |  |
ADDENDUM
America's Best Idea originated in 1864, when President
Lincoln signed a proclamation ceding two parcels of federal land to the State of California,
specifically to be preserved for the benefit of the people — something
that no government had previously done.
Yosemite National Park was created in 1890. Some time later, the two
California parcels, which had become the first-ever state parks, were ceded
back to the feds and absorbed into the newly established national park. Although
it so happens that Yellowstone had been officially inaugurated back in 1872, that
doesn't alter the fact that the now-worldwide land-preservation movement
got its start right here.
Why? Because the two parcels specified in the 1864 Grant Act were the
Yo-semite Valley and — you guessed it —
the Mariposa Big Tree Grove.
