A SOLO 4TH OF JULY YOSEMITE TRIP....AND SOME OBSERVATIONS

I went on a spontaneous urging...I just had to...I had been going to Yosemite very regularly since 1995..like 5 or 6 trips per year...until 2010. We sold our cabin on the outskirts of Yosemite at that time....didn’t think it would be that easy to rally the kids to get up there at this point in their lives. Presently, they’d rather stick hot needles in their eyes than go on a 5 hour drive that takes them further away from their friends.

It had been an incredible era for us as a family. My kids grew up with Yosemite as a soundtrack...since they were born. It was in our marrow. Even with the cabin we would often camp in the Valley.

I often made solo trips up there for the rock climbing, especially before the kids came along....so I was very familiar with wandering around the Valley on my own. I have several friends up there who work in the Valley so I will often drop by and chat for a few minutes or spend a few minutes with my climbing buddies...but most often I am on my own.

Companionship is great but as we all know, being alone in a place like Yosemite changes the course of everything. Your mind is in a very different place when you are alone. Every thought you have gets bounced back...it is internalized. The energy never goes out as in a conversation...the time alone allows for introspection, and deeper thought, and much deeper awareness of your surroundings...at least it does for me. You are not focusing on a friend, or group of friends so your focus is more acutely on the other things, and other people who you won’t have a conversation with. On this trip I observed hordes of people, but I didn’t have a conversation with any of them, except for the people who worked the concessions. Yet, it was the people who generally made this trip as entertaining as anything else.

It is a privilege to see other people (strangers) in an environment that is out of their ”comfort zone”, or maybe I should say, ”familiarity” zone. Some are experienced campers but many are experiencing Yosemite for the first time....everything is new to them....many are looking at maps, others are doing the things one does in a place like Yosemite..they have the appropriate clothing and many are walking everywhere with walking poles...like a cross country skier....even when they are just going to buy pizza---when in “Rome”. It is enjoyable to watch. For a moment in time, people are adopting the lifestyle of Yosemite. They are sleeping in a sleeping bag, or a tent cabin...they are hiking the glorious trails...they are observing the nature. Just by watching them in this setting you can get a good glimpse into their lives, and even their upbringing....you can make good guesses, at least. It’s great sociology. I may appear to be alone, but I am very integrated with these other people...we are sharing a common experience...and I am watching, and listening.

This trip that started Friday was a little different...super crowded July 4th weekend...I wasn’t going to be doing any climbing. I had no plans at all....except to make it memorable.

Soon after I arrived I boarded the shuttle bus to Happy Isles. This is in the deepest part of the Valley, at the far eastern border. It is here where you can start many classic hikes in Yosemite, including the hike up to Half Dome, the John Muir Trail, or the short, but very crowded ”Mist Trail” hike. This hike travels alongside Vernal Falls, a large and powerful waterfall....thus the name, ”Mist” trail. I have done this hike dozens of times but I wanted to get my blood pumping on this morning so I headed up....I have never before seen so many people on this hike. It was amusing....it didn’t take away from the serenity or the beauty...not in the slightest. For some reason crowds in Yosemite Valley never affect me...mainly because I know where I can go to find solitude and silence when I need it. Also, I have spent so much of my time there against the gray and gold granite walls that Yosemite represents a peaceful sanctuary for me....always!

Even on the beginner level ”Mist Trail” I am sure I was encountering people who were doing one of the most adventurous things they have ever done in their lives. I was seeing grandparents who were showing themselves, and their family’s, that they still had the adventure spirit in them.....they were among the many who had something to prove...but perhaps none more than the young kids. They could show mom and dad, and their siblings, that they were strong and fearless.

Perhaps more so than at any other time I noticed that Yosemite Valley was an ethnic candy store...picture ”It’s a Small World” at Disneyland. You would almost not know what country you were in....there were a lot of conversations that I observed that weren’t in English....many, actually--german, hindi, portugese, italian.... There were two things about the demographics in the Valley on this trip that were glaring....remarkable! I am rather obsessed with how culture influences groups of people to behave in certain ways. The power of culture in creating group behaviors is fascinating to me....and something I often look at with a critical eye. The first remarkable thing I noticed within the first few hours of my trip, was the large percentage of East Indians. It was stunning how many East Indians I was observing ....on the hikes, etc.. I had never remembered that....I saw many women in the traditional saris...the red dot on the ”spiritual eye”. I saw many beads and invariably I saw flimsy sandals...like the ones you would picture in the streets of India....they weren’t wearing hiking boots or North Face gear....at least not most of them. There were also many people of East Indian descent who were dressed in a more ”western” way....they looked like 2nd generation East Indians....but it was amazing overall....totally disproportionate with their nationwide percentages.... East Indians make up about 1% of U.S. population....yet, I saw hundreds and hundreds in the Valley on this weekend. How can that be explained? It is great to see that people from all over thew world appreciate this amazing natural wonder...sometimes it is easy to conclude that technology is taking us farther away from our natural environment....my trip this weekend (for the moment) partially challenged that notion.

The other remarkable demographic anomaly I noticed was that I didn’t see a single African American person until near the end of the first day. I didn’t see one African American on the ”Mist Trail”. By contrast, African Americans make up 12.2% of the population...that is about 1 in every 8 people on average. I saw thousands and thousands of people and I saw a total of (2) African Americans on the entire trip. How can this be? I saw a large number of Hispanic and Asian Americans....much more commensurate to their populations as a whole (16.4% and 4.7% respectively). Shouldn’t demographic percentages be reflected in our National Parks?

It was troubling to me that I only saw (2) African Americans. It is true that I rarely see African Americans in Yosemite but this was shocking. What could it say? It has to say something profound. Is it that African American culture doesn’t value this type of experience? If so, how is that so enforced on a huge slice of our society? Is there an ethnic, or cultural basis for this pattern? It certainly isn’t coincidental. I saw buddhist monks...dressed in full length orange robes. I saw “little people” (dwarfs). I saw more turbans than you could count on one hand. I only saw (2) African Americans. It certainly can’t be socio-economic. I saw many many people from lower socio-economic groups represented. I didn’t see any Bentley’s or even Range Rovers. I think Yosemite most likely selects for people of all ethnicities who are in lower socio-economic groups....most likely because of the low relative cost of going to a National Park, vs. a European vacation, etc..

I don’t know what to think....I am not even sure I have a guess. I mean, Nature is a universal language....and it is universally accessible...

Anyways, another huge chunk of my trip was spent in the Merced River which runs through the Valley floor. During certain times of the year (usually late spring and early summer) in the river is a great place to be....you can actually float down it’s entire length in a raft. It looks like the funnest thing in the world to be doing....floating down a river with majestic granite walls as the backdrop. It is surreal. I didn’t have a raft so I just sat and swam around in the river...content to watch many others float on past me. I cut out my own private space on a small slice of the riverbank....and spent a good chunk of the afternoon in an elevated state of wonder. In contrast to other parts of the Valley, the riverbank where I was had no one else in the vicinity....I had lots of elbow room...and stillness, enough so that a Stelller’s Jay spent nearly fifteen minutes within ten or so feet of my launch. We were connected in some profound way for those minutes.

I later rented a bike and traversed the north and south edges of the Valley floor...from the Awahnee Hotel to Mirror Lake, Curry Village and the famous Camp IV. I also paused a lot along the way.....while eating slices of salami and cheese.....and roasted almonds...I watched, listened, and even smelled....I actually put all of my five senses to work in one of the world’s most glorious gardens. During every moment of this short trip I never longed to be any place else. Not a speck of anxiety.

I’ll be back.....

p.s. the Steller’s Jay is easily my favorite bird. It is a feisty variation of the blue jay...brazen, loud, and cantankerous as it scours picnic tables and trash cans...(and riverbanks) looking for food (and friendship). I am convinced that the Steller’s Jay is the only bird that will give you ”the finger”.

that photo of Yosemite was taken at that riverbank...my private space for several hours...Yosemite Falls can be seen in the background.