Yosemite was the first park that took my breath away and moved me to tears. We came out of the mountain upon Tunnel View look-out and like everyone else just pulled over and stared. There was both grandeur and simplicity in the way the rock rose up facing each other, El Capitan on one side and Cathedral Rock on the other with the depths of the valley below. Like a backdrop of a movie, it felt to be a beautifully surreal place.
Asher, looking out and taking it all in asked, “Is this a dream? Or is it real? I can’t tell.”
I was first introduced to Yosemite through the eyes of Ansel Adams, during my grade 10 Photography class. I had randomly picked Ansel Adams to profile for my artist study, with no prior knowledge of who he was or why he was famous. I was drawn into the sharp contrasts of black and white, the wildness of Yosemite, and the patterns of light that seemed to have a story of their own, separate from the subject landscapes. I imagined what it would have taken to capture these places – the planning and knowledge, and patience. The sheer physical exertion of exploring and climbing, reaching sacred places with clear views by which to seize images that would inspire generations of people to protect wild places.
In the middle of the Civil War, in 1864, President Abraham Lincoln paused to sign the first of its kind – legislation to protect a wild place, the Yosemite Valley Grant Act. Inspired by the photographs taken by Carleton Watkins, Lincoln recognized Yosemite as a place that should be held aside, protected, and celebrated. This led the way for the development of other National Parks and Monuments with the continued admiration and respect for protecting and conserving natural places. 50 years after the bill was created, Ansel Adams visited Yosemite at the age of 12 (the same age as my oldest), with his first camera.
He wrote of his first view of the valley: “the splendor of Yosemite burst upon us and it was glorious…. One wonder after another descended upon us…. There was light everywhere…. A new era began for me.”
-Adams, Ansel; Alinder, Mary Street (1985). Ansel Adams, an Autobiography. Boston: Little, Brown.
Looking out over the vista, I felt that same sense of awe. I could understand how Yosemite was special, it looked almost too beautiful. We wound our way down to the bottom to explore among the many other like-minded people doing the same thing. The valley was busy, a slow flow of cars and shuttles constantly moving around the loop, pulling off to take pictures or at trailhead parking areas. It took us a little while to figure out the best way to navigate, as well as narrow down exactly what we wanted to see and explore.
Day 1
We spent the first day exploring Yosemite Valley meadow opposite El Capitan, wading in the river and enjoying a picnic lunch at Sentinel beach, attending the climber’s info talk, and hiking up to touch the base of El Cap which was a strenuous bush climb that took just over an hour to get up but much less to come down! We quickly stopped by the Visitor Center to pick up our Junior Ranger workbooks on the way out. We knew we had a few days to enjoy the park and didn’t want to rush the experience. Before arriving at the park, we had watched National Geographic’s “America’s National Parks” on Yosemite and we were part way through watching “Free Solo,” (both on DisneyPlus) to familiarize ourselves with the environment as well.
“Free Solo” is a documentary about Alex Honnold, a rock climber who scales El Capitan without ropes or harnesses in a free climb. Not only is this extremely dangerous, but it requires vast amounts of dedication, preparation, inner strength, and fortitude to be able to complete such a climb. Alex’s commitment to achieving his dream is in part, enabled because of his brain’s ability to hyper-focus on the task that interests him. It’s important to see representation in tv, films, books and other media of individuals who are uniquely diverse in their abilities. Exposing my kids to neurodivergent individuals is important for their own growing self-identities, as well as developing understanding and respect for people who may be different from them. This also helps them understand how the world may not be made for everyone, how some environments are disabling while others are inclusive. These days we are paying more attention to park videos with closed captioning, wheelchair and other mobility device-accessible pathways, sensory-friendly visiting hours at tourist destinations, fast-track airport lines etc.
My kids were fascinated by Alex’s story. In some ways, because they could relate to certain aspects of his life. Also, rock climbing is cool! And, what Alex did is an incredible accomplishment and we are all a little in awe of his achievement. It was especially meaningful when standing in the meadow staring up at El Capitan, or looking through the telescopes at the climbers perched precariously on the side of the rock face and while listening to the climbing professionals talk about their experiences tackling the giant. While it usually takes 3-5 days to complete the monstrous climb, Alex did the entire thing in just under 4 hours. Incredible! (Though I did tell the kids that if any of them wanted to follow in Alex’s footsteps they needed to do so with a rope!)
Day 2
On the second day, we had a better idea of how the shuttle system worked and the outlay of the valley and had a plan of a few things we wanted to accomplish. We went early to make sure we had the whole day and could find parking for the areas we wanted to access. We parked by the village and walked over to Cooks Meadow Loop, a short flat (accessible) 1.6 km that follows a boardwalk through the meadow where you can see Half Dome, Glacier Point, and Sentinel Rock on the way to Yosemite Falls. From there we joined the Lower Yosemite Falls loop for another 1.6 km and then back to the Visitor Center, in all 5km total with getting to and from the trailheads as we didn’t use the shuttle but used the sidewalk and bike lanes that run throughout the Valley.
Back at the village, we visited the Ansel Adams Gallery, Museum, and the Visitors center. As I mentioned before, Ansel Adams has been a favorite artist of mine for a long time. After spending just a couple of days in Yosemite, I could see why he was drawn to the place. The light that flickers and dances there makes everything seem that much more alive. I would have liked to spend more time exploring the wildness of Yosemite on some longer more remote hikes, but with little adventurers in tow, it’s not always easy to do. The gallery was Ansel Adams’s former residence and studio, persevered and now hosting a multitude of his prints as well as other artwork for sale. We enjoyed the interactive displays at the Visitors center, learning about the history of rock climbing in the area, the geological formations and the development of Yosemite into a tourist destination over time.
The Museum hosted beautiful artifacts from the Ahwahnechee people, as well as modern jewelry that could be purchased. Towards the back of the artifact room, we found an Elder who was demonstrating the traditional way of knapping (breaking apart the rock by force) to form arrowheads, a skinning knife and sharp tools by which to clean a hide. He showed the boys how he turns the rock over and over in his hands, watching for crevasses and areas that will form valleys, how he is most interested in symmetry – both sides being equal in weight and in a uniform shape. How there is a rhythm to flaking the rock and how different tools are used to cut deeper and deeper into the rock, for example, the base of an antler to apply pressure and create a sharp flaked edge. Every useable piece of rock that was flaked off was put in a pile, to be later transformed into arrowheads and other tools. It was fascinating to witness the ancestral practices and we were grateful for the time and attention he took to explain and show the process to the boys.
Day 3
On our last day in Yosemite, Elias and Cole got up super early and went to watch the sunrise together and take photographs. We are all too aware that being 12 years old means he doesn’t always want to play or hang out with his younger brothers, that he needs time and freedom to stretch and grow and that it’s not always easy to do that in such a small space. Photography has been such a good connecting point and Elias and Cole are enjoying these little adventures together.
One day, I will go back to Yosemite – I’m sure of it. I didn’t quite get my fill, but more of a glimpse into what the original guardians; Carleton Watkins, Abraham Lincoln, Galen Clark and Ansel Adams saw and knew was special. One day…
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