Trailblazer: Notes from Yosemite

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Greetings from Yosemite, and more specifically from the Pate Valley, where the weather, it seems, is hot and dry. Since we moved to Pate Valley on the 22nd of June, it has only rained on us once. The Tuolumne River has dropped about 2 feet in that time period also. However, it is still sustaining us with the water we need to both drink and bathe.

With the dry weather, forest fires are burning. At this time, there is one just four miles up-river from our campsite. So, at times, smoke fills the canyon, looking like fog.

In Yosemite, they don’t put out naturally occurring forest fires because it is good for restoring the environment. This one is not really being put out due to the fact that it was started by lightning. The fire has also closed the trail from Pate Valley to Glenn Aulin High Sierra camp. This trail is the one we live next to and work on, so it has been weird not to see any tourists or hikers for the past week or so.

At work, we have been mostly doing rock work at two sites. One site has been an erosion control wall and rip-rap on the trail. The other site, the one I have been working at, is a complete alteration of the trail. The pre-existing trail ran right along the bank of the Tuolumne River. But, a few years ago, a giant rock slide occurred, and where the boulders landed in the water, altered the path of the river onto the pre-existing trail. So for half the year, when the river is high, the trail is under water.

The new trail had to be up higher from the water. The only problem is, where we needed the trail, there was a 100-ton boulder in the way. So, we brought in a former CCC back country foreman and an authorized detonator to blow up the boulder.

This process is rather tedious. The first process is examining the boulder and getting all of its dimensions to figure out both how much and where the explosives should be located. This ensures an efficient and safe blast. Then holes must be drilled into the boulder anywhere from 3- to 5-feet deep. Then the explosives are mixed and put into the holes. As I am not an authorized detonator, I did not take part in this process. I was a trail guard to make sure no tourist or hikers came near the site. All-in-all, we did four blasts over a two-week period, and the boulder is now gone. After each of the blasts though, we had to clear away blown-up rock and separate where the boulder was cracked.

We have also been building wall at this site. The wall rocks each weigh about 300 pounds and must be moved with rock bars. It is also a slow and tedious process. But once the walls are in, they should not move for a couple hundred years, so it was worth it.

This work is very physically taxing. I am constantly sore and tired. It is also work that requires a lot of communication and patience. Working with boulders this size, it is necessary for safety’s sake.

On the last several weekends, I have been to some beautiful places. Last weekend, the beginning of August, we ventured to Rogers Lake and through Rogers Meadow. A few people in the group I went with climbed Volunteer Peak. I stayed at the lake and swam.

Probably the most beautiful lake I have been to was Benson Lake. They call the lake the “Riviera of the Sierra.” There is a nice sand beach to camp on, and the weather was inviting. Our group just laid out on the beach and relaxed for much of the weekend. Surrounding the lakes are just high mountain peaks 360 degrees. A few of us also did some cliff jumping, which was exciting.

One final event was Thanksgiving. Since we leave here in September, we will not celebrate Thanksgiving together. Our cook, Holly, really outdid herself on this one. There were three turkeys, stuffing, gravy, homemade or back country made cheese balls and loaves of bread. Then to top it all off, three pumpkin pies. It was wonderful, and it seems rather impossible, with the little propane run oven we have. So this back country Thanksgiving was a Thanksgiving I will always remember.

Correspondence to Brian Taylor can be sent to the following address: Brian Taylor, Fickler Crew, P.O. Box 515, Yosemite National Park, Calif. 95389.