Our final Yosemite destination last weekend was Hetch
Hetchy, my second visit to this remarkable and controversial valley at the
northern end of Yosemite
National Park . The valley
is beautiful despite the reduction in its dimensions and grandeur by the
controversial decision to build a dam and flood the valley a century ago. I
cannot help but feel some sadness over that outcome, one that John Muir vigorously opposed in his last days. Only he and others of that era saw the
valley before it was drown to satiate San
Francisco ’s thirst for water. I can only hope that the
valley will be restored someday, with the water supply and hydroelectric energy
the dam provides being provided elsewhere, though that presently doesn’t seem
politically or legally likely.
Farther up the valley, beyond the reach of the dam lies an
area of the park known as the “Grand Rapids of
the Tuolumne River ”, a backpacking destination that I
hope I can visit someday. Backcountry wilderness trails crisscross the area to
the north and south of Hetch Hetchy.
Crossing over the dam and through a tunnel blast into rock,
a trail starts at the northern end of the reservoir heading along the west rim
of the valley. The vegetation along the slopes is as much chaparral and shrub
as forest, with manzanita, bay laurels, and oaks in abundance. At the four km point
from the parking lot one reaches Wapama
Falls which crashes down
a steep granite face at the northern end of the valley. There are some pools
near the base of the falls before it descends a bit further to reach the
reservoir. Though not many plants are in bloom at this season in Yosemite , the rocky wetland gardens where the trail
crosses the falls had a population of small attractive bright yellow flowers of
the monkey flower genus Mimulus.
Wapama Falls on the north side of the Hetch Hetchy valley in the spring of 2011 (left) and fall of 2017 (right). |
Flowers of Mimulus floribundus near pools at the base of Wapama Falls. |
Hetch Hetchy has been described as a companion valley to the
much more famous and visited Yosemite Valley
to the south. John Muir described it thus: “…it is a wonderfully exact
counterpart of the great Yosemite , not only in
its crystal river and sublime rocks and waterfalls, but in the gardens, groves,
and meadows of its flowery, park-like floor”.
Views of the Hetch Hetchy Valley today from the north rim of the valley. At right in center of photo is Kolana Rock. |
Presently it is hard to gauge the original dimensions of the
valley, but historical photos of the valley show its former glory. About 100 meters of water cover the valley floor currently. Taber’s historical photo from
1908 shows meadows (some perhaps actively grazed), wetlands, and a meandering Tuolumne River on the valley floor. Another photo
taken a few years later farther up stream depicts the beautiful canyon and its
forested and rocky slopes.
The Hetch Hetchy Valley in 1908 before dam construction. Wapama Falls can be seen at center right in. Photo by Isaiah Taber, published in the Sierra Club Bulletin. Source. |
Historical photo of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River by F. Matthes of the USGS in about 1914. The photo faces west towards the valley with Kolana Rock at center. Source. |
Crossing over the dam to the north side of the reservoir, none
of the information placards I viewed that are placed to inform the public show
any such historical photos of what Hetch Hetchy looked like before its burial,
something I note with some cynicism. With its swelling population and
capricious annual precipitation, a reliable water supply is critical for California . However, there
are alternatives to a dam at Hetch Hetchy, but like so many issues in
conservation, the choice comes down to priorities and values. At a minimum we
can strive to ensure that another decision like Hetch Hetchy is never made
again in our most cherished national landscapes.
References
Wenk E. 2015. Wildflowers
of the High Sierra and John Muir Trail. Wilderness Press, Birmingham , AL .
Worster D. 2008. A
Passion for Nature. The Life of John Muir. Oxford
University Press, New York , NY .
The O'Shaughnessy Dam as seen from the southwest on the drive towards Hetch Hetchy Valley. |
Interesting... I brought a class from Maine to Hetch hetchy (and then on over the Sierra & down through Death Valley, Utah & Arizona)in September and October of this year. Our focus was wilderness, Natural History and Public Lands. We had done the class once before, three years ago, and I was struck by how much MORE water there was going over Wapama Falls than we had seen in 2014. We had a long debate (which continues) about the dam and Yosemite & whether weirdly enough the dam might have in a sense "saved" Hetch hetchy from the massive industrial tourism we found next door. There was literally a line to wait in to get up Vernal Falls, whereas we met maybe 15 people the whole day we spent at Hetch Hetchy... I am not advocating "dams for conservation" but there are unintended consequences at times...
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