Yosemite: Hetch Hetchy, After the Flood

(Continued from Yosemite: Hetch Hetchy, Before the Flood)

Featured Photo: “Hetch Hetchy Reservoir with Granite Peaks”  Yosemite National Park, California—2023

After another peaceful night listening to the gentle roar of the Merced River through the screen door that led to the balcony of our hotel room, we woke early—as planned—for our drive to Hetch Hetchy. Pausing briefly to enjoy the morning view from the balcony—without so much as a single photo—we left our room and walked to the little grocery store beside the hotel lobby for a cup of coffee to go. We also picked up another lunch, consisting of a sandwich and chips to share later in the day.

It was Monday, October 16, 2023, and the hotel parking lot was nearly empty; most of the other guests had packed up the day before to return to their normal lives and work routines. Meanwhile, my sister and I—enjoying our retirement to the fullest—headed to our car, walking past the deserted Tesla charging stations, as they gradually ascended left to right, following the contour of the ground. In the dim light of dawn, even they seemed photo-worthy.

Entering Yosemite at the Arch Rock Entrance for the last time on the trip, we drove toward our breakfast destination back in Yosemite Valley. But before we arrived there, the lingering traces of the controlled fire clouded our vision again, momentarily diminishing the iconic features of Yosemite Valley: El Capitan…

…Bridalveil Fall…

…and the Three Brothers, with green-needled pine trees—trunks now burned black by the fire—mirroring the arrow-like shape of the granite peaks.

Thankfully, the air and our view were smoke-free when we parked near the Yosemite Valley Lodge and once again entered the Base Camp Eatery. We approached the self-order kiosks and quickly glanced at the menu, each of us choosing the breakfast sampler—a hearty portion of scrambled eggs, hash brown potatoes, a choice of meat (bacon for my sister, sausage for me), and a decent croissant. Suitably satisfied with our morning meal and fortified with a second cup of coffee, we left the restaurant and upon reaching the parking lot, I again made the blissful blunder of looking up, as I had done two days prior. I captured another picture of Yosemite Valley’s granite wall and evergreen trees on this Monday morning…

…that was nearly identical to the one I took from the same location on Saturday…

…with only a few slight differences: in the photo from Monday, the craggy surface of the rock appeared even sharper, the trees darker, the sunlight brighter, and the sky bluer, absent the wisps of clouds and the jet vapor trail we’d seen previously.

Back in the car, we set our destination as Hetch Hetchy and hit the road. A century-and-a-half ago, describing his first visit in 1871, John Muir said the trek from Yosemite Valley to Hetch Hetchy—as the crow flies—is “eighteen or twenty miles in a northwesterly direction, but by the only trail, the distance is not less than forty miles.” I believe our journey to Hetch Hetchy may have followed a trail similar to the one Muir described. Unlike Muir, our terminus would be the O’Shaughnessy Dam, which was constructed after his death.

Our route to Hetch Hetchy followed a jagged, clockwise arc from the Yosemite Valley Lodge, positioned at about 5:00 on the clockface, to the dam and reservoir, at about the 11:00 position—a journey of just over 40 miles, which took just under an hour-and-a-half to drive. The trip began as had our expedition to Tuolumne Meadows the day before, as we climbed from the valley floor on Big Oak Flat Road, passing through a few short tunnels. About half-way between the valley and Tioga Road, I pulled over for a photo, looking out across a clearing in the direction (I believe) of our hotel back in El Portal.

When we reached the junction with Tioga Road, rather than turning as we had before, we continued on Big Oak Flat Road, which soon led us outside the national park boundary, until we turned at another intersection. A few miles along Evergreen Road, we crossed a small bridge that gave us a quick glimpse of the South Fork Tuolumne River. Farther along the road, I stopped to take a picture of an empty cabin, not because it was particularly interesting, but rather it was the first reminder of the possible presence of people we’d seen for a while on our far-flung drive.

Continuing on, as the trees receded and large meadows emerged, we approached signs warning us to slow down, then rumbled over cattle guards—metal grates a few feet wide—as we crossed into a large, fenced area. The road got rougher and seemed little better than dirt and gravel. There were a few cows in the distance of the open range, a reminder of the historical grazing of livestock in the High Sierras, in and around Yosemite. A quarter mile farther along, we slowed to cross the mirror image of the first metal cow guard to leave the enclosed meadow.

We turned off Evergreen Road and continued onto Hetch Hetchy Road, which carried us back again into Yosemite, where we stopped at the small, isolated Ranger Station.

Sliding the glass panel back and leaning out the open window, the Ranger on duty looked at our Senior Pass, then asked how long we planned to be in the park. We said it was only a day trip, to which he quickly, but courteously informed us, “Unlike other areas of Yosemite, the road to Hetch Hetchy is open only during daylight hours. The gate closes at sunset, so you’ll need to be out by about 5 o’clock.” We assured him we would be. In the end, we only spent an hour-and-a-half at Hetch Hetchy. And with what I know now, I imagine the gate closing is for security reasons, to safeguard the drinking water held in the reservoir for the residents of San Francisco.

There is only one road into Hetch Hetchy, and the same road out. We followed the narrow, winding, paved route away from the Ranger Station and 20 minutes later, I stopped when we saw an interesting split rock formation.

A few minutes farther along, I stopped again as we got our first view of the Hetch Hetchy reservoir…

…it seemed far off in the distance and well below our elevation. Ten minutes later, we were making our descent on the curved road to get to the level of the reservoir, and I stopped again along the low retaining wall for another photo.

After 15 more minutes, the road leveled out as we reached a rest area, which marked the start of a one-way driving loop of about a mile to reach the dam. I remember seeing a sign that first informed me (before my later research) of the reservoir’s role as water supply for the Bay Area. Driving half-way around the loop, we pulled into one of the designated parking spaces along the road near the massive O’Shaughnessy Dam. We were only slightly concerned when we saw a construction crane at work just beyond the other parked cars, at the point where we would start our walk along the dam’s crest at the edge of the man-made reservoir.

We heeded the directions from the construction workers in hard-hats to safely navigate around the crane, then began walking along the 910-foot span of the dam, looking to our left—across…

…down…

…and beyond the dam’s towering, concrete façade.

Then we turned and looked to our right—across the railing…

…and out over the reservoir (today’s Featured Photo), toward the granite peaks and walls, which still stood high above the flooded valley floor. Mid-way across the dam, we paused for a selfie…

…then continued our walk along the curved crest of concrete. That was when we began to wonder what might lie beyond the darkened, gaping entrance to the rough-cut tunnel in the rock on the other side of the dam.

(To be continued…)