above: The O’Shaunessey Dam with the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.
When one thinks of Yosemite, images of the valley with the impressive rock faces of El Capitan and Half Dome come to mind. One rarely thinks of it’s twin – Hetch Hetchy, the valley to the North, that was home to the native Miwok tribe and is now under water.
Hetch Hecthy in the Miwok language means – a grass with edible seeds that grows in the valley. The valley was described by John Muir as “a grand landscape garden, one of nature’s rarest and most precious mountain temples”. So, being such a precious place, why did humans flood the valley and turn it into a reservoir?
The impetuous came after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake in which the city’s water supply was disrupted. The city was looking for a more reliable water supply and source of electricity for the growing population. The answer, unfortunately, was to dam up the Tuolumne River and flood the Hetch Hetchy Valley. John Muir was not happy about this and fought for years along with the Sierra Club to stop the proposed project. “These temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism, seem to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and, instead of lifting their eyes to the God of the mountains, lift them to the Almighty Dollar. . . . Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks the people’s cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.” The project was approved in 1913. John Muir died in 1914, some say, of a “broken heart”.
above: Outlet to the dam.
We had not originally planned to go to Hetch Hetchy. Only 50,000 of the 3.4 million yearly visitors to Yosemite ever do. But, the campgrounds were full in the valley which left us in one of the parks less desirable campgrounds 20 miles away. So, we decided to explore that part of the park instead which included Hetch Hetchy and the Tuolumne Meadow. We spent a day at each.
We did a short hike at Hetch Hetchy which included walking over the dam and through a tunnel that was part of the railroad that was built to bring supplies to the building site. The old railroad bed is now a trail that runs along the rim of the reservoir. As we hiked, I tried to imagine the valley without the 300ft of water that now covers it. As in Yosemite Valley, there are high granite cliffs and waterfalls which would be even more impressive if they were to extend to the valley floor.
We also drove to the headwaters of the Tuolumne River at the Tuolumne Meadow. The drive took us past Tenaya Lake and interesting rock formations with erratics (giant boulders deposited curiously in strange places by glacial activity) strewn everywhere. The meadow was a completely different landscape than everything we had seen on the drive. It was flat with native grasses and a gentle meandering river running through it.
left: Tenaya Lake
left: The Big Dude stands on an “erratic”.
Our disappointment at not getting a camping site in the valley was turned into an opportunity to see a beautiful part of the park we wouldn’t have otherwise seen. And a history lesson on the evolution of the park, technically the first national park since it was put aside for public use before Yosemite.
left and below: Tuolumne Meadow
I am happy to report that there has been a movement to return Hetch hetchy to it’s original state, to remove the dam and restore it to the “precious mountain temple” of John Muir’s time. The decision will be made in 2012. I hope it passes as I would love the opportunity to see what John Muir saw.
“rock walls….their brows in the sky, their feet set in the groves and gay flowery meadows, while birds, bees, and butterflies help the river and waterfalls to stir all the air into music” John Muir
For more information: www.hetchhetchy.org