Another side of Yosemite: Hetch Hetchy
As a sort of father's day trip, my dad and I went to Yosemite on Saturday. Yeah, I know that I was just there, but we spent most of our time at Hetch Hetchy instead of in the valley. Hetch Hetchy is where San Francisco gets its drinking water from. It's pumped all the way over the hills, across the central valley, around the bottom of the bay, and into a reservoir near San Mateo.
Hetch Hetchy itself is kind of like Yosemite Valley full of water. It's not as impressive but it's still pretty nice. You can hike along one side of it, reaching several waterfalls. The hike was more difficult than advertised, but it was worth the pain in my opinion. The trail was the worst one we've ever encountered in Yosemite. We wanted to go there since there's talk of taking down the damn and restoring the valley to its former self, so who knows how long it'll be like this.
After that we headed into the valley. Yosemite sucks this time of year -- way too many people. Who wants to sit in traffic in a national park? Not us -- we'll stick to the offseason instead.
Anyhow, click the link to see some pictures taken with the Nikon D50.
Road to Hetch Hetchy
Beautiful wildflowers were everywhere
Hetch Hetchy
First view of the reservoir
Close-up shot
The spillway
The dam
That's a lot of steps
Get used to this shot, I took it many times from several angles
We got VERY wet here
She wanted our granola bars
Up the grueling steps. This is one of the worst-kept trails I've ever been on.
Wet steps
View from the dam. Am I the only one who thinks of Lord of the Rings when I see this?
Yosemite Valley
Late afternoon light
Like the framing here. Now go away cars!
The meadows were nice and green
First of many...
Gratuitous mule deer shot
These, my friends, are black bears. I know they look brown, but they're black bears. It seems that the bear at the top has gone up the tree and mom wants him to come down.
Hard to see here but they got into a little shoving match.
This is momma bear. The only truly decent shot I got of them. I needed a much better lens.
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Wow -- came across your blog a bit randomly, but fantastic Yosemite photos! I was there a few years ago and would love to go back and see more of the park. Hetch Hetchy looks beautiful.
Great shots, Jeff! I'm going to Yosemite for the first time in October. Any suggestions?
Absolutely fabulous shots!
Thanks all! Hmm, tips for Yosemite?
- Stay inside the park, whether staying in a tent, tent cabin, or a hotel room. Outside hotels are not close and the drive in is a pain to do every day.
- In the valley be sure to visit Bridalveil and Yosemite Falls. They're easy, short hikes. The walk to Mirror Lake is a bit longer but it's still pretty easy, and you can get good photos from there. If you're feeling up to the challenge, try the pretty strenuous hike to Vernal Falls. If that's not enough you can continue to Nevada Falls, though I've never done that.
- Even if you don't stay there, check out the Ahwanee Hotel. It's amazing.
- Best time for wildlife in my experience is at dusk. I'm sure early morning is good too, but I'd rather be sleeping :)
- If it's still open and you've exhausted the main things in the valley, try going to either Glacier Point or Tuolumne Meadows. Glacier Point has some awesome views of the valley below. These places close during bad weather, so you've been warned.
- If you go out the southern exit (Hwy 41) stop at the tunnel view for a classic Ansel Adams shot. This must be one of the most photographed spots on earth. Further down this road is the Mariposa Grove which has some of the tallest and oldest trees on earth.
I hope that helps a little. Maybe I should operate my own tours or something :)
Fantastic shots Jeff. Wow!
Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful shots of Hetch Hetchy. I needed "before" and "after" shots for a paper I'm writing for school. I'd like to use one of yours (with credit).
For those interested in the possible restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley (and for the person wanting "before" and "after" shots of Hetch Hetchy see hetchhetchy.org
i wish i could go ther with my other half. I was thinking that NE is the best place for natural beauty. this one is equal if not better. and definitly better through jeff's lens :)