Hetch Hetchy Trip

We had a great little trip away. The flowers in Tuolomne are all but completely gone. I have no idea what the late blooming tiny bushy purple ones are called. We've both got tricky ankles right now, so we took it easy with a couple short hikes up to Elizabeth Lake which is just below Unicorn Peak. And, we make it a few miles around Hetch Hetchy to a dry waterfall view. Back at the car, Chris' themometer registered 85 in the shade and 104 in the sun. The breeze itself was hot. We were pretty sapped of strength but it was really worth it. There's an amazing wall across the lake - with probably another 300 feet below the water.

It really stirs my imagination to see the canyon stretch up toward White Wolf and Glen Aulin. I'd really like to make that trip in the spring. The Grand Canyon of Tuolomne is supposed to be really amazing and relatively untraveled.

And, the abiding question of the worth of the reservoir really sticks in my mind. I hear that the reservoir's water reserve is redundant now that other areas have been developed. And, it certainly is an affront the concept of National Parks. But, water shortages seem to be mounting and we wont be able to rely on glacial storage in the future. In any case, we're definitely sacrificing some terriffic climbing and an amazing canyon with its potential ecotour revenue for the sake of an enormous bucket.