Yosemite at its best

EVERYONE’S GONE. THEIR LOSS!

November on the High Sierra-Nevada. Waterfalls have almost all dried up, the crowds too. We’re heading up from San Jose, driving a Kia of some sort on route 580 all the way up to the queen of all US National Parks – Yosemite.

The morning wind’s chilly as we pass El Portal trees start changing their colors into a nice New England shade of Yellow-Orange. Boris tells me he’s thinking about marrying his girlfriend and settle down in one of the faceless sprawling towns that make up the Silicon Valley.

All I can think about is how different these little 19^th-century gold mining towns are from the plastic 21st-century tech hub we left behind less than three hours ago.

This is the first weekend of November, and the place is empty.

Well, not completely empty. The small supermarket at the center of the Yosemite Valley still is open, and the park rangers are there too. There are even few visitors like ourselves strolling around and a couple of Mule Deer too.

I first visited the Yosemite in July 1980. I remember it was beautiful and hot, and crowded. 37 years and lot’s cars later it is practically impossible to see the place beyond the hordes of visitors. Many say this grand park has become the victim of its own success.

But this is the first weekend of November, and we have the entire place almost to ourselves – and what a place it is. Golden-yellow Big Leaf Maples trees shed their leaves right below Half Dome. Bright orange Pacific Dogwoods stand photogenically in front of El Capitan. Evergreen pines protrude like towers above the gradually balding temporal forest.

Early morning November skies are bright cyan-blue. Visibility is crisp as temperatures gradually rise beyond freezing point. All waterfalls have dried out – waiting in anticipation to the first meltdown of late spring. It’s alright with us. We didn’t come all the way up here to bath in ice water. Instead, we march ahead to trek up the 3,000 meter-high Centennial Dome.

I think Boris has forgotten about his next life-changing decisions. As for me, I completely forgot about my emails.