I wish that all who visit the Yosemite National Park would have a view
from the top of Mount Hoffman. I wish also that they might see
Tuolumne Meadows, wander over the near-by alpine moorlands, and stand
in the center of Hetch-Hetchy Valley.
Even the most flying visit to the Yosemite Valley should include a
visit to Lake Tenaya, Little Yosemite, Nevada, and Vernal Falls, and,
last, and in some respects most important, a view across and down into
the valley from Glacier Point on the south side, and also from the
summit of Eagle Peak on the opposite side.
[Illustration: LAKE TENAYA
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK]
From the first, John Muir called Hetch-Hetchy the Tuolumne Yosemite
and considered it a rival of the Yosemite Valley and "a wonderfully
exact counterpart of the Merced Yosemite." It is less than half the
size of the Yosemite, and its walls are about a thousand feet lower.
Two immense rocks stand at the entrance. On the south wall is Koloma,
a massive rock twenty-three hundred feet high. On the north wall is an
almost sheer front of rock that rises eighteen hundred feet. Over this
plunges Tueeulala Falls with a drop of ten hundred feet. This fall is
somewhat like Bridal Veil, but excels it both in beauty and in height.
Over the same wall, a short distance eastward, tumbles Wapama Falls,
carrying a greater volume of water than the Yosemite Falls.
Like the Yosemite Valley, Hetch-Hetchy is a combination of stupendous
rock-walls that rise from a quiet grassy valley which is beautiful
with trees and groves and a clear mountain stream.
The Parsons Memorial Lodge at Soda Springs is an excellent
stopping-place from which to explore the alpine scenes of the Yosemite
National Park. It is owned by the Sierra Club, and was built in honor
of Edward T. Parsons, who for years was one of the club's leading
members. The Lodge is situated on the edge of the celebrated Tuolumne
Meadows, by the Tioga Road, and is within a few miles of many
celebrated scenes and view-points. It is about twenty-five miles
northeast of the Yosemite Valley.
At Soda Springs, John Muir often had a central camp. He long ago
recommended the place for an excursion center. It lies at an altitude
of about nine thousand feet. One cannot too often see the near-by
smooth, wide Tuolumne Valley with its surrounding world of
mountain-peaks. It is in the very heart of the Yosemite High Sierra.
By it is an extensive and splendid alpine zone. Here are lakes, moory
spaces, polished pavements and domes, and, in its lower regions,
cañons, waterfalls, cascades, groves, and wild alpine gardens colored
and made charming by dainty brilliant flowers. To the north lies Mount
Conness; eastward, Mounts Dana, Lyell, Gibbs, Mammoth, and McClure;
southward, the Cathedral Range; and westward ice-polished Mount
Hoffman.
Surely the Parsons Memorial Lodge will become a world-celebrated
rendezvous for mountain-climbers and for those who desire to see
mountain scenery where it is peculiarly lovely and sublime. A number
of trails converge at this point. It will be interesting to follow the
future of the Lodge and to observe the thousands of enthusiastic
people who will enjoy the surrounding scenes.
About twelve miles to the west of it is Mount Hoffman, which rises
near the center of the Park and is probably the most commanding
view-point in it. This is one of the places that visitors to the Park
should not fail to enjoy.
Only a few miles to the southwest of the Lodge is Cathedral Peak. This
imposing ice-burnished structure is one of the most celebrated pieces
of nature statuary in the Park. Near by is Cathedral Lake. About
fifteen miles to the south of the Lodge is a region of burnished
rocks, numerous lakes, cañons, and moraines--a wonderful array of
glacial stories. This region is several miles southwest of Mount
Lyell.
Mountain-climbers will find Dana Mountain, to the east of the Lodge,
an excellent view-point. To see a sunrise from it is a rare enjoyment.
From its summit one looks down on the Mono Desert, the lake, and the
craters. It is an easy one-day journey from the Lodge across Tioga
Pass to Mono Lake.
At the door of the Lodge are the magnificent Tuolumne Meadows. There
are a series of them, the lower one being about four miles long and
about half a mile wide. Its meadowy expanse is in places attractively
sprinkled with trees, and across it, with beautiful folds and
hesitating bends, lingers the Tuolumne River.
The wonderful rapids in the upper end of the cañon of the Tuolumne are
perhaps the greatest in the world. The white and rushing river is
intensely impressive. Some distance below the Lodge begins the Big
Tuolumne Cañon. It is eighteen miles long and terminates in the
Hetch-Hetchy Valley. A journey through this is a joy for the
mountaineer. The cañon is comparatively narrow for its depth, which in
places is one mile. There are a few romantic parklike openings along
the way, and at some points the statuary is stupendous and
magnificent.