Earth, water, fire, air ...and birds. In the middle ages, those first four were considered the essential elements for life. In my middle age, the fifth one is also crucial.
At this moment last weekend, I was making coffee in the Yosemite Valley, preparing for a hike through Foresta - the starting point for last year's huge fire. Also the starting point for this year's best lupine, best dipper fledgling and bluest butterfly.
Earth + Water + Fire + Air =
larger version (all links open in new windows)
First, let me take a moment to thank juliewolf, cardinal and kestrel for putting together some great Dawn Chorus diaries the past few weekends while I've been away. julie has organized a list of guest hosts through mid-August - if you'd like a turn, get in touch with her.
Looking down at Wawona (that area around the lighter spot in the middle-ish)
My trip to Yosemite was to put me in the right frame of mind for turning fifty - for the most part, it worked. I approached the trip with a little trepidation; there were two big changes since my last visit, in June '09. The big, obvious one was the fire that roared through, from Foresta up beyond Hwy 120 to Crane Flat, Tamarack and the Devil's Dancefloor last September. A more personal change was the loss of Jeff Maurer in a climbing accident (the same weekend that the fire started). I'd taken his "Raptors of Yosemite" classes for a decade, and had learned about many of my favorite places in the park by (literally) following in his footsteps. He didn't run the class last year because of conflicts with his nest monitoring schedule, but still took the time to suggest a wonderful hike for our visit.
Two of us headed up on Wednesday, camping in Wawona, and another friend joined us Friday when we moved to the Valley. Wawona was a pleasant surprise - a quiet campground beside the river, far removed from the insanity of the Valley's crowds. While we were starting to set up our tents, a goshawk flew overhead. Maybe a little nod from Jeff? Who knows.
Lower Chilnualna Falls - this part is only 10 minutes from the parking area. larger version
On Thursday, we had a great hike up Chilnualna Falls. The trail is roughly 4.2 miles to the top - but there's an elevation gain of over 2,200 feet. Which also means 2,200 of walking steep downhill; I don't know about you but for me that's almost harder. But enough whining, here's a bit of the walk:
Flowers - some kind of Indian Pink on the left, some kind of larkspur on the right. (lost my notes)
Some kind of skink. (I told you - I lost my notes)
Okay, we're like halfway there, and look how much more "up" is still in front of us. larger version
These aren't the upper falls that we're trying to reach. This is just some little sidestream that we crossed along the way - a little cascade that's maybe 25-30 feet high. Getting closer though...
But when you finally make it to the top, it's clearly worth the effort. (BTW, that picture just below the jump, showing the view looking down on Wawona? That's taken from the left edge above the top of the falls - our final destination, about ten minutes beyond this point.)
larger version or video of Chilnualna Falls (upper falls)
Our original plan for Friday was to have a picnic supper in one of the meadows off Glacier Point Road and hope to see a Great Grey Owl emerge. We took a little side trip during our trip from Wawona to the Valley and checked out conditions along the way. Lots of snow on the ground, so no picnic in the high country; we took an evening walk to Mirror Lake instead. Oh, and you might have noticed that there sure aren't many bird pictures for a birdblog. Well, that's because sometime - either on Thursday's big hike or Friday's jaunt to Mirror Lake - I managed to sprain my ankle. Just couldn't manage to carry my scope, so no digiscoped pix. But there are a few birds to come - I promise!
Not recommended.
Saturday's class was all about the birds of Yosemite Valley. We started off behind Yosemite Lodge, walked to the river, took a back way to get to Yosemite Falls, followed a trail from the falls past the Awahnee and over toward Mirror Lake. The birds were great, the falls were astounding and the crowds in the valley were insane. But as is the case almost anywhere you go, getting more than 100' from parking, food service or shopping really cuts down on the crowding. During the four hours that we meandered along the trail, we probably didn't pass more than 25 people.
larger version or huge version
So... that fire last year. We didn't know what to expect when we got to Foresta. We'd come into the park through the south entrance and then went to the Valley. Now, on our last day, we were revisiting one of our favorite parts of the park and we prepared for the worst as we rounded the corner to the site of the firestorm. And... wow.
Full-size panorama (big image - not recommended for dialup)
I've never seen lupines like I saw lupines that day. Unbelievable carpets of flowers, punctuated by charred trunks. Some of the trees had burned in last years fires - those are the ones with brown needles still clinging to their branches. Others had burned in the last large fire in this area, nearly twenty years earlier. Their branches had long ago dropped, and the latest inferno left them as pillars of charcoal. It was a remarkable landscape. (I should add that this landscape was all the more remarkable for the sheer number of Lazuli Buntings therein - none of whom would cooperate for a photo.)
larger size
We walked to Foresta Falls, about 25 minutes walk from the houses at Foresta. As our leader, Michael Ross, said: If this was anyplace other than Yosemite, these falls would be a major attaction. However, they're not in the valley, and it takes more than five minutes to walk to them... so we had the place to ourselves. We literally did not see anyone else during our four hour walk.
video of Foresta Falls
My sprained foot was starting to catch up with me, so I sat for a bit while the rest of the group walked further up the trail, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mountain quail we heard calling. While I was resting, I stared into the bushes...
and was sometimes rewarded with someone flitting around. Most of the flitting someones were Orange-crowned Warblers, and most of them appeared to be young ones (like this one):
Some of the birds were less skulky though - this Spotted Towhee was front and center, letting everyone know that this was his territory.
Normally, it would be disappointing to have to miss out on part of a hike like this one, but it wasn't the worst place to be sidelined. Eventually the others returned and we headed back, with another stop at the falls on the way.
What a lovely place to linger. And... hey, is that someone sitting on the rock over there?
Why, yes it is...
Dipper! A fledgling, at that - you can tell by the white wingtips and the sorta two-tone pale-belly coloration.
Another walk, through Big Meadow (Western Bluebirds! Lazuli Buntings! Bullock's Orioles! Blackheaded Grosbeaks! Violet-Green Swallows! Lawrence's Goldfinches! More birds that I can't remember!) and then it was time to head out and start the long drive home. About that road from Foresta, though -
Did I mention the lupines?
Thanks again to the guest hosts, and to those who will be writing in the coming weeks. I'll be back sometime in mid- to late August.