The Miwok of Yosemite and Mariposa....

Not far from Yosemite Valley and the Ahwahnee Hotel is another area known to wandering bands of Miwok and other Native American Communities.  This area is located down the hill on Usona Road.  The area dates back with living communities of Native Americans some 10,000 years  with steady and consistent habituation.  Verifiable evidence is available of settlements with active human patterns of daily living.  During a summer excavation a few substantial artifacts were unearthed, such as daub, charcoal, grasses,  and arrow points, some in obsidian and others in steatite.  These fragments of a long ago civilization and evidence of a band of wandering humans can be found at Fresno State University in the Archeaology Lab of Dr. John Pryor, who has made his life work studying California Native American Cultures.


I had the privilege of being one of his students and sat still for three weeks in order to train myself as an illustrator of archealogical artifacts.  The above dramatization is one of my drawings in colored pencil.  I also performed renderings of charcoal, points, and botanical specimens that are indigenous to the area and the culture of the local Miwok community.

This drawing is of our excavation site and how it looked in 2009.  The above prior drawing is a suggestion of the way the village appeared 10,000 years ago.  This Blue Tarp drawing is the official class dig.  There were around 20 of us and we camped out for three weeks.  We dug the site and filled it when we completed our excavation project. Sometimes the weather heated us up and sometimes we had a little rain.  

These are drawings of charcoal dating back thousands of years...I was able compile these drawings from small bits of ancient charcoal.  This indicated an area where either warmth or cooking was created, and thus left bits and pieces of the remains of the firepit.

This is the acutal site of the Miwok Village in Yosemite Valley.  The recreational village has cedar bark tepees that have been specially constucted for public viewing and the offical roundhouse is used for special ceremonial occassions.  On the premises is also a sweat lodge.  The Miwok of Yosemite used this style of house during their stay in the Yosemite Valley.  Nearby the gathered acorns and rolled out their product on the large granite matates, using manos, or hand held stones.  There are large granite stones that display holes where they have been made or worn into servicable depressions for the purpose of grinding the acorns.  Many books are available in the Yosemite Book Store near the Visitor Center that explain the process and demonstrate the necessary skills to make excellent acorn mush.  If books do not satisfy your curiosity, then Julia Parker is on hand in the Museum to answer your questions and provide entertaining explanations to all your questions.

I have some rather found memories of Bass Lake.  I worked for CLM for three seasons at Lakeside, Rocky Point  and the Boat Ramp.
Bass Lake is on the way to Yosemite, and stopping there is certainly worth while.  Some of the more long time employees have worked in Yosemite until they could afford to purchase their dreams homes in Bass Lake area or around Oakhurst.  It has been rumored that a number of Hollywood movie stars and directors of note have purchased mansions up on the hillsides.  How fun that would be!  A boat docked at the Pines Resort, and a mansion on the hill.


This year there should be plenty of water in the lake since the snow run off from the Sierras will be strong this year.  We are enjoying a high rise on the Merced River and more snow and lots of rain.  This year we are 107% of expected snow and rain.  We are just praying that it does not get too warm and bring the high Sierras down with a torrential fury.  That happened back in 1996 or 7 and we had to close the Park due to flood waters.  We have signs posted that depict flood swells of up to 11 and 12 feet.  That is alot of rushing water.


Up the Merced River is White Water Rafting and the other day 2 orange rafts were swirling out in the rapids with guests afloat and a paddle.  They were having a great splashing in their water attire...or life vests and some were paddling and watching the perilous  solid grey forms protruding menacingly out of the water.  Bass Lake is placid by comparison.  Just radical boat drivers showing off there best sleek forms.

Yosemite does not have a lake, however if you drive up 120 to Hetch Hetchy Dam you will find a bigger and better lake, but this lake is not for swiming, nor boating...although you can camp around the lake.  Yosemite has water falls and more water falls, and running rivers and running bears and lots of people that like to get out of their cabins or tents and run and run.  The main reason for all the running is the air we breathe up here is great.  It is crisp and clean and sweet, filled with the fragrance of Pine and Cedar and meadow grasses and the sweep of air off the granite cliffs.  Since the altitude is only 4,000 feet or so you can run and not easily fall out of breathe.  You might loose your breathe if you see a bear, or you might become breathless at the sight of the many deer  in the Valley, especially in the low light of sunset when the deer come out to forage or feast on the tender meadow grasses.

You will see coyotes on your hike, run or walk, but you will not see real live wolves like these two wolves pictured here.  These two wolves like to live in the wilds, but they became orphaned at an early age and adopted by man.  They grew up in a civilized environment and became tame wild pets of a wolf loving owner.  If you are lucky you might see wolves like these in Yosemite, however they will be on a leash and their owner will be with them.  And although greatly loved by man they are still wild and deserve to be respected as such.  Notice how they are sitting in very close proximity to each other, with the white wolf touching the  other wolf, and she has her legs demurely crossed.  They are calm and yet remain focused.  These two lovely creatures, although the white one has passed on and the other lives with a family live not in Yosemite, but near Isle Royale in upper Michighan state near the Great Lakes.  The White Wolf was called Mikey.  The darker wolf is his sister.

The Shape Of Things

How many different ways can we see things?  This image is of course of a tree that has fallen down and the tree is one that has a tree knot on it.  However after a wee bit of contemplation one can begin to see spirit shapes in this lonely transitioning knot.  How many can you see?  A favorite passtime of many people is looking into  the sky at the clouds and reading the shapes of the clouds, pointing out the various images that can be found in the shifting gaseous formations.  It is our brains that detect these minute alterations of formations.  We interpret them according to our own intrapersonal perceptions.  One person may see one image or vision and another person may detect something altogether entirely different.  Both may see something that is important to them or  a shape that they recognize as meaningfull and both persons may be looking at the same shifting cloud or swinging tree or rock strata.  It might be whatever is on your mind.

When I photographed this wooden knot on this fallen log, I saw the feathery head-dress of an Indina bonnet and the profile of a woman with her mouth open and tiny infant legs...just a strange combination of linear elements that are encompassed within this one know.  On the other side of this knot the shape takes on the more obvious profile of a man wearing a feather head dress.  So I look at one side as feminine and the other as masculine.  Both are part of the same whole.  The same psycho-social makeup of human beings.  So does the earth bound tree absorb part of the humans buried body and turns it into a spirit inside the wood tree and informs of us the passage or of the changing of one element to the other as it does so.  Or is this the strong spiritual power of the underwood trying to communicate with us using the tree as its vehicle of change?

All around me in the trees, the clouds, the flowers, and the rocks I see spiritual messages and the writings of the woods.  Have you ever looked deeply into the linear structures of the branch networks as they lace and inter lock out in the woods.  When I look at them I see writing.  I like to think it is God writing to us and talking to us through linear graphics built from the products of nature and the elements.  It is like reading a book written in my primary language.  There are woods written in the trees and in the forest branches and on the rocks and in the sky...if we do not read them perhaps we are still only searching for pictures, nothing more.

If we believe nature is writing to us its eternal message perhaps we need to learn to read these writings and interpret them for others to understand.

There is a place on Highway 140 almost half way between Mariposa and the Valley entrance that looks like this.  Stop signs in the middle of nowhere.  The sign reads expect 15 minutes wait...to the left is a bridge that crosses the Merced River, then the road curves around the towering cliff wall and exits on the Merced River on the other side.  Drivers of vehicles must cross over the Merced River two times and then resume travel on 140 going into the Yosemite Valley.  


The road does this for a very particular reason.  Several years ago their was a mountain slide and a good portion of the mountain slide down the incline, spilling across the 140 highway and down into the Merced River.  If you look closely into the image you can see the lower slide area as it crosses the road directly in front of you, that is, on the other side of the fence.  The real view is rather traumatic and quite the eye opener for people with a keen respect for the greater powers of nature.  


They believe no one was trapped beneath the mountain slide.  But no one knows for certain since no agency has removed the earth.  To do so might possibly bring down even more of the mountain so it is a standing tribute and reminding monument to a geological event.  It is necessary for us to see as it is an event of extraordinary circumstances that we, on any normal given day might not encounter.  And hopefully never be under.


Rockslides are a common occurance all along 140.  If you keep your eyes looking toward the cliff side you will see rocks every so often in clumps that have recently slid or tumbled from above.  If you notice the geological structure of the cliffs you can see the layers and the angle of the layers of these various types of rocks.  All along the 140 the types of rocks and the qualities of their attachments vary.  Some of these rock structures are firmly in place and others are unstable and some are totally unpredictable.  


The Merced River Canyon road is by far more scenic than 41 for geologic features and rock variations, and in addition to the natural formations the plant life at this time of year can be noted for the flowering purple blossoms of natures plum trees...I believe that is what they are, if not write me a note on their exact biological name.  The mosses are verdant green attaching themselves to the red rock like snow on the top of half dome...natures natural frosting.


Plenty of turnouts are sprinkled along the Canyon drive.  And of course interesting places like Savages and Hite Cove Trail, places of extraordinary beauty and in this time of year, the spring, the mountains are alive with the beauty of the wild flowers.  The area is also replete with  brilliant orange California Poppies.


NPS Warehouse is also located along this drive, as well as El Portal, and two large motor hotels for tried travelers.  Up near the Park Entrance is a famous rock formation that forms a roof over the road for thrill seeking motorists to observe as they pass beneath, hoping that it stays put for a whole lot longer.  The road was tunneled under it so the natural rock roof has been in place for over a good 100 years to date.  


On the right as you travel up 140 you can see exquisite river scenery, with river and rocks binding their timeless beauty together in every changing geometric patterns.  

You walk while the machine talk...

If you see these guys working our roads, be patient  these men are fixing the roads so cars can run more smoothly and the underworks of our pipe systems keep the flow going.  They are working between the breaks in the storms of either rain or the snow and or the ice, to get all there preparations ready for all the late spring and summer visitor influx into Yosemite.  It will be busy enough then, so hold steady...a lot of people need to get on their way...where ever that may be.


For persons in a bigger hurry you can always enjoy nature better with a walk or a stroll along the many well trod paths.  Some are pathed and others are earth hardened and lined with rocks, and signs to make certain you know where you are going.  Unless you know the forest well and have noted the landmarks, please stay on the paths.  We can come to find you, however we prefer that you know where you are going and staying on the paths can be a certain guarantee.

While on your hike you may see these large metal containers around.  They are legend and cost a lot of money to place around the park.  The are supplied by the National Park Service and are known as Bear Boxes.  Their intended use is for food storage.  Bears smell food from humans, in their cars, in their back packs, on their persons, and from discarded trash.  All of the food one is not using at the moment is supposed to be placed or left in these boxes in order to keep the food safe from the Bears or other forest wildlife.  People who have visited the Yosemite Valley or other National Parks should be very familiar with the sight of the Bear Boxes.  Others may find them unusual, unless they have had their food cache stolen or had Bear break into their vehicles.  Bears love roaming the parking lots and breaking into a car to steal anything that resembles a food item.  So if you need to use a Bear Box, help yourself.  Bears will not bother your food if you keep it close or on your back in a backpack, but if you drop your food on the ground inside your favorite Janzen, and walk to a scenic spot, be well aware you may come back to see your Bear friends scurrying away wearing your backpack!

Along your walk you may find items like this.  This is an artifact.  It is made of iron and possibly used during the stable days or horse bearing days about 100 years ago.  I challenge you to find this.  I will give you a clue.  It is near the Royal Arches and near a well walked path.  If you can locate it come at see me Merrily McCarthy at the Ahwahnee Hotel...just ask the front desk to find me.  Perhaps you know more about it and would like to give me more details.  This iron ring is permanently imbedded in this portion of granite, so do not pull it out hoping to bring me this ring.  It can not be done and you would not want to move this piece of old history.  It is ours to enjoy.

This is one of the first spring plants to be shooting up out of the earth.  We see more and more of this even with the ice and snow storms.  While walking watch out for branches, rocks, ice, and cones.  Other hikers are always good to see, especially when you are in the forest.  It is a fun place to let the world roll away and get acquainted with someone new.  Share something special and perhaps make a new friend.  Be like this plant, ready and open to experience the new wonders of spring time.

Tonight is Easter night for those folks who follow the holidays.  This is the way the Ahwahnee looks tonight.  It is april 4, 2010.  Maybe this will be our last snow storm of the season.  Maybe.  But earlier this morning we had our big lawn decorated with colorfull flat bunnies running across the green velvet lawn.

Earlier, like at 7 in the morning I was outside litter picking the lawn for the celebration of the hopping bunnies and I spotted a wayward egg, and I thought, " oh goodie, the bunnie came and left me an egg."  Ha, ha...as I put it in my pocket I see Christina exit the Sweet Shop holding up bunnie ears, tail, and bright pink bow tie, "put this on" she hollers to me.  So then I realized the egg was not meant for me so I tucked it back in its green hideout alongside the hopping bunnies...took Christina's offering and put the ears on my head.

Guests got a laugh at the litter picking lady wearing bunny ears.  I got my aqua mate and went inside the Hotel to water the plants and continued wearing my bunny ears.  I felt so silly....a bunny eared plant lady watering her orchids.  The guests got quite the laugh and I had to volunteer a few authentic bunny hops to complete the theatrical event.  In our Solarium a curving table was decorated with Easter Bags and colorful soft rabbits.  The children were given an Easter Bag and then escorted out into the meadow to search for more Easter Eggs.

Our feathered friends, the Ravens, had gotten to some of the eggs before the children made it out doors.  Some found the egg leavings from discarded Raven gatherings...and others more fortunate, got there before the Ravens ate the eggs.

Some of the guests made great sport out of my little white bunny tail and others loved the pink sparkly ears.  It was fun for us all and the best part was being a spiritual part of the event.  Our Ahwahnee Bunny Host, Sarah wore ears also and a pink satan bunny jacket that looked runway perfect. (I did not see 1,500 children however.)  The few we did have searched the fresh spring green grasses and graced their faces with sparkling smiles of delight at the Easter Bags.  Then everyone wandered off to hike before the snow came down, soft and wet...

Our sitting bridge looks like this tonight.  This snow will be melted by morning or the afternoon.  It is our typical spring snow, wet and heavy but beautiful.  So far it measures about 2 inches.  This bridge and the path beyond were swept by me today...they were clean and clear.  Our porters with their luggage racks and carts, and our housekeepers with their fully loaded carts  require clean paths for easy rolling.  The pine needles and the little pieces of branches that flicker and fall, sprinkle about everywhere with no designated space nor position.

     The woods are a giant web of intricate lace, dry, wet or covered in snow.  If you are a ground person, or a walking person all you can see at eye level is a lattice network of wood taking up the entire space around you.  Sometimes it is impossible to see through the forest.  Some of the trees are so big and the giant trees populate the area intensely the area becomes filled with giant growing wooden stalks...I call the living trees, the soldiers of Yosemite because they stand guard and their function is to keep us alive by purifiying our air, and they provide houses or homes for all creatures, and they provide warmth when there branches are used for kindling or for a fireplace...well maybe not these trees directly, but trees in general.  Our Yosemite trees are more sacred than this.

Yet during the big winds, they become humble and loose their grip on the earth and tumble in great yielding descent to the forest floor.  Then tons of wood crash with sound of crackling and thunder and the earth trembles and shakes and the tree digs into the soft swollen ground, embedding itself and surrendering back to the mother earth, thus it begins its decaying process.  And the wood becomes home to other forest inhabitants, like grubs, and ants, and beetles and squirrels that make use of the old soldiers for hiding their acorns or pine nuts, to consume them later when hunger comes.

Trees like this fall.  Seldom, but the last few storms have yielded tons of downed wood.  Mostly Black Oaks and some of these along the roads of 41.  They have been falling quite often this year so we must be cautious and watch the wind cells up on the 41.  One fell in front of my vehicle as I was traveling back into the Valley and it was perhaps 4 feet in diameter and when I gave it a little push it would not budge.  It fell completely across the road, and split like a toothpick, yet to move it required a call to 911 and a large earth mover had to come in the middle of the night to push it off the road.  It was not the only fallen tree on the road.  A wind cell had whipped through the forest and the road was crisscrossed with entire trees and large limbs of these forest giants, some a 100 years or more old.  We live and occupy space in a high risk mountain.

This is our snow blower.  We used it once this year.  And I waxed it once this year.  It makes so much noise the upstairs windows of the Ahwahnee rattle from the sound of the blower.  And it gets clogged up and when that happens it stops working.  It was more useless and less effective than my shovel.  If we allow the weather systems to operate, the snow melts off within a day and so far has not gotten deep enough to be of concern.  One of my co-workers said it was 6 feet high one year.  This year we have seen it be a foot high perhaps and have had maybe 6 to 8 storms.  Sometimes rain and sometimes snow.

Tonight you get 3 out of 5 that are horizontal...tippy canoe and tyler too!

Weather is always a favorite topic at the Ahwahnee Hotel.  Everyone plans their day according to the sky or the condition of the air or the elemental effects on the ground or in the air.  Yosemite is an ever changing landscape and weatherscape.  The morning skies can be bristling cracking blue as sharp and pure as a new song put to the wind...by mid morning the high flying snow mists filter in along the upper edges of the towering grey granite cliffs spilling down upon the tall evergreens and soon we have rain drops and or snow drops... the weather climate is a moment to moment mixture of turbulent temperatures, dominated by a coolness or perhaps a coldness depending on the mood of the wilderness environment.

This March we have had golden leaves, snow storms that appeared out of nowhere and looked like they were preparing to build the next glacier and then much to my chagrin have been spirited away a quick melt, leaving old brown pine needles scattered about the lawns and paths and meadows in there helter skelter disarray.  Then the dust came.  The forest floor for all the wet a few hours before quickly became a dry dusty  brown scatting up in polluted billows.

We do have green tips showing on all the trees and we have out first Crocus's leaving out.  Soon the Dogwood trees will be showering us in their full glory of whiteness.  They say the flowers exit the bark before the leaves.  I can hardly wait.

I did find lupines and jonquils in a vase behind the elevators.  Some guest must have found these on a hike or they were part of an Easter bouquet.  Speaking of Easter, I was looking for all the bunnies and Easter Eggs today, but saw neither.  I guess that is because Irish Leprechans know that Easter Bunnies do not lay Easter eggs.

The problem I have with my life is like this photo.  I can never quite figure out how to do things correctly.  I would really love to figure out how to rotate images.  The best I can do is  is enter the image and turn my head sideways.  It is inconvenient, but it gives my neck a  little exercise.

This is the steady gurgle of spring snow melt that flows in continual song across the Ahwahnee property.  I keep a watch out for fallen branches that make their way down or across these streams because they tend to block the water flow.  Another detrius that prevents water flow are the billions of pine needles that fall into the streams.  Beavers ought to use them to build dams.  They are excellent at slowing water flow and diverting regular channels.  They make a game out of prevention pathways, as they lattice in intricate divisions all gurgle and rivelets of water that attempt to pass and make head way down to the rushing Merced River.

This is another sign of spring.  When the youth come out of hiding down in Camp 4 and take to the Bouldering pathways along the Royal Arches.  Our huge boulders are marked and mapped for consistant trial and error attempts at the heights or on the parallel.  You have to be able to hang-on no matter what angle the rock is setting and if you are for real climbing way up...well...do not let go.  Finger, Toe, nor leg cramps are not part of the climbers gig.  This boulderer is teaching a class of novices the techniques of the sport.  To learn how to become a rock climber, usually you can start by bouldering in order to learn proper hand and foot  holds.  However Bouldering in Yosemite is as much of a sport and a fun day spent on the rocks than Rock Climbing the Walls with gear, such as pitons and ropes.  One of the more popular climbs is up the Serenity...and up the Royal Arches by the water falls...during the summer and late Indian summer months we have seen as many as 8 climbers at a time working their way up to the summit of the wall.  I was indeed startled one day by the adventures of a climber who was near the cliff where the rocks had been  falling and on that particular day there was another rock slide or rock fall and it was nearby the climbers were working to the top.  They kept moving on up dauntless.  It is a risky sport and those willing and brave know the dangers, and do it anyway in the same spirit of fearlessness as the Search and Rescue Teams go about their business of collecting stranded climbers off of the cliffs.  The interesting thing is that both sets of adventurers learn the same skills and know the same dangers and when not rescuing, SARS members head out into the wilderness to enjoy it just the same as the day climber or hiker does on his personal quest for adventure.

Today at the Ahwahnee it looks like this only with raindrops falling from the sky.  I hope I run into folks that know where rain comes from.  I posted this photo for my friend Patricia because she has not been to Yosemite to visit me yet and has not seen the Ahwahnee Hotel because she is busy earning her Bachelors Degree.  I think the only degree I am earning is my Yosemite Degree.  But it will definitely look good on my resume.

Easter is upon us and out on the Wedding Lawn and the Solarium Lawn, our Hotel is staging 3 easter egg hunts and one fabulous wedding.  We are expecting some 1,500 children and families for the Easter  Celebrations.  It was reported to me that the Easter Bunny will be here and in fact there might be more than one...I do know that we have live green Easter Bunnies in the dining room.  For the last few weeks me and my co-worker have been daily bathing the bunnies and keeping their vines growing in the moss...you see these bunnies are special.  They have been created out of wire frames, covered with moss and then bound with see through thread and planted with ivy vines.  They look rather green!  Fresh to say the least.

Our weather today has been pleasant and just tonight it got rainy.  It has been pouring down and we Yosemites expect it to snow soon.

All day today I have been misting the orchids in the Hotel.  Then the rest of the day I spent outside on the lawns, preparing them for our weekend guests.  I picked up sticks and rocks and deer drops and cones.  Some of the cones were full and some were totally eaten by the families of squirrel and chipmunks that scurry about our spring green gardens.  I filled two gator beds full for the trash dump.

For lunch I heated up a quick dinner of southwest chicken.  Now why would I do that when we have the best gourmet kitchen food in all of Yosemite?  30 minutes and no time to savor the delicious food is my only reason.  I like to relax when I enjoy my meal.  By the time I walk up the stairs to clock out, walk down the stairs and down the hallway, say hello to everyone, wait my turn, put in an order, get my dishes, my silverware, walk through the very busy kitchen filled with hub-bubing waiters, busers, servers, and cooks and managers, and squeeze past the bread section and the meat section and the veggie section to the last door on the left and then squeeze into the small dining area, the one for employees and locate an empty space, pull off the chairs and put them on the floor and set up my food dishes, my drink, pull out my chair, and take off my hat, my gloves, my coat and then finally sit down to eat...it is time for one bite, one sip of lemonade and stand and leave again...pick up my dirty dishes and my  drink cup and redress and squeeze back out past all the other hungry diners in the employees dining area...whew, I am tired of eating.  It is more work to take a 30 minute lunch break and call it eating, than it is to work 8 hours plus an 1 of overtime for helping in housekeeping, and omit lunch altogether.

This is Anthony checking over the delicious Sunday Buffet specially prepared for guests on Sunday.  This is served in the relaxing atmosphere of the Ahwahnee Hotel dining room.  The dining room overlooks the meadows and if you look out the surrounding windows toward the south west end you can see the grand display of Yosemite Falls decorated with its legendary winter ice cone.

If we are lucky we will have a taste of leftovers at the end of the serving day.  Last Sunday we had a plate of lime jello fluff molded onto a flaky crust and nestled snuggily inside was a tidbit of chocolate fluff.  It was melt in your mouth good.

Snow at the Ahwahnee

The Inuit and the Eskimos have many words for snow.  The Inuit have at least 300 words for snow and the Eskimos I have heard have at least 3,00 words for the white stuff.  Wondering why is not an option now, because multiple words for snow, after living and working in the snow In YNP at the Ahwahnee, really is understandable.

We had reports from a couple of guests who made stellar comments about our snowfall lately.  One couple, from Florida asked what it was that was falling from the sky.  Apparently they had never seen snow before and were quite shocked by it.  They said, "we had no idea that snow came from the sky!"  They were from Florida and had never seen snow before.  I wonder if they  know where hurricanes come from or rain?  I wonder if they had ever heard anyone from New York say, "we are visiting Florida because we wanted to get away from the cold and snow of New York!"  But then I have always wondered where allegators came from.  Maybe someone knows the answer!

The second guest said he loved our snow.  He talked to me as I was shoveling snow off the emergency stairs.  He says to me, "what are the stairs for and why are you shoveling the snow off of them?"  So I says to him, "These stairs are our emergency stairs in case of fire or some other extreme circumstance."  He says oh!  He then says, "I love it here.  You know we have been here only three days and so far we have seen and experienced it all."  I ask, "What do you mean?"  And he replied, " Our first day here it was warm and sunny, like summer or early spring.  The second day we were here it rained in torrents and the air was wet with water and the skys were boiling.  Our third day here it snowed all night and is still snowing...look at this, it is a beautiful wonderland of white.  This is so wonderful.  We just love this.  We have experienced it all!"

Truely we are given the four seasons up here at Yosemite National Park and we have not even gotten to spring or summer yet.  Last August of 2009 it was Indian summer and the full of fall and the it got cold, but it still was not winter.  We had golden leaves everywhere then the weather put dark brown colors on the oaks and dropped off all foliage.  Well alot of it anyway.  It never puts all the leaves on the ground.  Some just hang on for dear life, not wanting the changes of nature to take place.  Then followed the snows of winter.

The first snows of early winter were colder than the snows of spring.  The snow was lighter and seemed to hold less water.  The snows now in March of 2010 are heavy with water.  They are very white and bright and then they fluff down and settle everywhere, but this spring snow does not stay long.  What fell is nearly all gone within a day and it leaves behind rivelets and streams and waterways everywhere.  Beneath the waters is the thick dark earth filled with wetness, and grass seeds and as soon as the sun strikes its surface it drys out and becomes dust of the finest of particles.  If you kick up this dust it flies everywhere.

Snow has many qualities.  We think of snow as one type of substance: a white fluffy ground cover that drops from the sky.  If you watch the snow dropping from the clouds you notice the sizes of snow flakes varies with temperature of the air, the altitude of the snowfall, the water or moisture content of the snow, and the location of the snow...what side of the mountain it is on or if it is on the peak or down the valley.  If the wind blows we see angles of falling flakes.  If there is not wind then it drops.  Sometimes it drops thick and fast and sometimes it just filters down in a lovely slow sprinkle, like sifting a small amount of powdered sugar on top of a cake.  The moment it sets to the ground the heat from the earth begins to make the snow change and it melts or, not.  If the air and the ground are cold then the snow becomes hard and sometimes it turns to ice or becomes hard just like a granite slab.

The famous ice rock climber Kurt Diemberger, the author of Summits and Secrets describes endless details of ice and snowfall variations that he has endured while conquering Chologlisa, the Tirich Mir in the Hindu Kush, the North Face of the Eiger, the North Face of the Matterhorn...and many other mountains.  Where we live in Yosemite we see walls to climb, however the snow is settled upon granite and is not like the ice cliffs that Diemberger describes in his books.  The point is snow is not bounded by a few words, nor by a few locations, snow is complex and after living in it and around it you can develop a deep appreciation for its many properties, including those of learning how to use snow to save your life.

Mountaineers use snow to build makeshift shelters for the night and create ice caves to stay warm, not unlike our ancient ancestors of  10,000 years ago, or early man who trekked across the wilderness and used snow for his temporary shelter.  Not unlike the Eskimos who never left the ice fields because they knew and understood all the words and all the properties of our miraculous weather condition: snow.

Most Americans I have known use one word...snow  or two, snowflakes.  And sometimes we express this grand verbal sentiment: "Oh My God! The snow is falling!"  Wow and we think we have said a mouthful, as well something intelligent.

Lots of snow means we have lots of water, maybe.  If the snow is dry with low moisture content, we are out of luck.  Like in Utah.  They get great powder for skiing, but not high moisture content for soaking the ground and giving the living waters back to the earth and its creatures.  Yosemite does produce snow storms that give us snow with high moisture content and I am sure this makes people feel the liquid wealth from our skies.