“Strolling Down the 1874 Trail to Yosemite”

“Strolling Down the 1874 Trail to Yosemite”
Or An Unknown lapse of Reason

A Barely Readable Account Of Near Death And Bruises-

If I were a Scientist I would be able to tell you the complete story of this tail, but I’m not, didn’t even play one on TV. What I am is a very sore man human who basked in a walk through history Saturday. Up at 6:50 am though not by choice, we bathe, eat and set out for an adventure. This one requires two 4 wheel drive jeeps, but only because that’s what we were driving. The first one is left along the side of the road, next to “El Capitan Meadow” on the Yosemite Valley floor. The other is taken through three tunnels and 30 some miles to Tamarack Flats which just happens to sit about two thousand feet above the meadow we’d walk to. Crazy, not at that particular moment, but it was still early.

If one were to stand at the southwestern end of the “El Cap” meadow and look north across the valley floor you might be able to make out the faint dark line that travels down the canyon wall. This outline can be seen running along the hauntingly beautiful tree covered bluffs then suddenly it disappears under 7 or 8 different landslides. At each edge of these slides the road reappears seemingly rolling along on it’s merry way to nirvana, the valley floor. You would have to be insane to attempt to walk this long ago abandon road.

The hike down the winding trail/road is filled with many wonders, and some plants and trees are starting to show their fall colors. The air is cool and clouds dart to and from as if in some sort of tug or war with the mountains. A few miles in the road has started to become a part of the surroundings, reclaimed by vegetation, undercut by over a hundred and twenty five years of winter. At the four-mile mark the trail splits and we bear towards El Capitan, the single largest monolithic granite rock in the world. One half of a mile later a footbridge allows us across Cascade Creek. It is here that we stop for a quick lunch and listen the sounds of the creek.

Opened sometime in 1874 this road was used as a wagon road to haul supplies and tourists to the valley floor. We can sense this history, and are in awe at the extent they went to in making this roadwork. It is just after our lunch that we hit the second split in the trail, the one we do not take is a 13 mile trek up to and then back down the top of El Cap. It is a clear, maintained path, while the one we take instantly shows that no one has touched this trail in at least 40 some years. Fallen trees lay across the road, and small trees grow up through the middle. Soon huge piles of bear scat appear, I rack my 40 and keep an eye out as I lead us around the obstacles that cover the Old Oak Flat Road. In many places the path is only as wide as a foot, new growth filling in the hard work of those whom toiled so long ago.

Looking up from the floor the slides appear huge, one at least, looks to be about a quarter mile wide. The road sticks out of both ends. In real life, this first slide is massive. Standing at its side, and looking across at the other side we are in awe. Rocks the size of houses sit where gravity and balance merge. The road is somewhere under us we start out on the dangerous surface of this very unstable rockslide. I tap and push on each rock as I scramble east. One rock the size of one half of a vw bug moves under my feet. I start a ten-foot gap between each of us for safety, as the full predicament sinks in. Everyone agreed that running with scissors is safer, but there’s no turning around now. Each step is well thought out and our slow progress begins to doom the remaining daylight.

The constant slide, then road becomes tiring, feet are hurting and the total sum of our sanity is discussed. Then, the road cuts around a bend and we stand looking down at the valley floor. Busses are the size of ants and we all see the beauty of this place from a new angle. Everyone picks up damage to themselves, blisters, cuts and bruises but we push on.

About 4 or so in the afternoon we turn a corner and see a site that amazed us. In our view is El Cap, Half Dome, Bridalvail Falls and Sentinel Dome! The sun lights up the views we then experience on the remainder of the trip as it starts to sink behind 7 and 8 thousand feet high mountains. We finally find the main road, tired, spent yet content that we made it, and hiked a trail long ago forgotten by people and mapmakers. We walked in the path of the ancient and came out alive.

Sunday morning standing at that meadow, looking across at the rockslides the others tell me that had they known…………………………….insanity, at least that trail is marked off my list.