I write this post the week following my first and only experience of Spring Break in the United States. The main activity for my spring break, besides spending time with my friends, was to visit the captivating and significant National Park ‘Yosemite’ located in Northern California. The history of this site and context behind its designation as a National Park has always been very interesting to me. During my first two years at UCL, I acquired a lot of knowledge around conservation ethics, and John Muir in particular. For those reading this blog post, Muir was a preservationalist, claiming that the psychospiritual use of nature is far superior to its material societal uses. (Callicott, 1991). In his lifetime, Muir strived to make sure that many national parks around the US were left untouched, one of significance was Yosemite. Most importantly, he wrote many articles popularizing the area and theorized that the most significant landscape features of the part were created through the energy of large alpine glaciers (Schaffer, 1999). Through Yosemite, Muir was able to pave the way for the United States National Park service that thrives today. The park which covers an area of 747,956 acres attracts almost 3 million visitors per year and holds significance in terms of its biological diversity, its geological stature and history of human inhabitance (Harris, 1998).
Upon visiting this wonderful place, it appeared to me just why people like Muir saw this landscape in such a spiritual and romanticized way. It was a hot Thursday afternoon when we arrived at the outer barriers of the national park. Despite arriving, it was another hour or 35 miles until we reached the valley where the main views, hikes and tourist complex was located. In Yosemite Valley there was a wealth of infrastructure, parking, shops, information points, cabins for overnight stays and a shuttle bus route around the park. The extent of this infrastructure was surprising to me, the natural area wasn’t as undisturbed as I expected. After collecting maps, we embarked on a few hikes around the valley, visiting the lower and upper Yosemite falls, seeing Half Dome, and hiking up by Vermal and Nevada falls (Figure 1.). These breath-taking hikes consumed our whole afternoon, leaving us exhausted yet fulfilled. The place lived up to my expectations, and upon arrival I could not help but smile at how beautiful and serene the place was. My only regret was that I could not stay there the night and do an all day hike the next day, getting close to the infamous Half Dome peak.
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| Figure 1. Map of Yosemite Valley |
Without the hospitality of Daisy’s parents, this trip would not have been possible. Allowing a large group to stay with them for a few nights, providing food and pleasant company was an amazing experience in itself. My few days with Daisy’s Mexican family, exposed me to authentic Mexican food, which is one of my favourite cuisines. In addition to this, I was able to improve my Spanish with her parents mainly communicating with me in their native tongue. Overall, it was an experience definitely worth remembering, one that I would love to replicate in a few years time.
My upcoming blog post shall briefly talk about the beginning of my final quarter at UCLA, and initial impressions on my last set of classes.
Below are a few photos from my visit to Yosemite.
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| Figure 2. Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls |
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| Figure 3. Hike Gang and Half Dome |
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| Figure 4. Yosemite |
Harris, A. G. (1998). Geology of National Parks Kendall, Iowa: Hunt Publishing.
Callicott, J. B. (1991). ‘Conservation ethics and fishery management,’ Fisheries, 16(2), 22-28.
Schaffer, J. P. (1999). Yosemite National Park: A Natural History Guide to Yosemite and Its Trails. Berkeley: Wilderness Press.
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