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Experiencing the Wilderness in 2002

September 19, 2002

This is my first of many journal entries that I will be posting on this web page to keep you updated on my experiences and feelings in Yosemite. I hope to get these entries up every week for students, teachers and all interested parties to read. I am a fledgling web designer, so please bear with the errors that may occur on this web site.

Photo: View of valley from the rim

I have now been in Yosemite for two weeks, but the number of people I have met and incredible views I have seen makes it seem like I have been here much longer. In preparation for the expeditions, I have been spending my time shadowing Yosemite Institute instructors as they lead high school students throughout Yosemite Valley on day trips, and last weekend I got my first taste of the high country on an overnight trip with my boss Barb - we set out to test some of the scientific equipment that the students will be using in their studies. In my time in the developed valley and in the still-wild Sierras, I have begun to think about the meaning of wilderness to me.

I value wilderness because it is an escape from the pressures and agendas associated with city life. My time in wilderness is measured by more natural means; deadlines are marked by the hours of sunlight left in the sky. Problems in the wilderness seem more basic, yet more important than those in the city; what to eat, how to stay warm, where to sleep and where to go for water are all simple decisions to make while living in the wild.

In the process of fulfilling these basic necessities, a feeling of being closer with the earth naturally follows. At the same time, being in wilderness with my gas camp stove and my sleeping bag made of 100% unnatural fibers makes me think about how unnatural my presence is. This makes for an interesting paradigm: at what point can we truly be part of nature? Do we, in 2002, have less of an experience in Yosemite's wilderness than the Awanechee? Than John Muir?

 

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Undoubtedly, outdoor enthusiasts have changed the way they experience the wilderness. In its youth, the National Parks were visited primarily by the affluent. These people wanted a comfortable way to experience nature, one in which they maintained their established role as conqueror over it. The introduction of hotels and other amenities within parks exemplifies the level of comfort that people needed to make their time in the parks enjoyable. All areas of the park are mapped; there are no more valleys to stumble on or waterfalls to discover.

The former can be seen in a negative light - that we are not as close to nature as our predecessors, but we must also ask ourselves: what if we would use the resources within the park today in the same way people have been for centuries?

If you tally the number of Yosemite visitors - about 4 million each year, and then subtract the people that do not go into the back country - let's be generous and say 3 million don't stray too far into the park - we've got 1 million people trying to live off the resources of the park. It doesn't take a natural resource manager to realize that we can no longer live in wilderness the way people used to - if we did, there would be no wilderness to experience. So when we light our gas stoves we are really saving a tree from being cut, when we use our sleeping bags we save the cave space for the animals that we share the park with. Because the mountains, forests, rivers and wildlife still remain, so can the emotions and feelings we get in these wild places.

We should therefore, not look at our time in the wild as less-of-an-experience than the Native Americans or first European settlers that explored this area. As individuals, we all have unique experiences and thoughts in wilderness areas, which are as valid and as valuable as those of the first explorers. At Yosemite we instill a Leave No Trace ethic for all visitors to the park - our advanced camping gear and knowledge of the park geography furthers this goal by ensuring that we will take only memories and leave only footprints.

photo: Half Dome with Rainbow

Jocelyn

 

 

 
     
     

 
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