Getting into the ‘Grove’

Giant sequoias, always majestic and impressive, appear more so beneath a coat of snow. When I toured Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park for the first time in winter, enormous and beautiful trees towered overhead. The splendor astounded me.

I skied for miles without seeing another person. The peace and serenity contrasted wildly with my previous visit to the popular grove, and reminded me of my family history.

Henry Finck hiked through this same grove in the 1880s. In his book “The Pacific Crest Scenic Tour,” my great-great uncle documented his visit.

“The Sequoia exceeds all other trees … Ten of our party clasped hands to encircle the Grizzly Giant, but the endmen could not begin to even see each other on the other side. I walked around it and counted 53 steps,” wrote Henry, brother of my great grandmother, of the grove’s most famous resident. “But the Grizzly Giant must not detain us too long; for there are several hundred more Sequoias to be seen.”

Henry endured long and difficult stagecoach rides just to reach Yosemite. His reward was a journey through a “virgin forest,” as he called it, in its early days of federal protection. About 2,000 people visited Yosemite per year in the 1880s, and the first paved roads and automobiles were decades away.

I envied Henry’s experience which differed greatly from my first walk through Mariposa Grove in the 1990s. Four million visitors per year flocked to Yosemite in that decade, and it felt like most were there at the same time as me.

Traffic jams formed at the grove’s trailhead. Asphalt roads led right by the sequoias. A diesel tram and pit toilets did no favors to the fragile ecosystem. As much as I love Yosemite and a walk through a pretty forest, I didn’t rush to return.

Thankfully, other park advocates felt the same way and took action. From 2015 to 2018, the National Park Service and Yosemite Conservancy collaborated on a $40 million restoration effort at Mariposa Grove, the largest in park history.

The project removed 20,500 feet of asphalt pavement, pit toilets, a gift shop and the tram. At the same time, workers restored four acres of sequoia habitat, built four miles of new trails, constructed 600 feet of boardwalk to protect the trees’ roots and installed new restrooms with flush toilets.

“The grove restoration occurred because tens of thousands of people all invested in protecting a unique natural phenomenon,” said Yosemite Conservancy President Frank Dean. “Trails are supposed to take visitors someplace magical. Today, a walk in the grove has been transformed into a more beautiful and peaceful experience with the focus squarely on the trees.”

That was exactly my impression when I recently visited the grove again. Because I arrived in winter, the shuttle between the new welcome plaza and the grove was closed, so I had to walk two miles on the approach road. That was a small price to pay for a quiet adventure that was more like my uncle’s outing, 140 years earlier, than my previous hike on a busy summer weekend.

The grove’s 500 sequoias stretch up to 300 feet into the sky and as much as 3,000 years into the past. During a 10-mile tour on my cross country skis, I admired Grizzly Giant, Bachelor and Three Graces, Clothespin Tree, the Faithful Couple and hundreds of other equally beautiful trees.

Privileged with such an enjoyable journey, I felt grateful to those who made it possible. History rightfully credits President Abraham Lincoln, President Theodore Roosevelt and conservationist John Muir for protecting national treasures like Yosemite. The grove’s advocates deserve deep thanks for its masterful restoration.

Too often, I feel, the public inadequately recognizes the original custodians of all North American wilderness: Native Americans. So I was glad to see new signage properly acknowledge seven tribes historically connected to Yosemite.

These are the Bishop Paiute Tribe, Bridgeport Indian Colony, Mono Lake Kootzaduka’a Tribe, North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California, Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation and Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians.

A highlight of my trek was achieving Wawona Point. From its 6,810 foot summit, Indigenous people used to use fire to communicate across the landscape. I spotted Signal Peak, Wawona Dome and the South Fork of the Merced River.

Then I spotted something else far more surprising: a raven landed on a rock just a few feet from my lunch spot. My companion squawked and looked at me hopefully yet I knew better than to feed him. After a moment, he flew away but I enjoyed “meeting” him. That would never happen with a crowd of people around, I’m sure.

Yosemite still gets four million visitors a year, but only the hardy few experience the park in winter.

For those who enjoy a snowy walk on skis or snowshoes, now’s a great time to see the “new” Mariposa Grove.

Matt Johanson enjoys hiking, climbing, skiing and writing about the outdoors. His books include “Yosemite Epics,” “Yosemite Adventures” and “California Summits.” He can be reached at matt.johanson@sbcglobal.net.