Dodgergirl
Mar 22, 2008, 08:27 PM
Mountain's majesty
Visitors to Yosemite National Park are being reminded to load up their cameras and be ready to capture the cascading sights of one of the park's major attractions -- its waterfalls.
"It's beautiful out here right now," park spokeswoman Adrienne Freeman said Friday. "There's still a little bit of snow on the Valley floor, and the waterfalls are really starting to go."
And unlike last year when the waterfalls peaked out at the end of April because of one of the driest winters at the park in the past 90 years, this waterfalls-watching season promises to be different, she said.
"We are not peaking yet, and we're hoping the cold temperatures we're currently experiencing will hold the snowpacks until next month or so," she said, pointing out that normally the waterfalls don't peak out until around the beginning of June.
Snow surveys early this month found the snowpack in the Merced River drainage at about 119% of average for this time of year, and the snowpack in the Tuolumne River drainage at about 121% of average.
All this should be good news for Yosemite visitors looking to enjoy the park's rivers, streams and waterfalls, Freeman said.
Freeman, however, couldn't help but issue a safety reminder.
"The waters are running really fast and really cold," she said.
"We want people to be careful, especially when attempting to hike across streams."
The falls, however, are not the only special sights awaiting visitors at this time of year, Freeman said.
"It's spring," she said. "You can't believe the colors of the trees at the lower elevations, and everywhere you look it's covered with wildflowers."
And, she said, only $20 a carload -- good for seven days -- will get you into the park.
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/478451.html
Visitors to Yosemite National Park are being reminded to load up their cameras and be ready to capture the cascading sights of one of the park's major attractions -- its waterfalls.
"It's beautiful out here right now," park spokeswoman Adrienne Freeman said Friday. "There's still a little bit of snow on the Valley floor, and the waterfalls are really starting to go."
And unlike last year when the waterfalls peaked out at the end of April because of one of the driest winters at the park in the past 90 years, this waterfalls-watching season promises to be different, she said.
"We are not peaking yet, and we're hoping the cold temperatures we're currently experiencing will hold the snowpacks until next month or so," she said, pointing out that normally the waterfalls don't peak out until around the beginning of June.
Snow surveys early this month found the snowpack in the Merced River drainage at about 119% of average for this time of year, and the snowpack in the Tuolumne River drainage at about 121% of average.
All this should be good news for Yosemite visitors looking to enjoy the park's rivers, streams and waterfalls, Freeman said.
Freeman, however, couldn't help but issue a safety reminder.
"The waters are running really fast and really cold," she said.
"We want people to be careful, especially when attempting to hike across streams."
The falls, however, are not the only special sights awaiting visitors at this time of year, Freeman said.
"It's spring," she said. "You can't believe the colors of the trees at the lower elevations, and everywhere you look it's covered with wildflowers."
And, she said, only $20 a carload -- good for seven days -- will get you into the park.
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/478451.html