Oh, Ranger! Why is Yosemite National Park in flames?
Yosemite Valley, with its polished granite domes, chiseled ridges, towering waterfalls and alpine meadows, “Is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space.” (Ansel Adams) Or at least it should be, except when it’s shrouded in smoke from the Grouse Creek (three miles southwest of Yosemite Valley) and the Harden fires (thirteen miles north of Yosemite Valley). It was certainly a little disappointing to see Yosemite’s majestic, glacier sculpted, granite cliffs and the soaring peaks of El Capitan and Half Dome veiled in a diaphanous smoky haze. The lightning strike fires, which had been burning steadily since early June 2009, heralded a premature summer migration of wildlife away from the tree lined valley and into the High Sierra. The fires also obscured popular panoramic valley vistas, bisected well traveled hiking trails and deeply disheartened landscape photographers. Slideshow: Yosemite, Hetch Hetchy & The High Sierra Unfortunately, visi
