"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
Hmmm .... never even seen a bear around there. Once when I followed the stream itself the whole way back down from the divide rather than the trail, with a lot of downfall involved, encountered the largest coyote I've even seen in my life trying to take down a huge mule deer all by itself. I do know that a Sasquatch sure scared some 4-wheelers out of a back road along Granite Creek one summer ... heh, heh.
Last time I was over the top around the Harriet Lake bench about 6 yrs ago, no people around anywhere, but lots of fresh bighorn sign, so they're reclaiming some of their former territory. Lots of obsidian chips laying around from ancient bighorn hunters.
IIRC the rangers in YNP used to chauffer severely anti-social bears from Yosemite Valley into the Granite Creek area in hopes that a near sighted deer hunter would mistake one for a buck before it could beat the bear chariot (a piece of steel culvert on wheels) back to Yosemite Valley. I've seen a bear hanging around the trailhead scoping out a camper, but that was years ago, LOL!
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
Well, those were sure some rich fat bears if they could afford a chauffeur. Wonder what UBER would have charged em for the drive? But then again, the ride might be a bit cramped. Them wahr some big garbage-addicted bears, and were no doubt more comfortable in a Limo. The road past Clover Mdw was awfully rutted, however. That particular area was basically the main waystation for tribes commuting over Mammoth Pass, for at least 12,000 years, probably longer. And later Mono Indians had a set of caves or rock-shelters somewhere on the Shuteye massif to spend the previous night - that's where the name Shuteye came from.
I wonder what happened to the old bear chariot? The last time I was in the valley I saw a new one made from custom welded steel plate, sort of like a huge Hav-A-Heart trap with a suspension system---a deluxe ride for sure!
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
Well, some of the bears actually traversed the Valley during the drought, following canals etc, and are beginning to turn up in burbs on this side - Tracy swimming pools, quite a few at the edge of wine country in back yards and fields. None right around here. We now get a number of bird species previously never seen this far west. Everything is getting mixed up by all this climate change. All the low-rider bears migrated to LA of course. Most of the naughty Yosemite bears got deported to the mountains above LA, and instantly became cabin burglars, and have also taken over swimming pools down below. Probably play loud music too.
One of my favorite bands from Drew's neck of the woods:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBNox7kkXRc
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
One of the last buildings still standing from the old SJ&E narrow gauge RR camps was the Moose Lodge. It attracted the worst teenage band conceivable. A schoolmate of mine who lived even further into the canyon was born with severe artery disease and not expected to live past his teen years, so was allowed to do anything his wished with no expectations. So he became the world's worst rock guitarist, but enjoyed it. Last I heard, he is still going and has quite a few grandchildren.
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