Heart of the Sierras,1936

man-made monuments never equal the majestic cathedrals of nature's great out-of-doors very even a sunrise don't ring through the silvery mist of mornings at Harbor among a jewel free the symphony of lights and shadows that is beyond human imitation Yosemite National Park is dedicated as a public place it embraces more than a thousand square miles of California's most firing Mountain grandeur where all the rugged features of the wilderness configured to make of it an amphitheater heart of the Sierras here even the weariest of wild creatures seem to lose their long heritage fear of man and condescend to certain friendly intimacy's with the gang gypsies on vacation from noisy and crowded cities but there are also other less amiable local residents of the Big Woods this shaggy faux is going in for a bit of rather amateurish highway robbery but he's quite easily put to flight this famous Wilona or tunnel free is said to be among the oldest and largest living things on all the earth it is one of the Jaipur fees of which there are cells in the park this particular one towers 231 feet into the air perched on hanging rock 3,000 feet up above yosemite valley is like standing on a cloud and looking down upon a Sylvan world in miniature streams and roads appear like reds of silver on the green valley floor even the distance however cannot dwarf the surrounding Peaks beside the park museum is a cross section of one of the giant trees for which yosemite is famous and which graphically explains their phenomenal age by counting the Year rings of this particular tree it has been determined that for more than a thousand years it lived and grew in this same valley and looked upon this same scene where the cataracts come down a broken roar and the Palisades like fragments an uncompleted world defy approach whitis seemed to tumble out of clouded skies it is not difficult to understand why these Falls were named Bridal Veil Falls oh why the lofty and rugged Buckman's from which they drop sheer for six hundred and twenty feet are called cathedral rock the several attractive public campgrounds are maintained by the National Park Service and are open throughout most of the year the only requirements are that the visitors enjoy themselves respect the rigid rules against dropping an empty tin can wear it should not be and that no person shall remain more than 30 days in the floor of Yosemite one year as a persian playing games of various sort is encouraged and the convenience and comfort of the campers is assisted even to the extent of having available for rental practically all the necessities for setting up housekeeping in a tent in the big woods one of the most fascinating spots in the park is the mountainous amphitheater of giant granite castles that look down onto the limpid surface of neroli here the bursting spray of Yosemite Falls drops nine times the height of Niagara Falls then a moment later makes another sheer drop equivalent to two more niagara's counting the short series of cascades in between upper and lower Yosemite Falls the total drop compressed to valley floor is 2565 teams oh gee but it's tough to get up in the morning especially when a fellas on vacation and you know the waters icy cold the rest of the gang may be faster than this little fella but who said he was afraid of that frigid plan ah who knows this may be a future Olympic diving champion a considerable part of your sanity still remains quite as virginal wilderness as it was thousands of years ago and is reached only by rocco's and patience sure-footed saddle horses or with a little camp outfit carried in a pack on one's own bag but the rigors of a long upward climb are soon forgotten when one finds a rainbow at the end of the trail if there's a rainbow at the bottom of the falls what must they be at the top vernal falls with its 370 foot stretch of white satin spray is considered by many as the most perfect and beautiful of all here once again with even louder voice the cataract comes down in broken roar and thunders a thousand echoes to its canyon wall all ending in silky spray through which nature traces another rainbow you through the lower canyon waters become less violent the plundering subdues into c stoned musical accompaniment and finally comes but a murmur as it rolls contentedly along through Yosemite s majestic splendor of wooded valleys and towering peaks you