Re: The CCC and Yosemite

L.A. Times article on Sunday, 1 February, 2009:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-yosemite-ccc-stimulus1-2009feb01,0,3759868.story

Most visitors to the park are unaware that a good deal of the trail system and much of the infrastructure was constructed under the auspices of the CCC and the WPA during the Depression.



Post Edited (02-01-09 18:23)

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THE YOSEMITE POST
Voice of the Rocky Marmot Empire

>good deal of the trail system

???

The article only talked about Half Dome cables and May Lake.

If you look at old topos a HUGE number of trails existed by 1911.
By 1929 even more. I put a link awhile ago about old topos...
There didn't seem to be much interest.

Another interesting thing is that you can find a number of trails which
no longer exist today. (which is why I love the old topos)
(stuff I have been scoping out xcountrying to... it's like, hey, there used
to be a trail thru there!)

Anyway, I'm really not trying to take anything away from the civilian CC.

Anyone who works on trails gets my heart-felt thanks.

Nowadays you will run across the CALIFORNIA Convservation Corps mostly.
http://www.ccc.ca.gov/backcountry/bcpage.htm
They are my heroes. We always say THANKS to them as we hike by.

I think the California CC (not the civilian) constructed the Red Peak Pass trail.. but not sure. Anyone know?

Ok... no way the California CC constructed Red Peak Pass since
it (the CalCC) did not come about until 1976.

Looks like it was indeed the Civilian CC since Red Peak Pass trail is on
a 1941 map.

This online book is an excellent reference (also lots of maps, drawings, photos):
http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/yosemite_resources/

(Not quite as long as "War and Peace," but it's close.)

Note to Dale: Haven't looked at this reference for a couple years. Actually, it looks like some of the backcountry trail artifacts that I thought were exclusively 1930's construction may date from the 1920's. (The Park Service appears to have been flush with money at that time - that was the same period when construction of the Going-To-The-Sun Road in Glacier was taking place.) I'm referring to areas where there is extensive stonework and "mule steps."



Post Edited (02-02-09 05:25)

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THE YOSEMITE POST
Voice of the Rocky Marmot Empire

would examples of stonework be the "guard rails" of raised stone along the JMT heading up towards Half Dome?
B

Bee, the "Yosemite Resources" book linked to above has a nice history
of the JMT. Amazingly this trail started construction in 1915.

From "Yosemite Resources":

Theodore S. Solomons, a mountain-climbing enthusiast and one of the founding members of the Sierra Club,
first conceived of a pack trail across the southern High Sierra paralleling the main crest as a young boy of
fourteen. He arrived in Yosemite in 1892 to begin the first of a series of organized explorations of the region
to find a practicable route.
...
After Solomons’s groundbreaking, other
explorers subsequently penetrated new areas and established new landmarks which facilitated perfecting of
the route. In 1898 LeConte followed Solomons’s route south from Yosemite and pioneered a way to King’s
River Canyon. Because the southern part of the route avoided the High Sierra at its most beautiful point,
however, it was still not considered the true high mountain route that Solomons had striven for.

LeConte continued working out and piecing together bits of the route until he finally completed the desired
228-mile route in 1908. His 1909 map outlines in detail most of the present John Muir Trail.

By that time the areas at either end of the route had been well mapped, making the whole region known,
although as yet inaccessible to most people. Yosemite National Park already had a decent trail system, but
most of the rest of the proposed route lay in national forests. The northern part consisted primarily of Indian
paths and sheep trails, while farther south various agencies, including the U. S. Forest Service, Fresno and
Tulare counties, and the Sierra Club had built or financed improvements on trails in various sections. It still
remained difficult to pass from one region to another and most of the trail was only generally indicated on
maps.

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My comments:
- I wanna know what the "High Sierra at it's most beautiful point" is
- The Sierra Club had a huge involvement in it...
- By 1909 "Yosemite National Park already had a decent trail system"
- Still can't find by who and when Red Peak Pass trail was constructed
(must admit when I looked at all the books on the site above a year
or so ago I was only "picture reading"... looking for maps...)

bill-e-g :
>>Bee, the "Yosemite Resources" book linked to above has a nice history
of the JMT. Amazingly this trail started construction in 1915.<<


I will take a look at this link. I really like the historical round-up on what most people would consider obscure topics. Actually, when I read the book "Death at Yosemite" by Ghiglieri and Farabee, my favorite part was the care taken with the history (I have always had a keen interest in Hetch Hetchy, and they did a nice overview of its demise)

This board keeps excellent records, so I have been able to go back and pick up on some really good tips and conversations!

B

One of our complaints about the whole Restore HH thing is
noone ever talks about Lake Eleanor. Never hear it mentioned even.
Last time I looked it's in the park too.

I waffle on the whole "restore" thing. There's all kinds of arguments...
restore to what? We've only been around for a blip in time.
At the moment my feeling is just leave it be. As in life itself we have to
live with our mistakes. They try to keep it pretty full in the most
visited months.

If this turns into a Restore HH thread though your "global warming" post
will get a run for it's money.

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Everything I know I learned from

bill-e-g : >>If this turns into a Restore HH thread though your "global warming" post
will get a run for it's money.<<

OKAY, you have piqued my interest.....I posed a HH question over at the "Global Warming" lounge.

B