Well we haven’t blogged in
a few days and there’s a lot to update everyone about, so this one will
be a long one.
Monday, June 4th
Climbed a few routes at the central Owens River Gorge
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| Michael leading Hungover (5.11b) |
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| Michael excited about his new rope that came in the mail |
Wednesday, June 6
We left Bishop, CA and the high sierras behind hoping for a
change in pace and different scenery…. And California sure did deliver.
We didn’t end up climbing Mt. Temple mostly due to Michael’s
heel and we thought let’s go do big multipitch in Tuolumne meadows in Yosemite that
have short approaches. So we left our gravy, free campsite in Pine Creek
Canyon, bought two weeks of groceries and planned to spend the next two weeks climbing
Yosemite National Park.
On our way into Yosemite we stopped at
Whoa Nellie Deli in
Lee Vining on our friend Tiffany’s suggestion. It was delicious and we both
still had a hard time believing they offered such gourmet food in… a gas
station. Thanks Tiff!
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| BBQ chicken pizza with cilantro sauce at Whoa Nellie Deli |
We assumed we could camp in Tuolumne Meadows since we read
on their website there was several campsites next to the climbs we wanted to do
(cathedral peak, matthes crest, Fairview dome, eichorn pinnacle to name a few) we
would just have to pay $10 to $20 every night. To our surprise and disappointment all of the
campsites were closed till July and the only ones open were in Yosemite valley.
So change of plans again. The valley we find is packed, swarming with tourists
taking pictures of everything and clogging the roads trying to find parking. We
find camp four, the infamous site of Yosemite dirtbag climbers, only to find it
FULL with well..... tourists, not climbers. We hunt down the ranger on site and she manages to squeeze us into a
site. In the middle of the camp 4 parking lot there is a trailer with a bent
door, exemplifying what bears will do to your car if you leave food in it. We
thought “haha” what city-slicker would be dumb enough leave that much food in
their car to merit a bear to shred a car to pieces. We settle in for the
evening with plans to rise early and climb Snake dike (5.7R) up half dome the
next day.
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| Half Dome (Snake Dike 5.7R goes up the right side of the dome on the slabs) |
Thursday, June 7th
We wake up around
6am gather our things and make the 100yd walk from our campsite to where our car
is parked. 50yds into the walk we see at least 20 people lined up to get a
camping permit and I notice a white Prius with official seals on the side of
the car with two rangers leaned up against the car as if waiting for someone. I
thought “uh ohh…,” a bear must have gotten into someone’s car last night. 25yds
from the car I notice something sticking out from the side of Michael’s camry.
Noooooo….. it’s not possible. WTF. Michael blind with no
contacts or glasses is oblivious to the scene as my stomach turns in knots. The
rangers ask us if the camry with Texas plates is ours, we say yes….. “well you’ve
been beargularized.” Upon closer inspection… sure enough one door has been
completely pried open with shattered glass everywhere and a second door the
bear also but tried unsuccessfully to bend open. Mr. Bear turns out, ripped
open our car for a flimsy head of garlic that we forgot to put into the bear bins at
our campsite. Luckily the rangers didn’t give us a citation, usually cases
where food is left in cars is a $1000 citation. Although the rangers weren’t
surprised at all that a bear wasted time and energy ripping the car apart for a
lousy piece of garlic to stink up its breath.
Stupid bear… why couldn’t you have just broken the glass
like any normal burglar? Was it really necessary to inflict body damage to the
poor car and then just walk away for some f***ing garlic!?!
THE BEAR DAMAGE
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| nom nom...! yummy... car upholstery and yellow foam |
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Broken window and bent door frame.... classy
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And so begins my diatribe. We’ve both been in the remote wilderness
countless times, where each time we’ve never had such an encounter with a bear.
Sure we’ve had bears mess with our bear bags hanging up in the trees, but it’s
not often bears will succeed in taking away the booty and if you get within a
100yds of the bear they run at the site
of human presence. Wild bears are just like every other animal, skittish and
constantly in flight or fight mode. Not
such in Yosemite valley where a previous wilderness is now a populated and
humanized tourist town. Yummy, accessible food is dropped and deposited
carelessly from tourists and campers alike over the past few decades and
generations of bears are now accustomed to living off of the “freebies.” It’s
an easy life and just like humans the bears realize our life is easy and why
not join in raiding our bountiful waste instead of foraging for their own food.
I’m afraid to say we've ruined the bears of Yosemite, humans have changed their lives so
dramatically that they’re no longer wildlife but domesticated. I don’t blame
the bear for what he did to our car he doesn't know any better, but in due
course of time that same bear will be captured and either euthanized or
relocated 100’s of miles away. The bear
becomes a threat to human lives and because we want to take over his wilderness
for our enjoyment, he gets punished by being killed or relocated.
I’m afraid to say the National Park Service might have
failed slightly at their jobs. While they’re doing a fantastic job of making
wilderness areas more accessible for the masses, they're forgetting an important
part about educating the masses about the wilderness and leaving less of an impact. National Parks and wilderness areas were created in order to
preserve these areas and protect them from commercialization and human impact,
but this isn't what we see today. Where did we go wrong?
With our tails tucked between our legs we drive out Yosemite
N. Park for San Jose, hoping never to return. We make it to San Jose, find a
motel close to San Jose State University and empty out the car and place all of
our belongings in the room.
I can’t even explain how many people got a huge laugh at the
expense of our blunder. So many people were shocked to hear a bear managed to
pry a door frame in half for some garlic. “Some bear..” they’d say. We didn't think it was too funny, our home on the road was no longer water-proof or burglar-proof.
I needed to go up to campus to meet with my graduate advisor
and complete paperwork for the following school year. While busy with this
Michael found a body shop who bent the door frame flush with the rest of the
car for free, after he laughed for a good minute about the incident first. We
placed painter’s tarp over the window and duck taped it, now it only looks like
we got robbed by a real burglar, rather than a “bearglar.”
Later that night we headed out and about to grab a nice, sit
down dinner. Our friend John Clements back in Lubbock had given us a Red
Lobster gift card for our trip and we want to thank him for the dinner he gave
us last night. It was delicious John, we really appreciate it! I’m sad to say
we weren’t able to climb anything in Yosemite and send you pictures.
Friday, June 8th
We slept in at the motel and then gathered our things and hit the road out of San Jose to Siletz, Oregon, where one of set of Michael's grandparents live. More to come soon.
*I'll try and take more pictures next time... were slacking in that department.*
