Yosemite National Park, CA

Dates

Jun 10th - Jun 16th 2012

Service Project

Removing invasive weeds, campsite restoration

Free Days

Dayhiking, swimming, photography

Accommodations

Backpack camping

Trip Rating

Strenuous : 5 mile backpack to base camp. 6 mile daily round trip hike to worksite. Pack animal supported.

Leaders

Dean Twehues
Laurie Twehues

Equipment

Yosemite National Park, located in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains is one of the first wilderness parks in the United States. It is best know for its waterfalls but within its nearly 1,200 square miles you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area and much, much, more!

Our ongoing project, in it's fifth year, will take place in the Hetch Hetchy section of the park. Around the turn of the 20th century, Hetch Hetchy Valley became the center of a bitter political struggle when the City of San Francisco wanted to dam the Tuolumne River inside Yosemite National Park as a source of drinking water and hydroelectric power. In 1913, conservationists led by John Muir lost the battle when Congress passed the Raker Act, authorizing the construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam. Even with the dam and reservoir, this is a spectacular and beautiful part of the Sierras. Large sheets and domes of granite, expansive views and high peaks abound. Come visit backcountry Yosemite and help us Give Something Back to this premier park.

Our Yosemite National Park service project is invasive weed removal in a remote, tucked-away high sierra valley where wetlands and wildlife abound. We'll also conduct a day of campsite restoration in a more heavily-used camping area. This project requires participants to hike roughly 6 miles each day to the work sites with day packs, and includes a backpack of approximately 5 miles to Rancheria Falls where we'll set up basecamp. The Park Service will supply pack support to carry the tools, food and commissary gear to camp.

Check out more photos from last year's Yosemite project in our gallery.