Falling for Yosemite: One woman's journey

Ardeth Huntington fell in love some 30 years ago, gave up her Southern California beach house and moved to the edge of her personal paradise.

There was no other way, really, to describe her feelings toward a Rhode Island-size chunk of land in the middle of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. Friends would be forgiven if they thought she'd gone mad.

Why would a perfectly healthy woman in the prime of life take early retirement just to be near a national park?

Her answer is simple. Yosemite felt like going home.

"I hardly knew Yosemite existed until a friend suggested we go skiing there," said Huntington, author of Yosemite National Park: A Personal Discovery. "It was one of those 'ah ha!' moments and knowing you wouldn't be satisfied until you had more."

Huntington lived and breathed Yosemite during a decade of employment with the National Park Service. Her book is filled with the glorious revelations of the author's adventuresome spirit. Her text is not a hiking guide although it does cover geography, history and nature. Its chapters give readers a lesson for re-acquainting themselves with nature generally and Yosemite in particular.

Huntington was not some free-spirited Gypsy who finally landed in one of America's most stunning natural wonders. She was an Illinois gal who left behind the Chicago snow for Manhattan Beach south of Los Angeles. After earning a master's degree in English at UCLA, Huntington became an editor and writer for the booming aerospace industry.

Her writing assignments landed Huntington on a team that designed the Apollo Lunar Engine Descent Module. Her pride swelled in 1969 when astronaut Neil Armstrong took that first small step on the moon.

An even greater feeling overcame her three decades ago when she and her friend went skiing in Yosemite.

"We arrived late at night and I led the way to our cabin with flashlight in hand," Huntington remembered. "Suddenly there among the trees I found myself within touching distance of a gigantic boulder as big as a house.

Just like Neil Armstrong, "I realized I was in a whole different world."

According to Huntington, autumn and winter months in Yosemite provide many "ah ha!" moments to adventuresome visitors. The park becomes a quiet place again after a frenetic summer, and visitors can take in the park's beauty without bumping elbows of other tourists.

Huntington lives in Mariposa, just a crow's flight from the park and has seen it change through every season. Autumn is one of her favorite times of year there. But so are winter, spring and summer.

She has seen the way an autumn sunset lowers its amber halo around the rim of Yosemite Valley. She's witnessed groves of Big Leaf Maple yield a brief flame of color between summer warmth and the first snows in the park.

As the Miwok Native Americans hundreds of years before her, Huntington has let the pine-laden air of autumn fill her nostrils.

For fall travelers Huntington offer the following words of wisdom:

• Bring chains. You might encounter rain one minute and snow the next.
• Pack warm clothes, gloves and boots, especially if you intend to hike.
• Major arteries such as Tioga Pass close for the winter, so plan alternative routes and get road conditions the day of travel.
• Park your car and use Yosemite Valley's free shuttle bus transportation. Skiers can take a free bus ride from the valley floor to Badger Pass ski area.
• Check the free Yosemite Guide newspaper found at park entrances for a list of activities.

"There are always things to do in Yosemite no matter what time of year it is," Huntington said. "Sometimes 'to do' means not to do anything but stand in a meadow and just drink in the surrounding majestic granite walls. It's completely humbling."

For details about visiting Yosemite in autumn or winter and other related information:

Yosemite travel information

http://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm

Yosemite accommodations & activities

http://www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations.aspx

America's Best Idea Today

http://www.nps.gov/americasbestidea

Article by Jay Alling, editor of Sensible Driver. Write to jay@sensibledriver.com.