An Early Morning Mist Trail Adventure

An Early Morning Mist Trail Adventure 

That included a surprise bear appearance 

by Gabriella Molina
gcm37@txstate.edu

Steps Taken: 33, 110

It was still dark out when the alarm rang at 4:30 a.m. After struggling to get up for some time, the adventure began around 5 a.m. Following a path that we discovered earlier in the trip (Thanks to Kaleb), we made our way to the Mist Trail. Determined and ready, we embarked on this trail. At first, nothing too out of the ordinary. The trail consisted of smaller hills that eventually lead up to bigger hills. As we kept going further, the steeper the hills became. Eventually, we found ourselves eye level with the side of a mountain that was once high above us. Moving right along we ran into a group of about five people who had stopped in their tracks. "There's a bear right after you turn past that rock," one woman said. Exuberantly, we continued past them, hoping to see the bear for ourselves. Lo and behold, there stood a brown bear nibbling on the brush around it. It had a tag on its ear, and it looked up at us as we tried to get pictures and videos for evidence.

Brown Bear from the Mist Trail
Photo by Gabriella Molina

Standing at the rail on our way to complete Vernal Falls trail
Photo by Mike Garcia

Once we each captured our little piece of the moment, we continued on the trail, trying not to bother the bear any further. We continued on the trail until we reached the bridge that marked what is said to be the halfway point for the Vernal Trail. Knowing that we had to go take b-roll of the junior park rangers program at 10 a.m., we decided we would go as far as we could while leaving enough time to make it to the program. We went past the bridge, (after taking some pictures, of course) and continued on until we couldn't anymore. Walking alongside the waterfall, it didn't take long before we we were soaked. Becoming concerned with how long it might take us to dry off before the junior ranger program, we decided to turn around and make our way back down. Overall, this hike was definitely the most memorable hike ever. Mike said all he wanted to do was see a bear on this trip, and he definitely got his wish. As for me I got great content for instagram, but I must admit, being one of the few students to see a bear on this trip was definitely icing on the cake!

Art Center Experiences

Art Center Experiences

It's not just for the kids

By Gabriella Molina

gcm37@txtstate.edu

Steps Taken: 21, 885

Today's planned activity was nature journaling. Before the nature journaling began, my goal was getting some usable b-roll for my new mini-documentary topic: why families visit Yosemite. I began going around talking to parents in the art center and their children. The art center was a very interesting place. A few of the parents liked the fact that it was a nice air conditioned building, which offered a spot where parents and children could cool off after hiking. After doing an interview, I joined the rest of our class for our nature journaling. This activity was directed by the art center coordinator Lora Spielman. Lora did a great job conducting the nature journaling. I chose a little green stem that was sticking up from the ground. I liked how small, yet intricate it was and the bright green color of it stuck out to me the most. After looking closely, I could see that the small green leaves poking from the stem had very tiny brownish yellow spots on the ends. All of these little details I paid very close attention to after hearing Lora explain important it is to pick up on the details when it comes to nature journaling. 

My favorite part of the nature journaling would have to be finally painting our sketches. Lora showed us how to use our brush to create different looks depending on whether we paint on dry paper or if we get it wet first. Using both techniques, I developed different looks to decorate around my painted sketch. 

Overall nature journaling was something I throughly enjoyed. It was nice to focus on something so small that I think gets often overlooked in an everyday setting. Being in Yosemite has made me more aware of the nature around me, and hearing Lora describe the different things that there are to pay attention to has helped it become more of habit. Being more aware is something that I plan on taking with me when I go back home. 

Wild Goose Chase of a Day

Wild Goose Chase of a Day

By Gabriella Molina

gcm37@txstate.edu 

Steps Taken: 18, 376

Wahhoga Roundhouse in Yosemite's Indian Village exhibit
Photo by Gabriella Molina

This day was an adventure to say the least. It began with Mike and I getting together and brainstorming our best questions for an interview about the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation to discuss their legacy here in Yosemite and the building of the Wahhoga Roundhouse. Our dream interview was cut short. In fact, it didn't happen at all. Feeling discouraged, we looked towards other sources that we could get in touch with to get the story that we each so desperately wanted. We remembered our friend Kaleb (from the tour yesterday), and figured if he wanted to help, the time would be now. However, neither of us had his contact info, or a means for getting it. We walked over to the Yosemite Visitors Center to ask someone else from the Conservancy for Kaleb's information. While waiting in line, Mike began a conversation with an older woman in line behind us. We explained the story that we were working on and how difficult it had been for us to get an interview. The woman told us that she was from this area and that her and her family come back to visit often. In fact, she had been around so long here that she knew Julia Parker. For those who don't know, Julia Parker is the last living Miwuk member still being featured at the museum here in Yosemite Village, making her the perfect person to interview for this story! The older woman explained how Julia Parker usually waits for a YARTS bus at a certain time of a day every day. So there we go, Mike and I. We sat and waited and waited... and waited. No sign of Julia Parker whatsoever. Feeling a little defeated, we made our way back to Half Dome to meet with Dale. After some discussion, we came to the conclusion that changing our story would be necessary to produce something in time for our deadlines. 

Arriving at Yosemite, Greeted with a Tour

Arriving at Yosemite, Greeted with a Tour

By Gabriella Molina
gcm37@txstate.edu

Steps Taken Arrival Day: 11, 718
Steps Taken Day 2: 18,376

Arriving in Yosemite 

Getting to Yosemite was quite the journey. A sleepy one, I might add. It began with a 5 a.m. arrival at the Austin airport. Lack of planning of my end led to an unexpected additional carry-on check. A water bottle, a bottle of shampoo, and my holy grail hair serum were the culprit items that exceeded the allowed quantity of 3.4 ounces of liquid in a carry-on bag. Once on the plane, the only goal in my mind was to get a nap in, which happened. After waking up in Phoenix, me and the rest of the group quickly boarded on to another plane that would take us to Fresno. Once on that plane, I almost immediately settled back into sleep. Finally in Fresno, we loaded up the vans and made way for Yosemite. On our way there, we stopped for a meal at 1850 Restaurant and Brewery in Mariposa, CA. It was a fun "Welcome Lunch" as our professor called it, and we all got the chance to get to know each other a little better before finally getting to Yosemite.

After arriving in Yosemite, the rest of the day was mostly just getting to know the area that we were going to be staying in. I teamed up with my cabin-mate Bailey, and we took to walk around Half Dome Village. We got a chance to look at our good options there at Half Dome Village and once it got dark, we headed back to our cabin for shower-time and then finally, bedtime.

Kaleb Shows us Around Yosemite National Park 

Kaleb talking about the Yosemite Conservancy
Photo by Gabriella Molina

A nice beautiful Monday morning was spent with a Yosemite Conservancy Interpretist named Kaleb Goff. We began our journey by hearing a little bit about what the Conservancy here at Yosemite is all about. The main goal of the Conservancy, as Kaleb put it is to get people to care about Yosemite and wanting to protect it. He explained how the Conservancy takes on a conservationist perspective. This means that the Conservancy wants people to be apart of the park and grow an attachment to this place so that Yosemite can be around forever.

Ponderosa Pine Bark
Photo by Gabriella Molina

We walked all over the park learning about the Ponderosa Pine, different trails, plants, wildlife and many other things that are all a part of the park here. Turns out Yosemite was a lot bigger than I would have thought! Everything that I learned about the park from Kaleb today showed me just how much this place needs to be taken care of by any and all visitors that come here. Kaleb, thanks for everything. Your mission has been accomplished!