tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5026802211765658852024-03-05T13:54:36.945-06:00Mountains of LightPilgrimage in NatureMark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-54397943700819151422014-04-16T12:22:00.002-05:002018-09-02T19:46:11.920-05:00Bare, Dry Woods<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
snow of winter has melted away, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">but spring has not arrived and the air is still
crisp. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The woods are brown and bare; </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">no hint of green. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">A hawk soars over the
trees scanning the ground. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Three deer wander up the valley by the creek; </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">two
are fawns, nibbling at something </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">that I can’t see. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">A white-eared
squirrel stuffs dry leaves in its mouth, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">carries them up the trunk of a hollow
tree, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">and disappears inside to make a nest. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">At dusk, a young raccoon ambles by, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">not minding that I watch.<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> *</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
This blog is combining with my blog that helps people as they journey through grief, as well as help their friends and family understand what they can do and say to help. http://widowersgrief.blogspot.com<br />
<br />
You can also check my full author website at http://markliebenow.com<br />
<br />
Or catch me on Facebook, Instagram (MarkYosemite), or Twitter (MarkLiebenow2).<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-54889187025449565922013-10-19T09:00:00.003-05:002013-10-21T11:44:40.134-05:00Rain and Cold<!--StartFragment-->
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b>Journal
Entry<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Today
is a day of rest for my body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
physical exertions of yesterday's dawn-to-dusk hike were considerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Generally the day after any long hike
is a rest day, or a day of several short hikes, time to let the body recoup and
stretch its muscles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far I
detect no serious tightness in my legs or hot spots on my feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although my mind wants to go on another
long hike, today’s sporadic rain dilutes my drive and encourages me to saunter
around and observe nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
also a good time to catch up on housekeeping chores—especially cleaning up the
tent, as I tend to dump things in when I return from one hike and reset my
backpack for the next day’s activity so that I can take off at daybreak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
impact of weather on camping and hiking is brought home as I encounter changing
weather conditions in mid October.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When it's rainy, much of my attention is focused on staying relatively
dry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My first concern is for the
inside of the tent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When my tent
and sleeping bag get wet, the trip is over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once the tent is secure, then I resign myself to sloshing
around all day, with parts of me perpetually wet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can endure a day of wet feet and half-wet pants, wet hands
and a wet face, as long as I have a dry place to return home to at night. After
yesterday's late rain, when I had to deal with a little seepage under the tent,
I moved my tent to a spot under a tree that stayed dry during the storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cold, wet weather is a different
creature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Hiking
in the mountains when it's raining isn't fun because the trails are always
going up or down and will be slippery and potentially dangerous in spots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The added weight and layers of rain
gear slow me down, making long hikes cumbersome, and blisters are more likely
to form on soggy toes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hiking over
flat ground in the rain is fine because there's not much friction put on the
bottom of my feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet the sights
of the valley in the rain are filled with wonder, and it's tempting to risk
hiking up to specific spots on the mountainside just to take photographs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">As
I come out of Tenaya Canyon in Yosemite after a short hike, the skies darken
and it begins to sprinkle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
thunder cracks and bangs through the sky. I love rolling thunder, especially
the type that I can feel rumbling deep in my chest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wind increases and blows camp chairs, branches, and
pieces of small sailing ships across the path. I make it back to camp and grab
my rain gear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">
<!--StartFragment-->
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">With the gear
on, I head for the open meadows so I can see what the storm is doing to the
surrounding mountains. Of particular interest is the white cloud floating
just below the lip of Upper Yosemite Fall. It's the only cloud that is
this low. The color of the water in the fall matches the white of the
cloud so it looks like the fall is pouring into the cloud like a basin. I
wonder if it’s possible that the fall is creating the cloud? Maybe the
cool air flowing down the Yosemite Creek canyon behind the fall is mixing with
the humid, warmer air rising from the valley floor and forming a cloud at the
junction. Lightning flashes and unleashes a thunderstorm that unhitches the
cloud from the fall to float down the valley towards Curry Village.</span><span style="font-family: Times-Roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Why
does walking through the rain in a wilderness place move my deeper emotions?
What is it about fog that seems to erase the boundaries of time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why does a storm make even mountains
seem vulnerable?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
walk through the pouring rain from Leidig to Sentinel and down to Stoneman and
Ahwahnee Meadows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I return to
camp the rain stops and I introduce myself to Tim and Dave who arrived today
and discover that as I was watching that cloud form below Yosemite Falls, they
were at the top of the Falls photographing it from above as lightning started
zipping around their heads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later
I learn from a ranger that it snowed so much at Tioga Pass they had to close
the road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
turn in early at 8:30 p.m. to get some sleep in case the storm intensifies
overnight and I have to battle it to keep my tent upright.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sleep fitfully for ten hours as the rain resumes, waking repeatedly to listen to the sounds of the storm echoing off the valley walls, and to check the tent for leaks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
storm makes it clear that I’m not in control here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The weather, wild animals, and the exposure to the elemental
forces of the earth tell me that I am visiting a world where life and death go
on and nothing is assured except this moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Overnight
the air gets colder as the freeze in the highlands moves down into the
valley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Temperatures have fallen
into the 20s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The carrots in my cooler
are frozen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The car won’t start,
and I may have to break out the insulated winter coat that makes me look like a
blue Michelin man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's supposed
to warm up a few degrees today and a few more tomorrow, but the sun won't rise over the south
rim of the valley and reach Camp 4 until 10 a.m. keeping camp cold, and
we’re on the sunny side of the valley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At noon, I'm still getting the last of the chill out of my bones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today being a rest day between long
hikes, I don’t have anything scheduled on the docket, other than to get warm,
and I walk around the valley floor trying to do just that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Last
night, to my great delight, I found out that the hood to my new sleeping bag
works great in cold weather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Called a "mummy bag,” I can either leave the hood flat, or pull the
drawstring so that it comes all the way around my head and keeps it warm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can draw it so tight that only my
nose sticks out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This allows me to
breathe fresh air and expel moist breath outside the bag, while I stay warm and
dry inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used to wear a
stocking cap and duck inside my old bag, but by morning I was cool and slightly
moist, so this is an improvement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">If I know that
I have a warm place to come back to, I find have a great time tromping around
in the cold. If I'm cold and wet and know that this isn't going to
change, I don't enjoy being outside as much. But I confess, it's a
growing edge—to enjoy nature’s beauty whether I am warm, cold, or wet. I
am not Cuthbert who intentionally sits in the cold water off Lindesfarne.</span><br />
<!--EndFragment-->
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">-- Mark Liebenow</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-23467411256388474772013-07-24T06:59:00.003-05:002013-07-24T06:59:31.064-05:00The Church Bowl and Ahwahnee Meadow<!--StartFragment-->
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Walking
on the upper trail going through the talus by the Church Bowl one morning in
October, trying to find Gold cup oaks, I begin to notice little things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually I'm busy looking up to see how
the massive peaks and domes look from different places in the valley and at
different times of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
today it’s the little things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
sun is in exactly the right place to reveal a crevice in what I thought was a
perfectly smooth dome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I
notice that even though the sun is shining brightly and there are no clouds,
the valley seems to be partially lit, its luminosity cut back by twenty
percent, and I wonder if this is similar to the unique lighting that draws
painters to the south of France.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Coming
down to the valley floor, I walk through the Church Bowl where worship services
used to be held.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a stone
pulpit to one side broad, an open area for the congregation to stand, and a few
rows of leveled ground, perhaps for the choir.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s also a memorial to the pastor who was here during
World War Two when the valley was taken over by the military for R & R and
the Ahwahnee Hotel was converted into a hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
hasn’t rained much over the last two months and the valley has dried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I peek into a small hollow in the woods
and find it surprisingly green and filled with water-dependent plants like
horsetails and rushes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Wanting
to linger, I sit in the southwest corner of Ahwahnee Meadow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only tree in the meadow is what I
call "Mother's Tree" because she is surrounded by her offspring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I estimate there are sixty
first-generation children and at least twenty second-generation grandchildren
in a tight circle around her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's
hard to be accurate because she’s in the middle of a restored meadow, which
means that I can’t walk over to her to count.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The afternoon is warming nicely from the morning's lingering
cold as I lazily watch the Royal Arches, Half Dome, and the meadow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The openness of the meadow provides a
clear view of the splendor that is Half Dome, which is probably why a webcam
has been set up here on the top of a wooden fence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Above
the Church Bowl, a number of climbers are making their way up the swirling
rocks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About 250 feet to the left
of the Royal Arches, a broad horizontal band of scratches goes across the rock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re on a bend in the canyon wall
and I figure that they are either the result of a glacier sliding by scratching
the wall or of geological layering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I walk over for a closer look but even when I’m looking up from directly
below, I can't tell which it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But standing here, I see about the scratches a ruler-straight fault line
coming down from the front peak that is almost at perfect right angles to the
fault line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How this was created
befuddles me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems too
straight to be natural, and almost everything around it is expressed in molten
rock that cooled into rounded domes and curves. I'm simply at a right place to
see the straight lines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-36277019020839004772013-07-10T06:53:00.003-05:002013-07-10T06:53:36.936-05:00The Old Wawona Stagecoach Road<!--StartFragment-->
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><i>There are a number of special areas in
Yosemite that I treasure because of experiences I’ve had there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These places continue to resonate in
me, and I return to them whenever I can. This is my journal entry for one hike
on the old Wawona Road.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In
the morning I leave the Wawona Tunnel parking lot and head up the Pohono Trail.
Twenty minutes later I reach the junction with the Old Wawona Stagecoach Road.
Normally I would turn left and follow that trail to Stanford Point, Taft Point,
Sentinel Dome, and Glacier Point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Today I turn right and continue uphill on what used to be the road that
came in from Wawona.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The road was
built in 1875 over an old horse trail and the road was closed in 1933.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Half
an hour later, a bend in the road brings me back for a moment to the Pohono
Trail at true Inspiration Point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
continue on the Old Wawona Road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It's less congested with fallen trees and wash outs than the Old Big Oak
Flat Stagecoach Road on the north side of the valley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In places I walk across soft, crunching carpets five
inches deep of pine needles and cones that have accumulated over the
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A pileated
woodpecker, lean and about a foot long, flies by and lands a short distance
away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looks at me as if I have
disturbed its solitude, and I probably have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the looks of the road not many people ever walk through
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the middle of the road a
coleus-type plant grows by itself; the only one of its kind that I see around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">After
an hour and a half I reach the overlook near the end of the abandoned road with
a magnificent view of the Big Meadow, Foresta, its two restored barns, and I
feel a connection with history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The original barns were the place where early travelers loaded up on
supplies before entering the valley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Turtleback Dome is directly below me, on the bend of the current road as
it comes out of the tunnel from Discovery View.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elephant Rock is out of sight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A short ways beyond here the Old Wawona Road dissipates into
the forest on its way to Wawona.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Walking
back down the trail, all is quiet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There haven't been many scenic moments along the road, but at
Inspiration Point, where the early travelers got their first look at the valley
and saw El Capitan is in full glory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>According to recent research, Lafayette Bunnell and the Mariposa
Battalion probably first saw the valley from this spot, rather than from Old
Inspiration Point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
leave the road and take the Pohono Trail back down toward the parking lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A side trail leads to a spring with an
old stoned-in basin that was used perhaps by thirsty passengers from stagecoach
days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two and a half hours after
starting out I'm back where I started.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-58571722665677867422013-07-04T11:38:00.002-05:002013-07-04T11:38:58.024-05:00Yosemite Valley Place Names, A-G<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Locations,
who named it, when, and sometimes why.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Arrowhead
Spire-- between Yosemite Point & Indian Canyon, Sierra Club 1930s<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Artist
Point--west end site where Hill made early sketches of the valley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Basket
Dome-- North Rim, up canyon from North Dome, Native legend<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Beatitude,
Mt.—the place where the Mariposa Battalion first saw the valley (Old
Inspiration Point)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Black
Spring--north side of Bridalveil Meadow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Bridalveil
Fall/Meadow-- west end, Hutchings 1855<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Broderick,
Mt.-- by Nevada Fall, named for US Senator from California, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Bunnell
Point-- in Little Yosemite Valley, for Lafayette Bunnell 1920<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Castle
Cliffs- under Yosemite Point, 1907<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Cathedral
Rocks—to the left of Bridalveil Fall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Cathedral
Spires—on the south side of El Capitan Meadow, Hutchings 1862<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Clark
Point--south wall near Vernal Fall, for Galen Clark 1891<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Columbia
Rock-- overlook on Yosemite Falls Trail, 1/3 the way up, 1873<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Curry
Village—east end of the valley, David & Jennie Curry started with 7 tents
in 1899<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Dewey
Point-- on Pohono Trail, for Admiral Dewey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Discovery
View--the view from the east end of the Wawona Tunnel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Diving
Board--south of Half Dome<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Emerald
Pool--just above Vernal Fall, 1856<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Fern
Spring--foot of Mariposa Trail, by Pohono Bridge, 1871<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Fissures--
by Taft Point, Eadweard Muybridge, photographer, 1867<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Four
Mile Trail—goes from base of Sentinel Rock to Glacier Point, built by John
Conway 1871<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Glacier
Point--east end of the valley, south wall, 1864<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Grizzly
Peak-- overlooks Vernal Fall on the north side, Charles Bailey 1885<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Gunsight--Leaning
Tower as seen between the Cathedral Rocks<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-27760449077159373152013-05-27T17:18:00.002-05:002013-05-27T17:18:39.885-05:00People's Names in Yosemite<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Part Two<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">with
date of first visit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Matthes,
Francois--1930s, wrote the definitive geological study of Yosemite, <i>The
Incomparable Valley</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">,
published in 1950.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Muir,
John—1868, born in Scotland and raised in Wisconsin, his essays and books on
Yosemite brought people to the valley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Founder of the Sierra Club and regarded as the founder of the American
Conservation movement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Muybridge,
Eadweard--1867, early photographer of Yosemite, realistic style.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Obata,
Chiura--1930s, watercolor painter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Olmsted,
Frederick Law--1863, a landscape architect who early on saw the need to protect
the valley, and pushed Sen. Conness to make it a State Park.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Orland,
Ted--1966, photographer with wit, i.e. see his photo "One & a Half
Domes."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Rockefeller,
John D. Jr.--1930, with the U.S. Government, he bought out the logging
interests, especially in the area above Bridalveil Fall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Rowell,
Galen--1970s, ground-breaking mountaineering photographer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Russell,
Carl--20th Century, Field Naturalist for the Park Service, wrote <i>100 Years
in Yosemite</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Savage,
James--1851, an attack on his trading post on the Merced River outside the
valley spurred the formation of the Mariposa Battalion, which he led.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Snyder,
Gary--1955, discovered his poetic voice in Yosemite working on a trail crew.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Watkins,
Carleton E.--1859, early photographer of the valley.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Weed,
Charles Leander--1859, first photographer, hired by Hutchings to take
photographs he could use in his magazine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whitney,
Josiah—California state geologist who disagreed with Muir over what forces
created Yosemite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He felt the
valley floor dropped thousands of feet and that glaciers were not
involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Yosemite
Sam--I haven't seen the crazy varmint yet, but I suspect he lives over by the
Wawona Pioneer Village.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-10366158380650134132013-05-15T08:49:00.000-05:002013-05-15T08:51:37.383-05:00People's Names in Yosemite<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Part One<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">with
date of first visit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Ayres,
Thomas--1855, was in the first tourist group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He sketched the first drawings of the valley, which
Hutchings used in his magazine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Bunnell,
Lafayette – 1851, a doctor was with the Mariposa Battalion when it entered the
valley in pursuit of the Ahwahnechee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was overcome with awe and thought the valley was called
"Yosemite." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Cleenewerck,
Henry--1880s, landscape painter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Conness,
John--the U.S. Senator from California who put the Yosemite park bill before
Congress in 1864.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abraham Lincoln
signed the release.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Conway,
John--In 1871 he built the Four Mile Trail; in 1873 he built the Upper Yosemite
Falls Trail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Curry,
David & Jennie--1899, they started a new concept in tourist travel by
setting up seven tents for summer travelers at Camp Curry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Hill,
Thomas--1862, early realist painter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Hutchings,
James--Organized the first tourist group in 1855, set up a hotel in the valley,
and extolled its wonders through his magazine, <i>Hutchings' Illustrated
California Magazine</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He owned the sawmill where Muir
worked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Johnson,
Robert Underwood--1880s, working with Muir through his <i>Century Magazine</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, he helped get the
areas around Yosemite Valley made a National Park in 1890.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Keith,
William--1868, after a trip with Muir, he began painting in the grand realism
style.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">King,
Clarence--1860s, wrote <i>Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, 1872, a great example
of early frontier literature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">King,
Thomas Starr, Rev.--1860, a Unitarian pastor, he was the first person with a
national audience to push to make Yosemite a public park.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lamon,
JC--1859, first settler to live in the valley year round, planted apple trees
that can still be seen in the area of the Curry parking lot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lebrado,
Maria--20th century, often referred to as the last of the Ahwahnechee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">LeConte,
Joseph--1870, early geologist, contemporary of Muir who also saw a need to
preserve the wilderness, although for utilitarian reasons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-9646046930971680682013-04-29T15:33:00.003-05:002013-04-29T15:33:25.565-05:00Prayer in the Wilderness<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prayer is waking up at dawn and listening to nature as you
cook breakfast over a fire.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prayer is a conversation we have with the mountains and
rivers, with ravens and coyotes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We share and as we listen to the Other, our perceptions about ourselves
and the world deepen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We grow in
compassion for all creatures.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prayer is an adventure because on the trail we don’t know
what we will encounter around the next bend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There could be a mother bear with her cubs, a mountain lion,
or the trail may open to a stunning view over a river canyon.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prayer is a cool breeze on a hot day when we’re hiking up
the steep ridge behind North Dome.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prayer is watching the Creator walk by in thunderstorms that
rush and boom through the valley.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we hike into unknown territory, we trust the spirituality
of nature to guide us where to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We travel with holy intention on a search that may take years, but
prayer is not an answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prayer is a journey, and prayer is our companion along the
way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prayer is the beauty of white granite mountains and canyons
colored by rose and purple alpenglow at sunset.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prayer is falling asleep watching the stars overhead and
joining their pilgrimage through the cosmos.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-17263253495670144692013-04-23T07:54:00.000-05:002013-04-23T07:54:05.254-05:00John Muir<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I grew up in Wisconsin playing in the woods in all seasons
and reading about John Muir, as well as about Aldo Leopold and Sigurd Olson,
nature writers in Wisconsin and Minnesota. I lived near Muir’s home, we both
went to the University of Wisconsin, and one side of my family is Scottish, so
there are those connections. Then he headed west and found himself entranced
and delighted by Yosemite’s grandeur.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I moved to California, I wanted to experience the place
that Muir raves about in his books, the place that nurtured his soul, so I went
to Yosemite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was, and still am,
amazed that such a place can exist – a valley with granite walls that go
straight up for almost a mile, waterfalls that flow into the valley from every
direction, mountain peaks that stretch to 13,000 feet, and giant sequoias that
are 300 feet tall and 3000 years old. I continue to use Muir’s words to guide
me around the valley and draw closer to nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also liked to hike by himself, and by doing so I find
solitude that nourishes me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
John Muir was instrumental in saving Yosemite from
development and founded the Sierra Club in the late 1800s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He realized the importance of taking
care of not just the valley but also the watershed, for if the source of water
in the mountains was diverted for irrigation, then the valley and its creatures
would die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like Muir, when I’m in Yosemite I feel surrounded by
something much greater than my individual life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel awe and wonder, as if I’m touching something
eternal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel a spiritual
presence. When I stand on the top of Clouds Rest at 10,000 feet and look down
at the forests, canyons and rivers that have looked this way for thousands of
years, I am profoundly moved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nothing else affects me this way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nothing else inspires me like the wilderness. Nothing else gives me such
hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-36549591056140428252013-04-22T07:38:00.000-05:002013-04-22T07:38:21.034-05:00Tree Branches<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Earth Day<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Spring is late this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It actually was about to start early, then a snow storm came
in, followed by a warm day, then a cold front with days of rain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now it seems that spring might finally
stay longer, although lows in the 30s are expected later this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tiny buds that I can’t see on trees in
the distance are giving the woods behind my house a light green sheen as if
some light is always shining on them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I noticed a beautiful bare tree last week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without any leaves, everything was
exposed from the trunk and main branches to the smaller branches as they
tapered out thinner and thinner until they reached the twigs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so symmetrical that I gazed at
it in admiration.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I had the thought that we are like trees and the
branches are aspects of our lives – our relationships, projects, work, and all
of our interests over the years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As some of our interests end, those branches die and fall off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As people we knew in high school move away,
those branches never grow any further.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When we take on new interests and relationships, new branches grow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What we were provides the support for
our ventures now. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few days ago I went into the woods and found a tree that
did not survive the winter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
bark on my old friend was beginning to come off in places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve enjoyed the beauty of this tree as
I sat under it when it was full and glorious with its summer green, and I’ve
watched it sway back and forth as it endured the strong driving wind and rain
of thunderstorms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon its
branches will break under their own weight, and the tree will eventually
fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then it will become a home
for insects and bugs, and attract a new set of birds. This is part of the life
cycle, too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(In honor of his birthday, California declared yesterday to be John Muir Day.)</div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-3728996746423340102013-04-05T12:32:00.001-05:002013-09-15T10:15:35.218-05:00Kathleen Norris essay published by Antler JournalAntler Journal has just published my essay on Kathleen Norris and the spirituality of landscape. You can read it online at: <a href="http://thisisantler.com/2013/04/dropping-in-on-kathleen-norris/">http://thisisantler.com/2013/04/dropping-in-on-kathleen-norris/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-775974141610829122013-03-31T12:12:00.001-05:002013-04-08T18:30:01.595-05:00Trail Markers, part 3 (the not-so-well-known places)<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cataract of Diamonds – below Nevada Fall and above the
Emerald Pool<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cave of Spirit Voice – This is the cave at the base of Upper
Yosemite Fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the valley
floor it looks like a dark gap, but it is large enough to stand up inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Muir spent a night here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spent half an hour one October and
collected Yosemite Falls in my cup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It had been a dry year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From the cave, the Lost Arrow is off to your left.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Contemplation Rock – one of two overhanging rocks at Glacier
Point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is more commonly known
as Photographer’s Rock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will
see people dancing on it occasionally, although not legally.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Devil’s Elbow – a loop in the Merced River opposite El
Capitan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its course was rearranged
by the massive flood in 1997.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Diamond Flume – one name for the narrow canyon above the
Nevada Fall bridge that is particularly glittery at dawn.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Enchantment Point – one of the early names for Valley
View.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like Enchantment better.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fern Ledge – This is a ledge 450 feet up from the base of
Upper Yosemite Fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The falling
water arches away from the rock at this point, and Muir once tried to walk
across it and got into trouble when the wind shifted the water back into the
wall.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ledge Trail – This was an early trail that went from Curry
Village to Glacier Point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
only a mile long but really steep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Much of it was wiped out by a rockslide in 1984.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the rockslide, I tried to hike up from
Curry on remnants of the trail until the trail disappeared and I began slipping on piles of loose gravel. So I stepped off the trail and enjoyed a controlled slide back down to camp.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Horseshoe Grotto – At the top of Illilouette Falls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you hike the Panorama Trail between
Nevada Fall and Glacier Point, spend time here rather than hiking through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a lovely, open setting, and some
people have been known to camp here overnight.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Overhanging Rock – the other hanging rock at Glacier Point,
east of Contemplation/Photographer’s Rock.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sunnyside Bench – east of the top of Lower Yosemite
Fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every time I hear it called
a bench I think of giants sitting on it with their legs hanging over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Muir liked to hike up here for its
unique view over the valley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
got to it by hiking up Indian Canyon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I went up Indian Canyon to get on the Bench, I discovered that a
gap existed that I could not get across.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m thinking that rockslides over the years took out the connection
because I went up and down and did not see any way over.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Table Rock – on the flat area between Vernal Fall and Nevada
Fall where Snow’s La Casa Nevada Hotel stood in the late 1800s.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-74226512228283039222013-03-14T21:17:00.000-05:002013-07-05T07:55:34.744-05:00Alone in Nature<!--StartFragment-->
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGNYva2l4mx4P-dGwAhem1CW9SDTAr0fTp9bOEvmGd-P0ZdsOVsDnocvQkjt_3cwzt3WqifccWc5-X0Bp9D3zmrYImpnnnMw1dJwEaZ5uzMOso9JNd5vMMGj1d0GLxRP-AYFZvQ42BwQ/s1600/IMG_2130_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGNYva2l4mx4P-dGwAhem1CW9SDTAr0fTp9bOEvmGd-P0ZdsOVsDnocvQkjt_3cwzt3WqifccWc5-X0Bp9D3zmrYImpnnnMw1dJwEaZ5uzMOso9JNd5vMMGj1d0GLxRP-AYFZvQ42BwQ/s320/IMG_2130_2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
We aren’t alone when we hike by ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we respect nature, it will be a
companion who walks alongside us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It will share itself with us, sometimes conversing so loudly in a waterfall
that we can’t hear ourselves think, and sometimes murmuring so quietly in a
creek that we have to get down on our knees to hear what it is saying.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We don’t have to hike very far to feel nature’s
presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can sit and let
nature come to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After half an
hour, the birds and animals will set their caution aside and resume what they
were doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we watch them go
about their daily lives, we discover the many ways that we are kin. And when I
am tired and silent, I lean back into nature’s arms and listen to the world we
share.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We can also hike on and on without ever stopping until our
senses overload from all the beauty and the endless discoveries and we fall
mute in ecstasy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we begin to hike, we head off on a trail eager to
discover what it will show us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When the trail starts to head up a mountain, we take another trail to
stay under the trees, or along the river, or in the meadow, unless, of course,
we want the challenge of going up the steep side of the mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We pause when we want to linger in a
setting where we feel a presence, then move until we feel drawn to stop again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nature meets us where we are and guides us further down the
path into our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nature also challenges us by bringing mysteries for us to
ponder by the campfire at night.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we listen to nature, we hear our own wilderness
respond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-75344407253924319262013-02-28T13:12:00.002-06:002013-02-28T13:12:43.812-06:00Dawn<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s zero degrees this morning, as if there was no
temperature outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world is
postcard still.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing
moves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The air is crisp and I
breathe it in slow, not wanting to freeze my lungs or disturb the presence. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Steam curls from rooftops in the neighborhood as if I’m
living in a small village and everyone is cooking breakfast over fires. Thick
snow covers the road and my mailbox.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Black tree trunks brush haiku across the white canvas.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The heavy snow blankets the woods behind my house with
silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No birds are at the
feeder of sunflower seeds. No deer have followed the creek’s path up to paw
through the white crust looking for green plants to eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No owls meditate on the branches.
Beneath the snow, mice and woodchucks sleep.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zero is a door between death and the living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What will be born in me today?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What will die?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The dawn rises pink on the frozen horizon, shifts to yellow,
and slowly warms the air from nothing to eight degrees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crystalline world sparkles in the
sunlight. Crows slide across the sky, their black wings glide on the frosted
air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A cardinal sweeps to the feeder, his red feathers bright
against the white background.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Another cardinal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One drops
into the snow to retrieve a seed and is buried for a moment to its neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wrens come, then chickadees, and a
Downey woodpecker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their sounds
return life to the brittle woods.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I shiver in my coat and gloves until the stillness moves
inside, along with the quiet of the beautiful cold, then follow the calligraphy
tracks of birds into the wilderness inside.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-76031117587035228062013-02-19T10:13:00.002-06:002013-02-19T10:13:19.667-06:00Wilderness Questions<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">When I sit on
the side of a mountain in the Sierra Nevada watching clouds journey across the
sky, I ponder thoughts and questions that come to mind:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Skyscrapers have
been compared to mountain peaks, and when we first see them, we look at them
with awe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if we keep looking,
they begin to seem common, one-dimensional, and uninteresting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike mountains.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Can great city
parks like Central Park in New York City and Golden Gate Park in San Francisco,
which were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, a big fan of Yosemite, ever be a
replacement for natural forests?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">A temporary
substitute, maybe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Replacement,
no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Is any other
large tree as impressive as a Giant Sequoia?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do people need
the wilderness to remain wild?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The wilderness
was formerly thought of as a forsaken place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because no
humans were around to give it value?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because the wilderness had no material value that humans could
exploit?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because any humans that
were there were specks in comparison to something enormous?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">What unfulfilled
needs do national parks address?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Did national parks only become good when humans needed an escape from
what cities had become?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today many
people find spirituality in nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Is this because of something that is in nature or because of something
that is lacking at home?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are
natural landscapes that are untouched by humans sacred?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Does affinity
for the wilderness stem from the landscape in which one was born?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do people who grow up with four
distinct seasons like to camp more than, say, people from San Diego?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">If an
environment can kill you, does that make it more real?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Does waiting for
the sun to rise over the hill, cooking over a campfire, and watching the stars
at midnight make you dream of matters more ancient than your birth?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">When you stand
on the bank of a river, do you feel lonely, thoughtful, or renewed?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-10325908846602202252013-01-29T19:09:00.003-06:002013-03-31T11:21:24.206-05:00Trail Markers 2<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Signs that you wish were at the viewing points around the
valley to tell you why so much sweat and toil were spent on building a trail there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Half Dome<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>elevation 8842 <o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Named by Champion Spencer of the Mariposa Battalion in 1851.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was called “Rock of Ages” by
Wm. Abrams in 1849, who said it looked like a sliced loaf of bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Native name:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tissaack, or Cleft Rock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was also briefly known as South Dome, which was also a
name that Sentinel Dome had for a brief time and causes some confusion when
reading the accounts of the early pioneers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On October 12, 1875 George Anderson, a Scotsman, climbed it
by wedging single nails into cracks, pulling himself up, and attaching a line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dome has also been known as
“Goddess of Liberty,”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Mt. Abraham
Lincoln,” and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Spirit of the
Valley.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The front half looks
sliced due to exfoliation in a zone of vertical joints.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Mist Trail<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
George Anderson may have built most of the current trail up
to the wall of Vernal Fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
rest was probably built by Conway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the beginning, in 1857, wooden ladders were placed at the upper part
of the trail to help hikers get up to Vernal Fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wooden steps replaced them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A stone walkway appeared in 1897.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although it’s an old name, it didn’t appear on maps until
1958.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Stanford Point <o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Leland Stanford, one of the “Big Four” who built the Central
Pacific Railroad that spanned the United States, was governor of California,
and founder of Stanford University.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This name was in use by 1907.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Taft Point <o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The point was named by RB Marshall, of the USGS, before
1918, for Pres. William Taft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taft
visited the park in 1909.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Yosemite Falls Trail<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
John Conway built it over the period of 1873 to 1877.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a toll road until 1885, when it
was sold to the state for $1500.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The native way of getting to the top of the north rim was to climb up
Indian Canyon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rock falls over the
decades have made Indian Canyon a difficult hike.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-70643776524614476092012-12-05T12:51:00.001-06:002012-12-21T09:54:08.942-06:00Review in the North Dakota Quarterly<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span id=".reactRoot[7].[1][2][1]{comment4636794972336_4746104}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0]"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The <i>North Dakota Quarterly</i> has published a review by James Ballowe of my Yosemite book. From the review:<br /><br />“The practical lessons that complement the personal story will make Mountains of Life a useful companion for the solitary camper and hiker in Yosemite. But above all, Liebenow’s record of the lore, natural history, and lessons to be learned from Yosemite will be of interest even to the reader who may never have the chance to experience its grandeur in person.”</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span id=".reactRoot[7].[1][2][1]{comment4636794972336_4746104}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0]"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span id=".reactRoot[7].[1][2][1]{comment4636794972336_4746104}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0]"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<!--StartFragment-->
</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span id=".reactRoot[7].[1][2][1]{comment4636794972336_4746104}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0]"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><div class="MsoNormal">
Elsewhere in the review, Ballowe writes that the book
reminds readers of nature’s power to create a sense of awe and humility, and
says my writing is in the tradition of natural historians like Muir and
Thoreau.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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</span></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span id=".reactRoot[7].[1][2][1]{comment4636794972336_4746104}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[0]">The journal's homepage can be found at </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><a href="http://arts-sciences.und.edu/north-dakota-quarterly" id=".reactRoot[7].[1][2][1]{comment4636794972336_4746104}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[1]" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://arts-sciences.und.edu/north-dakota-quarterly</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span id=".reactRoot[7].[1][2][1]{comment4636794972336_4746104}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[2]">.</span></span>Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-52640580846258542052012-12-04T14:51:00.000-06:002012-12-04T14:51:04.725-06:00Trail Markers<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Signs you wish were at the viewing points around the valley
to tell you why so much sweat and toil was spent to put a trail there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Crocker Point</u></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>elevation 7090 feet<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Crocker was one of the “Big Four” who made a lot of money on
the transcontinental railroad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Name appeared by 1907.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Dewey Point</u></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>elevation 7385 feet<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Named for Admiral George Dewey who was in charge of the
victory over the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay, 1898.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The name appeared on maps by 1907.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dewey had aspirations for the
presidency that never materialized.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Eagle Peak</u></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>elevation 7779 feet<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Highest of the Three Brothers, named in 1870 by a lady
hiking to this place in a party with John Muir.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She thought it was a place where eagles would rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joseph LeConte called it Eagle Point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hutchings said it was called such
because eagles hung out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rev. Sutherland, from Washington DC told Hutchings that this view alone
was worth his trip across country.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Four Mile Trail<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Built by John Conway in 1871 for $3000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took eleven months and the toll was
$1 to hike it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later the trail was
rebuilt and lengthened to 4.7 miles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Glacier Point</u></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>elevation 7214 feet<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The date of the name is uncertain, but it’s probably tied to
the Whitney Survey as it is a scientific name rather than a romantic or
patriotic one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The point was
covered by a glacier in an earlier period, but its top remained above the ice
during the more recent Tioga stage.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-53977820071142668872012-11-25T09:28:00.002-06:002012-11-25T09:28:51.879-06:00Quotes about Yosemite<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
(pointing at El Capitan) That mute appeal illustrates it,
with more convincing eloquence than can the most powerful arguments of
surpliced priests.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>--
Lafayette Bunnell, 1851<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
... as the scene opened in full view before us, we were almost
speechless with wondering admiration at its wild and sublime grandeur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What!” exclaimed one at length, “Have
we come to the end of all things?” “Can this be the opening of the Seventh
Seal?” cries another.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>--
James Hutchings, 1855<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A passage of scripture is written on every cliff.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>--
Thomas Star King, 1860<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hesitate now, as I did then, at the attempt to give my
vision utterance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never were words
as beggared for an abridged translation of any Scripture of Nature.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>--
Fitz Hugh Ludlow, 1863<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am sitting here in a little shanty made of sugar pine
shingles this Sabbath evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
have not been at church a single time since leaving home. <span style="color: #222222;">Yet this glorious valley might well be called a church,
for every lover of the great Creator who comes. . . fails not to worship as he
never did before.</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>--
John Muir, 1868<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is so much of Grandeur and reverential Solemnity to
Yosemite that a bit of humor may help the better to happily reconcile ourselves
to the triviality of Man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give me
the souls who smile at their devotions!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, should this light effort--not altogether truthful, so not
altogether dull--afford you a tithe of mirth I shall feel I have added to your
reverence for Yosemite. [on his humorous painting of Yosemite Valley that has a
cloud sitting in an easy chair on Clouds Rest and a bishop straddling the
Cathedral Spires]<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>--
Jo Mora, 1931<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The experience from which these Yosemite poems come is the
experience of interacting with the Other--of constantly trying to be aware of
the Universe as all one body, of trying not to be separate from it but
recognize every part of it as part of yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is nothing alien in it at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes interacting with the Other
remains theoretical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even then it
is interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it is an
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When it is, I can make
a poem out of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes on the
force of poetry.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>--
Gary Snyder, 1955<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I remembered the famous Zen saying, 'When you get to the top
of a mountain, keep climbing.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Upon reaching the top Ryder gives out a beautiful broken yodel of a strange
musical and mystical intensity and then suddenly everything was just like jazz.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-- Jack Kerouac, <i>Dharma
Bums</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Matterhorn Peak, Sierra Nevada, 1958<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-45542530626601831402012-11-11T09:35:00.002-06:002012-11-11T09:37:23.856-06:00Words From My Yosemite Video<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;">
This is where it began.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the snow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My journey through Yosemite began here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this is where the next journey
begins.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I grew up in the woods and on the lakes of Wisconsin,
reading the words of John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and Sigurd Olson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I moved to a large city in
California and lost touch with the outdoors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When a friend took me to Yosemite, I discovered the place
that John Muir describes in his books, and I was stunned by what I saw.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I return to Yosemite whenever I can to
be renewed by the fresh air, the openness of the mountains, and the quiet
sounds of hiking through undisturbed forests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I sit by the rivers and listen to the surging water, watch
deer and coyotes play in the meadows, look for owls, hawks, and ravens in the
sky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often I see bears as I hike
along the trails, and sometimes I think I glimpse mountain lions moving through
the shadows.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yosemite inspires me with the power of its waterfalls, the
great granite domes, and the giant sequoias.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sunrise and sunset often fill the sky with yellow, orange,
and red.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the warm, green
fullness of summer and the cool brown days of autumn to the quiet trickling of
snow-clad rivers in winter, each season holds its own beauty. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I am in nature, the rush of daily life slows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have time to think about life back
home and work through its complications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>By camping, I develop a relationship with Yosemite. I learn to hear its
many voices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often I feel awe as I
hike the trails between the great vistas, and sometimes I feel fear, for this
is still the wilderness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I look over the valley as a winter storm clears, light
brightens on the horizon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mist
rises from the dark green forest, drawing me from the visible world into what
is hidden within.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(These are the words to the video I posted on YouTube.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The video uses photographs I took in
Yosemite and wonderful music by Lindsay Adler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can go to YouTube, type in “Liebenow Yosemite” and the
video will come up, or use this link: <span style="color: #3c7c23;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YU61Cy2lio">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YU61Cy2lio</a></span>
. There are two versions – one has the words in captions, the other does not.)</div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-33758558516228663752012-10-28T13:29:00.001-05:002012-10-28T13:29:35.745-05:00If You Have Two or More Days in Yosemite<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">If
you have more than one day to spend in Yosemite Valley, use the first day to
get acquainted with where everything is in the valley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will also give you time to
acclimate to being almost a mile in the sky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the shuttle is running, take it around the valley and get
off at each stop to see what is there and how the views of the waterfalls and
mountains have changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Visit
Happy Isles and walk over to Mirror Lake/Meadow, visit the Indian Village and
the Native Center, see the natural history displays at the Visitors Center, and
watch whatever video is showing in the theater behind the center. Walk through
the meadows, visit the cemetery for its historical occupants, and watch rock
climbers make their way up El Capitan or the Royal Arches. Have afternoon
coffee or ice cream on the outdoor patio at Degnan’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has a good view of the Lost Arrow and there might be
climbers doing a Tyrolean Traverse to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">On
the second day, take a hike up to Vernal and Nevada Fall and have lunch
overlooking Nevada.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you feel
you’re in pretty good shape, continue beyond Nevada Falls to Glacier Point on
the Panorama Trail (crossing the top of Illilouette Fall), and come back down
into the valley on the Four Mile Trail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Have dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">If
you have three days, hike up to the top of Yosemite Falls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now you have a choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can either head left for the top of
El Capitan and return this way, or head right for North Dome, Indian Arch, and
Snow Creek Fall, coming back down into the valley in Tenaya Canyon with its
unmatched view across its valley of Half Dome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">With
four days you can hike up to Half Dome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you have five days, hike up to Glacier Point on the 4 Mile Trail and
take the Pohono Trail to Inspiration Point, seeing Sentinel Dome, Taft Point,
the Fissures, and Dewey Point along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With six days, build in a day to let your body recover, or
hike around on the trails in the west end of the valley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And
if you have a full week to immerse yourself in the glories of the valley, hike
up to Clouds Rest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">If
you don't want to do any hiking, simply wander around the valley, sit in scenic
places, and watch and listen to the valley go about its daily life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the sun moves over the mountains,
all the granite features change their appearances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Day trips to Tuolumne Meadows, Mono Lake, and the Mariposa
Grove of Giant Sequoias are also well worth the effort.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whatever
time you have, if you can be in a meadow for sunrise and sunset, and again at
night to watch the stars, you will count yourself blessed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the scent of the pine-scented air
is enough to knock you off your feet.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-36322935309547731412012-09-20T15:03:00.002-05:002012-09-21T20:07:15.438-05:00One Day in Yosemite<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It would take an entire summer to see everything in
Yosemite, but if you have only one day in the valley, what do you do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is what I recommend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<!--StartFragment-->
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Start off before dawn in Leidig Meadow and watch the stars
give way to the orange and yellow colors of dawn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will see deer and probably a few coyotes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As soon as it is light enough to see
the trail, around 5:30 a.m. in the summer, head for the top of Upper Yosemite
Fall, pausing at Columbia Rock halfway up the wall to take in the view, as well
as to catch your breath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arriving
at the top two hours after starting off, spend half an hour walking around – go
to the bridge that crosses the creek, look up the river channel to see the
landscape that gathers the water, then walk to the Fall's overlook and watch
the river shoot out over the valley and fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notice how the Lost Arrow attaches to the wall, and scan the
crest of the Sierra Nevada range stretching along the horizon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Head back down, arriving on the valley
floor at 10:00 a.m. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Walk to the base of Lower Yosemite Fall and view it from
below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In spring you’ll be
pummeled by water hitting the rocks and shooting off horizontally. Hike across
the meadow to Sentinel Bridge, pausing to look at Half Dome to the left and Sentinel
Rock rising up straight ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Continue on to Curry Village, following the path along the river for
most of the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From Curry
proceed to Happy Isles and head up the John Muir Trail toward Vernal Fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will now be around noon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A short ways up, a bend on the trail
has a clear view of Glacier Point and reclusive Illilouette Fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shortly after the footbridge with its
great view of Vernal Fall, the trail splits with the Mist Trail going left and
the John Muir Trail going right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Take the Mist Trail to the top of Vernal Fall and look for rainbows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notice the Emerald Pool and the Silver
Apron just above Vernal, and continue on to Nevada Fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the top of Nevada, have lunch in the
sun, look carefully at the jointing in Liberty Cap and Mt. Broderick and wonder
why the glaciers didn’t break them down and carry them away with all of the
fracture lines they have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notice
how different Half Dome looks from the backside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At 2:30 p.m. head back down, taking the John Muir Trail this
time with its view of Nevada Fall from a higher elevation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Arriving back in the valley around 4 p.m., take the shuttle
to your car and head for El Capitan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From El Capitan Meadow let the grandeur of this granite monolith
overwhelm you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look for climbers
on the rock; they are the colored dots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Drive around the bend to Bridalveil Fall and walk up to its
viewpoint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Drive up to the
Inspiration Point parking lot and gaze up the length of the valley and take in
the wonder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then drive to Glacier
Point, arriving around 7 p.m. to watch the sunset color the mountains in the rose
and purple of alpenglow.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you come in winter, you won’t be able to do everything on
this list because there won’t be enough light to start hiking until later, it
will get darker earlier, and some of the trails going up the walls and canyons
will probably be covered with ice or buried under snow. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And if you're not up for a day stuffed with hiking, or you
can't get into the valley before 9 a.m., or it’s winter, then just hike the
Vernal/Nevada trail at a leisurely pace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And when you’re on top, take more time to explore the area behind Half
Dome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you come back down,
walk across the valley to the Indian Caves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A large flat rock near the main cave has holes worn into it
where the Ahwahneechees ground acorns for food. Walk on to Washington Column
and the Royal Arches, looking for climbers going up, and visit the grand
Ahwahnee Hotel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another grinding
rock is along the trail by the parking lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want to watch deer, the meadow by the Church Bowl is
a good place to sit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A quieter alternative to the rush of all this activity is to
find a couple of natural settings that appeal to you (like Happy Isles, Mirror
Meadow, the bend on the river by Rixon’s Pinnacle) and stay in each place for a
couple of hours, watching the valley change around you as the sun moves over
the mountains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discover what
animals and birds call that part of the valley home, and feel yourself drawing
close to nature.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-30503893693282359782012-06-24T17:50:00.002-05:002012-12-05T12:52:16.265-06:00June News<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
A new review of my Yosemite book appears on Amazon, written
by nature writer, Lisa Knopp, who lives in Nebraska and is the author of <i>What
the River Carries: Encounters with the Mississippi, Missouri, and Platte</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> (University of Missouri Press, 2012).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m back from hiking in the Beartooth Mountains and giving a
reading at the book store in Red Lodge, Montana.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recently I gave a book reading at the Peoria Public Library
and talked to the Sierra Club about Yosemite and ecology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also bounced up to Wisconsin to give
a presentation on poetry at the Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books at the
University of Wisconsin-Waukesha.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And a recommendation from Marty Olney in California:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I've just finished reading our friend <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1666847081"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Mark Liebenow</span></a>'s
book <i>Mountains of Light: Seasons of Reflection in Yosemite</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. Read it. Buy it for a friend (which I'm about to
do). Read it in your book group. Devote a church study group to it. I think
this review from the book cover says it best: "This is a book of a hero's
journey--of a journey deep into the wilderness of our hearts among the wild
flowing rivers we try to navigate in the face of pain, the glacial movement of
recovering from tragic loss. It's about how when we listen to the gifts of
nature we can find deep spiritual power; we can find grace. This is a beautiful
book." It is indeed beautiful."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As you read <i>Mountains of Light</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
thanks, Mark</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-76070817501793856932012-06-24T17:44:00.002-05:002012-12-05T12:51:44.170-06:00Readers Update for May<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
I met with a book club that chose my book for this month’s
reading. We had a lively discussion about Yosemite, how each of us draws close
to nature, and their concern that on some of my adventures I might have taken a
few too many risks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But after one makes one wrong decision
in the middle of a long hike, one almost has to make another risky decision in
order to get back to safety.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Good reviews continue to come in. I noticed this one
the other day. A friend in California loved the book and gave it to one
of her friends. He loved it and posted the following at Amazon:<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i>“It is lovely to discover a newborn classic,
especially when sent as a gift unlooked-for, out of nowhere, with no prior
contact with the author or story. In the narrative tradition of John Muir, but
suggestive of the more explicitly metaphorical images of the Robert Frost or
Annie Dillard, Liebenow's poetics and meaning match in a way that includes the
reader in an experience of congruence, rather than offering a passing
nostalgia. The simple ritual of reading Mountains of Light brings the reader
into the experience of parallel journeys, often divided into "inner"
and "outer" life, such that the usual practice of estranging the two
becomes less and less possible. Faithful to the best of nature writing,
Liebenow writes naturally, "dissolving the boundaries" so that the
organic mutuality of being a creature and alive warms the everyday while
opening a door to an understanding of what hurts most, uplifts, challenges, and
opens the eyes of the heart to see that "Grace collects on the mountain
peaks in the high country and flows down the Merced Canyon into the valley as
fog..." This kind of reading experience is not just recommended, it is
essential.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Brandon
Williamscraig<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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I’m grateful when people like the book enough to tell
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the best
recommendation that an author can hope for.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-502680221176565885.post-68055471519342811542012-06-24T17:37:00.002-05:002012-12-05T12:52:43.474-06:00Developments in April<!--StartFragment-->
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With the talented help of my nephew, Kevin Hall, I created a
video trailer for my Yosemite book and posted it on YouTube.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(You can see it by clicking on the link
on the right side of this page.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
uses my photographs and words, and has elegant music in the background composed
by Lindsay Adler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The <i>Wisconsin State Journal</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> also interviewed me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
more of a profile on me than a review of the book, but I’m grateful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also used some of my Yosemite
photos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can read the article
by clicking on this link:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ArialMT;"><a href="http://host.madison.com/wsj/lifestyles/lake-mills-native-explores-meaning-in-yosemite/article_3b5386e9-e342-5fd3-8d63-71385f623f5f.html"><span style="color: #2a68c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://host.madison.com/wsj/lifestyles/lake-mills-native-explores-meaning-in-yosemite/article_3b5386e9-e342-5fd3-8d63-71385f623f5f.html</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Mark Liebenowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03096346779312780404noreply@blogger.com0