Vernal Disease

After 4 dry winters, this wet season has brought on an explosion of spring flora at lower elevations west of the park boundary. Though the mature ponderosas west of the park are undergoing shocking mortality, the forbs are flaunting the virtues of an annual lifestyle. Poppies, redbud, popcorn flower, fiddlenecks, woodland star, baby blue-eyes, birdseye gilia, filaree and more are all at/near their maximum bloom. The Merced Canyon is lush and dazzling right now.

Last week was warm and dry, the snow line retreated uphill. We had a bit of rain yesterday and last night, also with a high snowline. Depending on the aspect, there's a lot of dry ground at 6000' already. All this melt has swollen the river early; the Merced has been running above average for several months now. Today it's at over 200% of average, and it shows the classic diurnal cycling of melting snow. This is exciting to have all this water flowing but it's early; the river and waterfalls shouldn't be so big for another month and a half. We are seeing some of May's runoff happening now, suggesting that mid-summer flows will be quite low. This projection could change, depending what the next two months bring us for cloud cover (sun is a more important snow-melter than warmth), cold and storms.

Despite green spring conditions down low, there's still abundant snow above 7000 feet. With yesterday's overcast numerous snow worms were observed on the surface at our ski area at Monroe Meadows. These are not a mythical creature; they're relatives of the better-known (though still mysterious) ice worms of Alaska (Mesenchytraeus). Like the ice worms, our winter annelids are seldom seen atop the snow.

March 28th marks the 202nd birthday of Guardian Galen Clark. Mr. Clark will again be appearing to share his tale at the Yosemite Theater this spring starting on April 7.

Spring-ish

February was remarkably warm in Yosemite and we had only one storm. The Merced Canyon below the park is filled with flowers now. Redbuds and poppies are near their brightest already. Popcorn flower, rue anemone, shooting stars, fiddlenecks, fiesta flower, and many others are profuse in bloom. Many of these flowers will suffer from the heavy storms that are arriving this weekend. We had a bit of rain last evening, but it'll be heavy on Saturday and Sunday, with possible flooding. The snowlevel is forecast to start high (7-8000'), and later drop to below 4000 feet.

The warm temperatures have melted a lot of snow, such that our snowpack has below-average water content now. Yosemite Falls and the other falls are running really big. We are seeing April's runoff now; an extra-wet March is needed to get the Sierra a 'normal' season of precipitation.

Those facility names/logos did change with the arrival of our new concessioner this week. Many people seem not to realize that this names trademark situation is not over yet. Temporary signs have been put in place, and there are several legal proceedings underway that will finalize a determination at some future point. Whatever the outcome, it's my hope that people will focus on the real Yosemite, rather than on the transient resort infrastructure or the names of these facilities. Our national park and the experiences it offers are treasures belong to us and that can never be taken away.