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Find springtime serenity in Yosemite
The dam, dating to the 1920s, pens up the Tuolumne to create Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which provides water for more than 2 million Bay Area residents and is a cause celebre for nature lovers. The Hetch Hetchy Valley, now submerged under 300 feet of water, once rivaled Yosemite in beauty. At least that's what naturalist John Muir believed, and his philosophical heirs want it drained and restored. The state is studying the prospect.
From where we stood, the dam was a study in contrasts. On one side, the Tuolumne tumbled wildly down a boulder-strewn course. On the other side, the placid deep-blue reservoir reflected clouds and canyon walls.
After a short hike near the reservoir, we hurried back to the lodge for an afternoon dry-casting lesson, where Wesla proved herself a complete natural at fly casting. But when it came time for the real thing, she demurred, too tender-hearted even for catch-and-release.
As a result, my half-day fly-fishing outing turned into a private lesson. By 8:30 a.m. Saturday, I was up to my hip waders in the rushing Tuolumne, hypnotized by the parabola of my fishing line as it looped through the air and slapped onto the water.
"You're scaring the fish," said my guide, Rod, nudging me out of reverie.
As earnest as a Boy Scout, as patient as a medieval scribe, Rod has been fly-fishing since he was a 4-year-old in northern New York state.
"It took me three weeks to catch a fish after I learned," he said. "But once I did, it was all over. I was hooked."
I didn't land a trout. But I learned a lot: how to read swirling waters to find trout hide-outs. How to gauge what fish are eating by studying bug remains squished under rocks. Why fly-fishing is as much about meditation as catching fish. (My trip cost $150, with equipment, but group trips cost less per person.)
In the evenings, Evergreen's recreation center, with its enticing fireplace, was abuzz with families playing board games, children assembling s'mores and guests logging onto the Internet and phoning home.
Saturday night's movie was the 1992 fly-fishing drama "A River Runs Through It." My novice casting couldn't hold a candle to the deft technique of Brad Pitt's rebellious journalist, but I'd had fun and so had Rod. He stopped by to let me know, saying, "Thanks for coming with me this morning. You really made my day."
That afternoon, Wesla and I had driven to Yosemite Valley, where we had a fancy lunch at the Ahwahnee and admired $13.5 million worth of scenic paths, educational plaques and other recent improvements to the base of Yosemite Falls.
The three falls combined, the highest in North America were commanding and incomparably scenic. But the standing-room-only crowds on the park's free shuttle buses made us glad to get back to the Evergreen, where we caught up with tourist Harris and her friend.
"I like the energy up here," Harris said as we dug into desserts in the dining room. "The people are lovely. I'd definitely stay here again."
Me too.
If you go:
MORE INFORMATION: The Evergreen Lodge is at 33160 Evergreen Road, Groveland. (800) 935-6343 or (209) 379-2606, http://www.evergreenlodge.com
ON THE NET: Yosemite National Park, (209) 372-0200; http://www.nps.gov/yose
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