The Simultaneous Seasons of California (and a peek at Half Dome)

It was a beautiful Christmas day here in the Central Valley, one of the prettiest I can recall. The storm that blew through yesterday was gone, and the winds were enough to prevent the fog from setting in. I took a walk along the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail in Waterford, and was gifted one of those rarest of things: a clear view of the beautiful Sierra Nevada. And of course it was the moment of three simultaneous seasons of California.

Yes, it's that time of year in California when three seasons occur at once. Sure, the calendar says it's winter and all, and that is certainly true in the high country of the Sierra, buried under feet of snow. But here in the valley, the last leaves are finally falling from the Valley Oak trees along the river, but with the rain has come the promise of spring as the grass sprouts and spreads a layer of green along the bluffs above the Tuolumne River.

The gift of enjoying the panorama of the Sierra Nevada Crest is rare in our valley. Although my little town sits at the very edge of the Sierra Nevada foothills, the mountain range is a tilted block of crust that slopes gently westward. As a consequence, the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada lie 40-50 miles away. The view of the peaks is generally obscured most of the time, for reasons both natural and artificial. In winter, an inversion layer develops that keeps a barrier of fog and mist that prevents any viewing of the mountains. In the summer and fall, dust and smog obscure the view. It is most often at the end of storms that the mountains are revealed in their full glory like they were today.

The Tuolumne River is one of the two main rivers that drain Yosemite National Park (the Merced River is the other. So the view from my trail encompasses much of the roughly 1,000 square miles of the park (for perspective, Yosemite Valley itself is only about 7 square miles). The view above includes most of the high peaks of the park, including the highest (Mt. Lyell). The diagram below, courtesy of CalTopo, provides the names of the peaks seen in the photo above.

Analysis courtesy of CalTopo

Amazingly enough, Half Dome, Sentinel Dome, and El Capitan in Yosemite Valley are also visible! It's true that you cannot see very much of these iconic rocks, but their summits peek out above the intervening ridges. One generally needs binoculars or a powerful zoom to spy them. 

Still not obvious? I've outlined the top of Half Dome below, with the ridge of El Capitan below and slightly right. There is a much better view to be had of Half Dome from about 5 miles south of the trail near the junction of Keyes Road and S. Hickman Road. It's been a bit of fun arguing over the years with people who are absolutely sure that Half Dome can't be seen from the valley for all kinds of logical reasons (the photos of course are photoshopped or whatever, which by the way is not a skill that I have).

In any case, the view was one of the best gifts of this beautiful day. I hope your Christmas and other celebrations were wonderful, and that you have a great new year! Thanks for reading!