At Yosemite it's time for hikers, bears by Tom Steinstra San Francisco Chronicle - May 21, 2000 It's spring training for bears, campers and hikers at Yosemite National Park, and so far the bears are winning the game. In one story, a happy visitor had reportedly just hiked the beautiful Mirror Lake Trail, which runs adjacent to the base of Half Dome, and returned to his car to find a bear sitting in the back seat, having a picnic with all the goodies that had been left behind. In another encounter, a momma bear with two cubs sauntered into a campground, and while the campers were banging on pots in shock, the bears poked their noses into coolers and ripped through bags of food, taking what they wanted for 10 or 15 minutes. The campers then took pictures, not sure if this was a disaster or the most amazing thing they had ever seen. In the past week in Yosemite Valley, eight more vehicles were broken into by bears and there were another 12 damage reports from campgrounds. So far this spring there have been 117 bear incidents already at Yosemite, resulting in $32,871 in property damage, most of it to cars. There have been no injuries. You see, the bears are not interested in you. They just want your food. And too often, they are getting it. As spring arrives in the alpine zone, Yosemite Valley becomes the greatest showpiece in North America, as snowmelt turns waterfalls into silver-tasseled ribbons against the eye-popping granite canyon walls. Meanwhile, like something out of P.T. Barnum, it's like the Yosemite bears are in a three-ring circus in the parking lots and campgrounds. Wild bears are supposed to eat grass, budding leaves and insects, and perhaps carrion if they come across it as they emerge from their winter sleep. Except in Yosemite, bears have learned that Tang, butter and candy taste a lot better. The worst-case is when campers don't use bear-proof food lockers, or visitors leave a bags full of goodies in their parked cars, allowing momma bear a chance to teach her cubs the tricks of food-raiding. The cubs learn fast, and as those cubs smarten up and become adults, another generation of bears will prefer Hostess cupcakes to carpenter ants. To try to stop this cycle, campers are now required to use bear-proof food lockers, and in the coming summer, those heading into the Yosemite wilderness are required to use bear-proof food canisters when above 9,600-foot elevation. Violators will be ticketed and fined. In addition, visitors are advised to report any situation where a bear is trying to reach human food: Phone the Save-A-Bear Hotline at (209) 372-0200 (press 2,then 4). FOR MANY VISITORS, seeing a bear validates the vacation, and there is often a better place to do that than Yosemite. Another truth, though, is they are a side show, not the show itself. And the big show is just starting. After the surprise storm last Tuesday dumped 18 inches of snow on the Sierra crest, ensuing warm temperatures are defrosting the high-country deep freeze. In turn, snowmelt is flooding crevices, flowing down canyons, into streams, and straight to Yosemite Valley. Eventually it reaches the brink of the canyon, creating some of the most dramatic waterfalls in the world. Driving into the valley, the first sight of Bridalveil Falls (620 feet) on the South Wall can take your breath away. Yet it seems that every fissure of rock has water running down it right now, as if it is a giant waterfall park, and it will continue like for at least the next six weeks during peak snowmelt. The road up to Glacier Point opened last week, and with spring arriving to the alpine zone, this may be perhaps the most stellar lookout in North America. It overlooks Half Dome, Tenaya Canyon, the headwaters of the Merced River and the Yosemite Wilderness. But that isn't what pops your eyes out. It's the waterfalls, on one side a view of Nevada Falls (594 feet) aside Liberty Dome and Vernal Falls (317 feet) a bit below that, and the entire two-decked free-fall of Yosemite Falls (2,425 feet, the highest waterfall in America) to the other. In the high country, despite that surprise snowstorm, the road over Tioga Pass on Highway 120 was plowed open on Thursday (though still just one lane at Olmstead Point), allowing a trans-Sierra route to Mono Lake for the first time in nearly six months. Meanwhile, the Four Mile Trail in Yosemite Valley opened Wednesday, meaning all trails extending out of Yosemite Valley are accessible for the first time this year. In addition, the climbing cables on Half Dome are set to go up Friday, just in time for Memorial Day weekend. The climbing cables extend 600 feet on the back wall of Half Dome and allow hikers to reach the top at 8,842 feet, just as George Anderson did first in 1875 (and as John Muir did as well later that fall). As a 17-mile round trip from the valley, the Half Dome Trail is best approached in two days, taking the first day to climb past Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls, then camping at Little Yosemite - where there are bears galore, and rangers checking for the required use of food lockers at all times. There is a cadre of hikers, however, who consider completing the trek in one day something of a baptism as well as endurance test. The biggest gripe at Yosemite has always been too many cars, too many people, and as the vacation season starts, the crowds are just starting to show up in significant numbers, mainly day visitors. On Friday, in a landmark attempt to reduce the number of cars in the valley, the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation Service started a voluntary bus service between Mariposa, Merced, and Mono counties and the park. But until quotas and a reservation entry service is established, this is a finger-in-the-dike solution, especially on summer days when there are 24,000 people in five square miles on the valley floor. Of course, if you were a bear, you wouldn't much mind, because many of these people represent potential for an easy food raid: "So much food, so little time." For Yosemite information, phone (209) 372-0200 for a touch-tone phone menu. For wilderness permit information, call (209) 372-0740 or write Wilderness Permits, P.O. Box 545, Yosemite CA 95389. For campsite reservations, available five months in advance, phone (800) 436-7275 (PARK). For lodging information, phone (559) 252-4848. For information on areas outside the park, call local area visitor bureaus: (209) 966-2456 for Mariposa/Highway 140; (559) 683-4636 for Wawona/Highway 41; (209) 962-7825 for Sonora region/Highway 120; and (760) 647-3044 for Lee Vining/Highway 120.