In a high-country meadow two hikers crouch near the edge of a mirroring lake and watch a pika as it harvests blades of grass for a nest deep within a huge rock pile. When they resume walking, there is no other person in sight for as far as they can see. And on this sparkling summer s day, the view seems endless. In the valley s crowded mall, families stroll by, eating ice cream, dodging bicycles.
People pile in and out of buses.
Shoppers hunt for souvenirs. Kids hang around a pizza place. Rock climbers, coils of rope slung over their shoulders, swap stories over beers on a patio. On this summer s day about 14,000 people are in the valley village. Both the solitude of the alpine ridge and the throngs of the valley are part of the experience when you visit Yosemite National Park.