Crunching around Yosemite

“What if one moon has come and gone with its world of poetry, its weird teachings, its oracular suggestions -- so divine a creature freighted with hints for me, and I have not used her?” fretted Henry David Thoreau. No such worry will plague snowshoers who crunch atop Yosemite’s trails this winter under the luster of a full moon. On a clear night, the two-hour hike from the Badger Pass Ski Area to Old Badger Summit pays off in striking views of the Clark Range and Half Dome. “It’s magical,” says trek leader Emily Jacobs. During the ascent to about 6,000 feet, the senses recalibrate. Eyes rely on the retina’s rods, which respond to lower illumination levels than cones, to define the silhouette of an owl on a backlit branch. Ears and noses detect a faint wind carrying a whiff of pine -- a sensory package that might not get fully delivered during a visually stimulating daytime outing. Jacobs, an assistant manager of interpretive services for park concessionaire Delaware North, stops her groups now and again to explain the phases of the moon or winter ecology esoterica. (Did they know, for example, that aspen photosynthesis occurs year-round, in the trunk?) But the biggest part of her job is knowing when to hush. “It’s a time for reflection,” she says. “I just allow people to take it in.” Full-moon explorations are scheduled in Yosemite during this week’s full moon and in February and March. Beginners older than 10 are welcome. Prices are $14.75 for the two-hour loop led by Jacobs [(209) 372-1240 or www.yosemitepark.com and go to “activities” and “Badger Pass” on the pull-down menu] and $80 for the Yosemite Assn.’s The Day After the Full-Moon Snowshoe on Feb. 25, [(209) 379-2321].

-- Pamm Higgins