YOSEMITE UNDER SIEGE; ROCK SLIDES, CRIME, FLOOD DAMAGE, INTERNAL BICKERING...BUT THE TOURISTS STILL COME IN DROVES.

Byline: Story and photos By Eric Noland Travel Editor

More than a valley, it is a crucible of natural majesty. Granite, some of it in curious shapes, forms the towering walls. Water pours in over the edges in spectacular falls, leveling off to shimmering smoothness only moments later. The floor is richly carpeted with meadow and forest. The serenity can be so profound, you're likely to be rocked to sleep by the sounds of tumbling water, gently awakened by calling birds.

Tiny Yosemite Valley, the jewel of a vast national park in the western Sierra Nevada, is truly an enchanting place. You yearn for it to be immune from the harshness of reality, to be exempted from natural and unnatural havoc.

But idylls are hard to come by. Even here. And lately, Yosemite has been subjected to a withering onslaught.

One week ago, a slide killed one person and injured three others when rocks broke loose from the west shoulder of the Glacier Point apron and sent boulders down the hillside near Curry Village, where 300 cabins house about 1,300 guests and employees. In 1996, a slab of rock broke off Glacier Point and killed one person in the Happy Valley area of the park.

Early this year, three women visitors to the park, soon after leaving its western border, disappeared. Their murdered bodies were discovered weeks later. Although the crime - believed to be a kidnapping or carjacking - did not occur in the park, it shattered its innocence.

Two years ago, freak winter weather conditions resulted in devastating flooding of the valley floor, and numerous cabins and campsites were washed away.

The valley has been under assault by tourists for some time - every year, upward of 4 million visitors converge on a region that is only seven miles long, one mile wide.

And Yosemite is currently in the throes of a vigorous tug-of-war of special interests.

The National Park Service wants to reroute roads and relocate the lost lodging sites away from flood plains, but environmental and rock-climbing groups have objected to the chosen sites - with lawsuits. Visitors express annoyance that there are fewer places to stay, with no immediate prospects of improving the condition. Also, the mediation of Yosemite's traffic snarl - particularly acute in the summer months - remains mired in dispute.

All of this presents Yosemite an extreme challenge in this, its 109th year as a national park.

It is still a beguiling place to visit. Late last month, the spring runoff was particularly robust, such that the valley's signature waterfalls - Bridalveil and Yosemite - were thundering wonders. The Merced River exhibited several scars from the '97 floods, including deeply scoured banks that exposed boulders, dirt and entire root balls of trees, but it was still a thing of beauty as it glided through meadows or cascaded over rocks.

Also, nature had begun to reclaim some of its own. Lower River Campground, which had been abandoned after the flood because of its perilous, lowland location, had nearly returned to its original state. Its forest floor was covered with a thick blanket of pine needles and pine cones, with grasses and wildflowers poking through in places where Bob, Marilyn and the kids used to unfurl their AstroTurf next to the motor home.

Lodging space and campsites remained at a premium, but visitation didn't seem to be the least bit discouraged. Even before Memorial Day weekend, fleets of tour buses prowled the property. And, as usual, a cacophony of foreign tongues - German, Japanese, Spanish, French - could be heard wherever tourists gathered.

The popularity of the park might be remarkable in light of the horror of this past winter.

After visiting Yosemite in February, Carole Sund of Eureka, her daughter Juliana, 15, and a family friend from Argentina, Silvina Pelosso, 16, vanished after exiting the park to the west and eating dinner in the gateway community of El Portal on Highway 140.

The bodies of all three later were found in remote locations in the Sierra Nevada foothills, well to the west and northwest of the park boundary. No arrests have been made in the case, but an inmate currently incarcerated for a parole violation has admitted he was involved in the slayings. Investigators have refused to reveal any of their findings about the killings.

The incident dealt a devastating blow to those who regarded a Yosemite visit as the epitome of a tranquil, safe getaway.

``It has broken everybody's heart here,'' said Susan Arthur of Yosemite Concession Services, which oversees lodging in the park. ``And it's scared people, too.''

The fear has manifested itself in many ways. Park rangers say they have received numerous calls and letters from parents and youth-group leaders, asking if there are certain areas of the park that should be avoided. (Although the crimes are thought to have occurred far from the park, the incident has been commonly referred to as ``the Yosemite killings'' on some TV talk shows and news programs.)

There also have been requests for more guided hikes, particularly in the cases of women traveling alone, Arthur said. Yosemite Concessions' interpretive program is scrambling to meet the requests.

The effect of the crimes on visitation to the park? Practically nil, officials say. Although park attendance was down slightly in April, according to the park service, it was 10 percent above normal for the month of March.

Park ranger Scott Gediman said Yosemite has not increased its force of rangers in the wake of the incident, although he said they ``remain alert for the unusual.''

Gediman added: ``I think our advice (for visitors) is to use as much common sense as possible.

``When people come to a national park, they may not be as much on guard as they are in a city. As horrible as it sounds, the same thing that could happen to you in a city could happen in the park.''

Or even on its pastoral outskirts.

As Yosemite's busy summer season shifts into first gear, it appears that most tourists are undeterred by the terrible events of this past winter. Demand for lodging or camping space is as high as ever, officials say. Some of that is attributable to the decreased supply in the wake of the '97 floods.

The snowpack had been no greater than normal that year, but a freak weather pattern still created havoc. A warm January storm settled over the high country right around New Year's Day, producing furious rains rather than snow. The rains, and some unexpected snow melt, began to pour into Yosemite Valley.

The Merced River quickly overran its banks, and as it raged to the west, it wiped out 200 rooms at the Yosemite Lodge (right at the base of Yosemite Falls) and 375 campsites.

As heartbreaking as the losses were for visitors who had returned year after year to a favorite cabin or campsite, rangers saw the flood in some respects as a godsend. For several years, they had been compiling a management plan for the valley floor, and the flood spared them the public-relations fallout of ticketing cabins and campgrounds for removal. The river left no doubt as to the dimensions of the flood plain.

But the details of the plan, said to be in the final stages of revision, are proving to be devilish.

Move Northside Drive closer to the river so as to construct housing on higher ground? The Sierra Club howled in protest.

Build employee housing just east of Sunnyside Walk-In Campground? The campground's nearly permanent community of rock-climbers rose in revolt.

Construct a 1,800-space parking lot on 50 acres at Taft Toe on the valley's west end, and operate a bus shuttle system from there, thus eradicating car traffic in the valley? Good luck getting the OK to pave paradise.

Require tour companies to operate electric buses so as to remove Yosemite's eau de summer: diesel exhaust? A fine idea, except electric transport technology has not advanced to the point where an electric bus can handle the steep mountain climbs from Mariposa.

Permit visitors to the valley on a reservations-only basis during the summer peak? So much for the spontaneity of a trip to the mountains.

Rebuild something, anything, so that travelers will regain the lodging that was reduced by 20 percent during the flood? Sure, but whose ox do you wish to gore in the process?

``This is the balance that needs to be struck,'' said Gediman, whose love affair with Yosemite reaches back to his family vacations to the park when he was growing up in North Hollywood. ``Yosemite is one of the oldest national parks. We're within a day's drive of 30 million to 40 million people.

``It's finite. It's only so big. And there is an infinite amount of people coming. It puts a strain on the resource. The balance we need to achieve is to protect the resource and provide for visitor enjoyment. That is our challenge.''

Recently, the challenge has involved finding housing for park employees whose dwellings were wiped out by the flood and haven't been replaced. Given the virtual freeze on new construction, the only option has been to throw up temporary housing or put them in the tent city at Curry Village, an area from which 200 tourists were evacuated last week after geologists determined that more rock slides could occur. The tourists were put into units that were available because of cancellations or people leaving the park early, rangers said.

Meanwhile, near Yosemite Lodge, some house trailers are in place to handle the employees. They are jammed together end to end, creating an eyesore that employees refer to as ``the train wreck.''

But the park was visited by 7.6 million people in the first two years since the lodging was reduced by one-fifth. There is still an extreme need for people to serve food in restaurants, wash sheets, empty trash cans, protect natural resources . . . and keep an eye out for suspicious behavior.

``We learned after the flood, this is a small city here,'' said Gediman.

Efforts have been made to transfer as much support service as possible (maintenance garages, some employee housing, etc.) outside the park, to El Portal, but Yosemite Valley still has a district court, a jail, a high-voltage facility.

Fortunately, it also has El Capitan and Half Dome and the Mist Trail to Vernal Fall and the trail to Mirror Lake. It has breathtaking natural beauty that is largely unspoiled.

It engenders make-believe - prompting visitors to fantasize that it might be a place of serenity, safely removed from petty disputes, modern intrusions and human evil.

If you go

GETTING THERE: From the Los Angeles area, Yosemite National Park is best reached by following I-5 and I-99 north to Fresno, then proceeding north on state route 41 to the park. The Automobile Club of Southern California lists the drive from L.A. to Yosemite Village (heart of the valley) at 314 miles and advises allowing more than six hours to complete it (traffic on route 41 can be numbingly slow, particularly in summer). Another option is to fly to Fresno. This still leaves you a three-hour drive to Yosemite Valley in a rental car, however.

COSTS: Yosemite National Park is open 24 hours a day, year-round. The entrance fee, good for seven days, is $20 per vehicle, $10 for visitors who arrive by bus, on foot, by bicycle, by motorcycle or on horseback. The Yosemite Pass costs $40 per person and is valid for one year. The Golden Eagle Pass costs $50 and is valid for all national parks for one year.

LODGING: Yosemite Concession Services handles reservations for all lodging in Yosemite Valley, including the Ahwahnee and Yosemite Lodge. Reservations phone number: [phone]. Web: www.yosemitepark.com. Reservations cannot be made any further in advance than one year and one day from first date of stay. Early this month, there was availability at the Ahwahnee and the Yosemite Lodge no earlier than November, but there is a three-day cancellation policy, so if you're flexible in your plans, sometimes a room can pop free on short notice. The Ahwahnee ($292) is upscale and worthy of its sterling reputation. Lodging units at Yosemite Lodge ($101-$126) are nicely appointed, but the walls are thin - hair dryers and conversations in the adjacent rooms are often audible. Cabins with bath at Curry Village run $83; tent cabins $44. Outside the valley, a room with bath at the Wawona is $132.

CAMPING: Three campgrounds in Yosemite Valley (Upper Pines, Lower Pines, North Pines) are available on a reservations basis but currently are booked solid well into September. Cancellations sometimes result in last-minute availability. Reservations may be made up to five months in advance, on the 15th of the month, by calling [phone], or online at reservations.nps.gov. Sites at most campgrounds cost $15 a night. There are nine National Park campgrounds outside Yosemite Valley.

DINING: Dinner beneath the towering ceilings of the Ahwahnee's dining room is a memorable experience. Also elegant - men are urged to wear coat and tie. Dinner will push $40 per person excluding wine and dessert. At Yosemite Lodge, tasty main courses are served up for under $20 at the Mountain View Restaurant, and some tables offer views of Yosemite Falls. Hikers and picnickers can find excellent, made-fresh deli sandwiches at Degnan's in Yosemite Village. For breakfast, skip the Yosemite Lodge cafeteria (it's college-dorm quality) and spring for the $20 or so it will cost you at the Ahwahnee; you won't be disappointed.

INFORMATION: Recorded park information and road conditions are available at [phone]. For a live operator, call [phone], but be advised it is a toll call. Web: www.nps.gov/yose. Publications about the park may be ordered by calling [phone]; Web: www.yosemite.org.

National Park Service

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, map, box

Photo: (1 -- 2) Above, freak winter storms caused flooding in Yosemite Valley that washed away cabins and campsites in January 1997. Below, park officials have allowed nature to reclaim the Lower River Campground, which won't be reopened.

(3 -- color) Park ranger Scott Gediman wades through a former Yosemite campground that has been reclaimed by the Merced River.

(4 -- color) A pile of discarded toiltes is all that remains of 200 Yosemite Lodge units that were lost to the '97 flood. There is still no immediate reconstruction plan.

Eric Noland

Map: Yosemite National Park

Box: If you go (see text)