Camping on the side of a rock face hundreds of feet in the air in Yosemite National Park’s Tenaya Canyon, legendary climber Ron Kauk felt a mysterious force pulling on his sleeping bag.
“It’s hard to explain,” he told SFGATE. “It was like something that came around in a teasing kind of way or something. It wasn’t anything too dramatic, no lights flashing around or flying by you, just to acknowledge that there was something else there.”
“When we were up there, something was around us,” he added. “Crazy things happen there you can’t explain.”
Kauk, celebrated internationally for his climbing exploits, knows Yosemite very well. The Redwood City native moved to the iconic park when he was just 17, living at fabled Camp 4 for decades and scaling some of Yosemite’s most challenging walls alongside a who’s who of climbing pioneers. Like those of his contemporaries, his experiences at Yosemite are shaped by the park’s storied history — one that includes dark chapters and a rumored curse for those who venture into Tenaya Canyon.
Image courtesy of Christopher Brennan
“Maybe in some kind of funny way, that’s sort of the holding place for the original spirit of the place and the people [of Yosemite],” Kauk said. “I don’t know.”
Slips, trips, falls, unusual experiences, rockslides, helicopter rescues and deaths are common occurrences in this so-called “Bermuda Triangle of Yosemite,” a challenging and trail-free part of the park running from Tenaya Lake down to Yosemite Valley. For those brave enough to traverse the 10-mile Tenaya Canyon, smooth granite slabs, risky rappelling, mandatory swims and precarious ledges await.
Many have tried, many have succeeded and many have been hurt. Even John Muir, the “Father of the National Parks,” was knocked unconscious when he fell here. It’s so accident-prone that park officials warn that “a trip into the unforgiving terrain of Tenaya Canyon … should not to be taken lightly.” There’s also an ominous park sign that greets visitors at the entrance of the treacherous canyon: “TRAVEL BEYOND THIS POINT IS DANGEROUS.”