Bus Drivers - Saturday, June 14

Something as simple as driving a bus can speak volumes about the nature of a person.

We boarded the YARTS bus just outside the McDonalds in Mammoth Lakes today. The driver was well groomed, polite and although not overtly friendly, he was kind and conversational. We sat directly behind him to help Sally keep from getting car sick during the twisty drive up over the Sierra to Yosemite Valley. It was not our intention to watch his every move, but from our vantage point it ended up that way. It was fun to see a man competent and confident in his work, from greeting new riders and collecting fares to handling the bus in tight quarters to negotiating narrow roads with no shoulders. We had ridden this bus before, and had once scraped one of the rock walls as the driver veered to avoid some motorcyclists who had crossed the center line, so we have an idea of how nerve wracking driving this bus can be. But our driver, Rodney, exuded nothing but confidence and skill and we arrived safely unscathed in the valley.

We boarded one of the Valley Shuttle busses for our ride to the campground. The driver was in training and had an overseer coaching her. The contrast between our YARTS driver and this one could not have been greater. It was not her inexperience that was her defining characteristic. It was the attitude she brought to the job. She piloted the bus through the Valley like a bludgeon. A cyclist was in her lane going slower than the bus. She muttered to her partner that the bike belonged on the other side of the road (not correct), then just as the cyclist was passing a tree right next to the road she gunned her bus to pass, pinching the cyclist between tree and bus and declared "there are bike paths for cyclists" to no one in particular. I expected to see blood stains on the bus when we got off. A number of times her mirrors and pedestrian heads were inches from making acquaintances as she powered through congested areas. She used her horn liberally, as if in downtown New York traffic. Her attitude was totally offensive driving. "I'm in a park service bus, I'm important. Everybody else make way, I make the rules and I am coming through."

While our YARTS driver was confident, he realized his 30,000 pound bus was an instrument of massive destruction and gave leeway and respect to lesser objects, like pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycles and cars. Our Valley Shuttle driver held all outside her bus in contempt and nudged and threatened with her wheeled weapon.
At the end of the YARTS ride we thanked our driver for his excellent work. Had we known what we were about to experience we would have taken him for a drink, blessed his firstborn child and knighted him.

Something as seemingly simple as driving a bus, yet such different attitudes about life. Kindness versus contempt. Compassion compared to scorn. Acceptance versus confrontation.

Our ride to Yosemite was uneventful. We left Mammoth about 8:30 and arrived in the Valley about noon. The Valley Shuttle took us to the corral stop, where we disembarked and walked the quarter mile to the backpackers campsites. We set up our tent and put all our food in the bear locker, then walked back to the bus for a ride to the store for food and the lodge for a pop. It took the rest of the afternoon as we wandered and visited.

When we returned we found a group of about 5 -20 something men camped next to us. They had a stereo playing and had the looks of a group that was hoping to party and needed a little room to do so. We moved our tent to the other side of the campground to give them room. We talked with them for a while, all nice kids, but they were hoping to have a good time and we were looking for sleep.

Sally woke me at 2:45. A bear was on our picnic table sniffing our water bottles, then licking Sally's eating bowl and spoon, then checking out her pack. He hopped down after a bit and wandered off, startling a sleepy camper wandering to the bathroom. This woke the entire camp and soon everyone was banging pots and yelling at the bear. A few minutes later it all quieted down again and we were soon back asleep.

So what does a curious bear and an aggressive bus driver have in common? I am not sure they have anything in common. I guess today I just couldn't fit things together into a coherent story.