Savina Corballi’s Story
I’ve worked and lived at Yosemite National park since 1994. What began as a housekeeping or maid position, has since turned out to be my career. My girlfriend and I both began working at the Yosemite together after we completed two years of college. We were looking for summer jobs, and were told by a friend that Yosemite was always hiring summer, seasonal workers. We applied and were soon hired at Curry Village as maids. Although my girlfriend returned to finish college, I decided to stay on at the park.
It’s now been over seven years since that summer. Though I haven’t made very much money throughout the years, I have managed to save a few dollars. My meals and rent for a one bedroom cabin are both deducted from my salary, and I know I’ll never get rich working here, but the location of working in such a beautiful environment like Yosemite, more than makes up for my lack in salary. I’ve had several weird experiences at the park. A lot of these experiences have not given me much cause to fear ghosts, but one in particular sure made me change my mind. This ‘special’ experience began in the spring of 1997, while I was hiking by myself in the back country of Tuolumne Meadows. I’ve hiked many of the back trails, before, and I especially enjoy the John Muir Trail. This has undoubtedly got to be among the most beautiful hiking
trails in the world! The meadows are beautiful in the springtime, and the spring of ‘97 was no different. I decided to hike alone, with only my backpack and adventurous spirit. It’s not at all unusual for the
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employees at the park to do a solitary hike. Eventually most of the employees get the urge for exploring the park, and because of the availability of good trails, and time off of work, we definitely take advantage of our beautiful location. However, mutual friends employment schedules don’t always match, so hiking alone is not uncommon. One spring evening, I got all my gear ready for the 6 day long hike that I had planned. On day two of my hike, I reached my destination and set-up my base camp. This is where I would be spending 3 wonderful days alone, swimming in the streams, hiking and sleeping. What a life! I also brought two books with me, one that was written about the history of Yosemite Park, and one written about the Indians of the gold rush country. This second book was basically written about the sad history and ultimate extermination of the Indians. I wanted to get a perspective of what most americans don’t learn in school. I know I certainly didn’t get much of an education throughout my school years regarding the treatment of the native people of California. Like most visitors to Yosemite, I fell in love with the beauty of the area, and equally, was unaware of its terrible history regarding the white man's treatment towards the Indians. I decided to take the opportunity on my hike to read and educate myself in this area. I also brought along a camera to take lots of pictures. Coinciding with my hike, the park service was sponsoring a photography contest for non-professionals and I decided to enter. The first prize of $500.00 was something I wanted to take a chance on winning. So I brought alone about eight rolls of film. Everything went well on my hike, but on the the second day, things definitely turned out differently. It was a warm afternoon, and I was lying on
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