here are some old photos of what Hetch Hetchy valley looked like before the dam was built. the valley closely resembles Yosemite valley and if i didn't know better,or didn't realize the absence of half dome, i might mistake it for its sister to the south. unfortunately these photos likely don't do it justice but they are still interesting to look at.

http://www.hetchhetchy.org/archival-photos

And here is Hetch Hetchy today -- does anyone know of a way to hike by it without doing a lot of elevation gain? I'd like to run down the the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne sometime but I'm not eager to finish with the usual 3,000' climb to White Wolf. I took the photo below on a scouting trip. There are several boats tied up at the dam -- I asked the rangers if they'd ever offer a boat service for hikers, like the one at Florence Lake, and they said "only if you're a ranger". I guess they like to keep it to themselves.

Still the most unique dive I've been on was in Cherry Lake Reservoir. My buddy and I took a boat to the north end where we descended along a cliff to about 60'. Seeing no bottom, we stopped there. The reservoir was filled to capacity. The water was emerald green and nearly tropical warm. We were diving without suits. The only fish we saw were baby bass that swam up to us and stayed with us. Creepy and beautiful at the same time. The water is motionless, so different from any ocean dive I've done.