Iznad Doline

Polly je nisko uletjela kroz kanjon Merced, njezina crveno-narančasta glava okrenuta prema vjetru koji je mirisao na borovu smolu i prašinu granita. Ispod nje dolina se otvorila. Strme litice s obje strane. Rijeka boje kositra. Duga zelena ravnica.

Polly came in low through the Merced canyon, her red-orange head turned into a wind that smelled of pine resin and granite dust. Below her the valley opened. Sheer cliffs on both sides. A river the colour of pewter. A long green floor.

Penjala se i okretala. Iz zraka, Dolina Yosemite izgledala je kao slovo U koje je pažljivi div izrezao iz kamena. To nije bilo daleko od istine. Prije dvadeset tisuća godina, ledena ploča debela tisuću metara prošla je ovuda, trgajući blokove granita sa zidova i ravnajući pod. Dolina je bila negativni oblik tog leda.

She climbed and turned. From the air, Yosemite Valley looked like a U cut out of stone by a careful giant. That was not far off. Twenty thousand years ago, an ice sheet a thousand metres thick had pushed through here, plucking blocks of granite off the walls and grinding the floor flat. The valley was the negative shape of that ice.

Zakrenula je prema El Capitan. Zid je bio devetsto metara blijedosivog kamena, gotovo okomit. Dvije sićušne točkice boje bile su zalijepljene za lice otprilike na pola puta. Penjači. Bili su tamo već dva dana i bit će još dva.

She banked toward El Capitan. The wall was nine hundred metres of pale grey rock, almost vertical. Two tiny dots of colour were stuck to the face about halfway up. Climbers. They had been up there for two days and would be up there for two more.

Polly je sletjela na vjetrom savijeni bor na rubu. Iglice su mirisale na karamelu na suncu. Odavde je mogla jasnije vidjeti penjače. Kretali su se pažljivo, jedan pokret u isto vrijeme, pričvršćeni za male metalne pločice. Promatrala ih je dugo. Nitko od njih nije gledao dolje.

Polly perched on a wind-bent jeffrey pine at the rim. The needles smelled of butterscotch in the sun. From here she could see the climbers more clearly. They moved one careful motion at a time, anchored to small metal plates. She watched a long minute. Neither of them looked down.

Kamionet čuvara parka penjao se cestom ispod. Polly je to primijetila. Rekao joj je, jedan prijašnji papagaj kojeg je poznavala, da je najbolji način za upoznavanje parka iz suvozačkog sjedala radnog čuvara. Razmišljala je o tome neko vrijeme.

A ranger's pickup truck climbed the road below. Polly noted it. She had been told, by a previous parrot of her acquaintance, that the best way to learn a park was from the passenger seat of a working ranger. She thought about that for a while.

Letjela je niz južni rub, polako, uzimajući zrak kako je dolazio. Turski lešinar prošao je pored nje na termalu bez da je jednom zamahnuo krilima. Polly je ispravila naočale protiv vjetra i promatrala lešinara kako se penje.

She flew down the south rim, slow, taking the air as it came. A turkey vulture rose past her on a thermal without flapping once. Polly tilted her glasses straighter against the wind and watched the vulture climb.

Na dnu doline, zrak je bio topao i prigušen pod krošnjom. Sletjela je na srušeni šećerni bor i pustila da joj se perje smiri. Bor je možda bio širok dva metra u podnožju. Srušio se prije mnogo vremena. Već ga je mahovina prekrivala.

At the valley floor, the air was warm and dim under the canopy. She landed on a fallen sugar pine and let her feathers settle. The pine was perhaps two metres across at its base. It had fallen some long time ago. Already moss was working on it.

Rijeka Merced tekla je pored, smeđa od proljetnog otapanja. Polly je skočila dolje i stavila svoje žute noge u mokri pijesak na rubu. Voda je bila dovoljno hladna da joj prsti zabole.

The Merced River ran past, brown with spring melt. Polly hopped down and put her yellow feet in the wet sand at its edge. The water was cold enough to make her toes ache.

Znak parka blizu staze pisao je AUTOBUS DO CENTRA ZA POSJETITELJE. Polly je to razmotrila. Zatim je raširila svoja plavo-zelena krila i krenula prema autobusnoj stanici, niže u dolini.

A park sign near the trail read SHUTTLE TO VISITOR CENTER. Polly considered this. Then she stretched her blue-teal wings and made for the shuttle stop, lower down the valley.

Autobus je bio dugačak zeleni s otvorenim prozorima. Žena u smeđoj uniformi bila je vozačica. Pogledala je Polly bez iznenađenja. "Voziš se?" Polly je nagnula glavu. Žena je otvorila vrata.

The shuttle was a long green bus with open windows. A woman in a brown uniform was the driver. She looked at Polly without surprise. "You riding?" Polly tilted her head. The woman opened the door.

Polly je skočila na ogradu unutar autobusa. Autobus je krenuo. Vani, El Capitan se polako okretao pored prozora. Polly je promatrala kako penjači opet postaju manji. Sutra će pronaći put gore.

Polly hopped to a railing inside the bus. The bus rolled. Outside, El Capitan turned slowly past the windows. Polly watched the climbers grow smaller again. Tomorrow she would find a way up.

Autobus je stigao do centra za posjetitelje. Polly je ostala na ogradi. Vozačica je rekla: "Zadnja stanica," i nasmijala se. "Možeš ovdje spavati ako želiš." Polly je stavila glavu pod krilo. I učinila je to.

The shuttle pulled into the visitor centre. Polly stayed on the railing. The driver said, "Last stop," and laughed. "You can sleep here if you want." Polly tucked her head under her wing. She did.