Posts Tagged ‘Yosemite National Park’
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
 Looking to conquer Yosemite’s Half Dome this summer? Make sure you have a permit! This very popular and over populated hiking destination will soon be restricted to a large numbers of hikers.
In 2008, over 84,000 people hiked up the 8,842ft above sea level granite monolith, with the majority accessing the area by Happy Isles Trailhead in Yosemite Valley. On average, 840 people hiked up Half Dome every Saturday and holidays, with numbers reaching as high as 1200 people.
This has led to safety concerns and a negative experience for Yosemite visitors (aside from getting injured or dead, that is). One hiker was fatally injured and one severely injured during two consecutive weekends last summer. Additionally, hikers have had to wait up to an hour to ascend Half Dome due to the excessive number of people. A safety issue in its own right - ever seen people standing in line at Walmart on Black Friday or a Hannah Montana concert? Not pretty!
To address these problems, Yosemite National Park Service is requiring permits and will issue 400 permits each weekend day and holiday (300 for day use and 100 for wilderness use). These permits are required from the base of Subdome to the summit of Half Dome and include the cable route. Each person must be carrying a permit - no permit, no Half Dome. Each permit will be assessed a non-refundable $1.50 service fee with only 4 permits issued per one reservation. Permits will be available starting March 1st through www.recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777.
During this interim program, NPS will be monitoring visitor use and park impact. The program will be in place for both the 2010 and 2011 high visitor seasons.
Tags: Half Dome, Half Dome permits, Yosemite Half Dome, Yosemite National Park
Posted in Backpacking & Hiking | No Comments »
Friday, December 18th, 2009
 I know this sounds morbid but I guess it depends on how you look at death. Does it make you feel lucky to be alive or does it put you into a uncontrollable depression. Anyway, there are two must read books for anyone looking to visit, have visited or are just itching to learn more about the mishaps of a small number of others who have.
Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon by Michael P. Ghiglieri and Thomas M. Meyers and Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite by Michael Ghiglieri and Charles R. “Butch” Farabee, Jr. are both accountings of every known death that has occurred at both National Parks since the days of early exploration and whatever evidence was found - for all you forensics fans.
Four hundred and five hundred pages in length, both books are easy reads with the chapters breaking up the book nicely by means of demise. And, if you prefer not to read all the gruesome detail, you can skip to the end of each chapter and get a quick run down each death. Not every incident ends in tragedy. Both books do have some stories of amazing survivals. And in some ways the stupidity of some of these people makes it a bit like reading Darwin Award entries. Either way, hopefully you will read much of this book in disbelief that people would take such unreasonable risks instead of saying to yourself, “I should go try to swim across the Colorado River too!”
 There is a much more important purpose to these books than just an anthropological study of every body discovered in these parks. There is a message and the message is clear; the wilderness nor the National Parks are Disneyland, yet so many visitors treat it as such. The animals can attack, the cliffs are real, there are no lifeguards, and no way out if you decide to go beyond your own ability. Most of the deaths accounted for are due to choices made by visitors that if chosen wisely, would still be alive today. For example, don’t hike Grand Canyon in the middle of the day in the middle of summer; don’t climb over the railing to get a better picture of a 300ft waterfall; and learn to read a map, to name a few. Unfortunately, the mistakes of one or a few many times result in the demise of innocent bystanders as well.
So for these books if I was to make up some arbitrary rating scale; I give Death in Grand Canyon 5 out of 5 gallons of water and for Death in Yosemite, 5 out of 5 compasses.
Tags: Death in Grand Canyon, Death in Yosemite, Grand Canyon books, Grand Canyon National Park, Yosemite books, Yosemite National Park
Posted in Backpacking & Hiking, Health & Fitness | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
 Check out the January 2010 issue of Backpacker magazine and you will see why Just Roughin’ It Adventure Company goes to Paria Canyon, Grand Canyon and Yosemite. Well, OK, Yosemite and Grand Canyon are givens, but there are more to these places than Rim to Rim trips and Half Dome day hikes.
To start, the cover has a great picture of Buckskin Gulch, one of the nation’s longest slot canyons and part of Paria Canyon. Buckskin can be done in a very long day hike or as part of a 4 or 5 day backpacking trip from Wire Pass to Lees Ferry, taking you along the Paria River through another narrow canyon where you are surrounded by steep, sandstone cliffs. There is a ‘narrow’ time frame when Buckskin can be explored. Water as high as your waist during some years can make hiking unbearable before late May and the summer months (July through mid September) are Arizona’s monsoon season, bringing heavy rains and flash floods to the canyon.
The next two places are readers choice destinations. The first is Sentinel Dome in Yosemite National Park. Sentinel Dome is South of Yosemite Valley but a hike to the top will get you fantastic views of the entire Valley area, including Half dome, Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, Nevada Falls and Clouds Rest. Instead of the more crowded Mist Trail, this 2.2 mile round trip day hike starts at the Glacier Point trail head. Once you had a taste of this short day hike, I guarantee you will want to experience more of Yosemite; at least 2 or 3 days worth. 
The third is Santa Maris Springs in Grand Canyon. This lesser known destination is along the Hermit Trail and is a great alternative to the crowded Bright Angel and South Kaibab Trails. This 5.5 mile day hike will take you to a natural spring that was developed into one of four rest houses for tourists heading down to Hermit Camp. Constructed by the Santa Fe Railroad in 1912, Hermit trail offers spectacular views and opportunities to visit some historical sites and Hermit Rapids along the Colorado River, if you were to make a trip along the Hermit Trail and multi day trip. If a day hike is all you want, Santa Maria Springs still has a standing outhouse used by the early tourists and the foundation for a barbecue pit. You can also take a load off at the newer rest house before heading back up to the rim.
 When you are finished, check out page 40 and find out why you are attracting bears! I have a better article; “Why are you (or aren’t you) attracting cougars?”
Tags: Backpacker Magazine, Buckskin Gulch, Grand Canyon, Half Dome, Hermit Trail, Paria Canyon, Santa Maria Springs, Sentinel Dome, Yosemite National Park
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Monday, April 20th, 2009
Anyone can take a drive out to the Grand Canyon or through a national park. Of course it will be beautiful. You’ll “ooh” and “ah” and take loads of pictures, but is that really experiencing it?
Imagine hiking and backpacking through the Grand Canyon or Yosemite National Park. How much more memorable will your vacation be with experiences and not just pictures engraved in your mind?
With Just Roughin’ It you’ll be able to experience scenery and wildlife up close and personal. But even as you have one adventure after another, you’ll be completely safe with our experienced and highly trained tour guides who know all the ins and outs of the area.
The coolest part is they know about all the secret places that most tour books don’t tell you about. Now that’s an adventure vacation!
Credits: Photograph by Beth Woodrum
Tags: Adventure Travel, Adventure Vacation, Grand Canyon, Wildlife, Yosemite National Park
Posted in Backpacking & Hiking | No Comments »
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