balzaccom
Trail Wise!
Waiting for spring...
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Post by balzaccom on May 25, 2016 8:15:56 GMT -8
We were so pleased with ourselves. We had remembered to act early and reserve exactly the wilderness permit we wanted, for Rafferty Creek in the middle of June, to get up into the upper reaches of the Merced Canyon early in the season. And we got it. And then fate intervened.
I was invited to speak at the Smithsonian about a topic near and dear to my heart...and that's an invitation I can't pass up, even at the risk of losing our permit for Yosemite. So yesterday I called the Yosemite Wilderness office and explained the situation. And I was delighted to learn that we can apply the charges we paid for the cancelled permit towards any other wilderness permit in Yosemite this year.
No, we won't have time to get into the Upper Merced this year. But we will take a trip in Yosemite sometime later in the season. And we've already got our permit paid for!
And by the way, the wilderness office seemed surprised and grateful that we would call to cancel. Apparently most people don't do that...
Is this the same policy in other parks?
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Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
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Post by Westy on May 25, 2016 8:23:51 GMT -8
Curiosity: topic near and dear to my heart What is the topic? |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2016 9:31:28 GMT -8
And by the way, the wilderness office seemed surprised and grateful that we would call to cancel. Apparently most people don't do that... Is this the same policy in other parks? If I have to get a permit, that's a red flag that the area is either overcrowded or has a permit system in place because so many people want to go there. In that case, I find somewhere else to go. To my way of thinking, too many people want to go to the same place. We need to spread out and go to less popular areas where no permit system is needed. I've never had to get a permit for Wind Cave National Park. Sign up at the trailhead and go. The bison have a way of keeping the crowds down. |
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whistlepunk
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I was an award winning honor student once. I have no idea what happened...
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Post by whistlepunk on May 25, 2016 9:52:02 GMT -8
Agree w travis.
There are plenty of places to go where you self register at the trailhead, and some where there is no registration at all.
Then you turn 90 degrees from the trail and go cross country.
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balzaccom
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Waiting for spring...
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Post by balzaccom on May 25, 2016 10:54:30 GMT -8
True enough---unless you want to see the bighorn sheep they have recently introduced into Yosemite's High Country.
The topic for the speech is the Basque country of Spain and its wine and culture...
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Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 1,960
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Post by Westy on May 25, 2016 11:40:46 GMT -8
Not so fast.....Areas that are regulated may have some secret surprises of solitude. You know how people drive around the parking lot at the supermarket to score a parking spot closest to the door? The majority of backcountry users are very much akin. Permit or no permit is no different outside of the administration process. Just select an area, determine the top ten trails or routes, Select #7 and above. |
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balzaccom
Trail Wise!
Waiting for spring...
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Post by balzaccom on May 25, 2016 12:58:42 GMT -8
Good point, Westy. We have backpacked three times in Yosemite in the past two years. In each case, we had at least one or two days when we did not see another soul--despite being within about 6-8 miles of the main road through the park. Of course, we were also about 2 miles from any trail...
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reuben
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Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on May 25, 2016 13:00:53 GMT -8
I was invited to speak at the Smithsonian about a topic near and dear to my heart... Need any hecklers? Or a place to stay? I'm not in downtown DC (fairly close to BWI, actually) but generally we don't charge rent to thru hikers. |
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balzaccom
Trail Wise!
Waiting for spring...
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Post by balzaccom on May 25, 2016 13:23:27 GMT -8
Thanks for the offer, Reuben! I actually have a daughter in DC right now....and Rioja is paying my expenses, so I'll stay in a nice hotel and take my daughter out for dinner at a restaurant she can't afford.
That's what being a dad is all about!
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reuben
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Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on May 25, 2016 13:34:53 GMT -8
That's what being a dad is all about! Dig it.  But she won't heckle you like I would...  |
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Post by High Sierra Fan on May 25, 2016 14:31:17 GMT -8
Not so fast.....Areas that are regulated may have some secret surprises of solitude. You know how people drive around the parking lot at the supermarket to score a parking spot closest to the door? The majority of backcountry users are very much akin. Permit or no permit is no different outside of the administration process. Just select an area, determine the top ten trails or routes, Select #7 and above. Excellent point the trailhead has a quota: not the 704,000 acres right beyond that gateway. Otoh: whatever keeps people away I'm all for. Yes The Valley is too crowded and there's earthquakes and bears! Headwaters of the Lyell Fork of the Merced? Mosquitos, bears, and then the Meadows has Hanta virus and then there's the plague. Mountain lions too. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2016 15:04:03 GMT -8
Permit or no permit is no different outside of the administration process. Some places that may be true. But I hardly think it applies to Yellowstone or Grand Teton Parks. Some of that has to do with allowing camping only at designated areas — which in itself limits access to permits. The problem is in fact the potential for crowding, and backpackers are not necessarily free to just go off-trail and chose their own campsites. It works both ways. Regardless, I can find over-used trailheads and campsites in virtually any mountain range of Wyoming. Of course, there are other scenic places to backpack besides those locations. But there are plenty of experienced backpackers, aware of the problem, that are still content to just take their chances in the lottery. Nevermind any effort to allow those impacted areas to return to a natural state. It's not going to happen anytime soon with the demand as it is. |
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Post by Crockett on May 27, 2016 18:19:20 GMT -8
The topic for the speech is the Basque country of Spain and its wine and culture Mmmmmmm. Will there be cheese? |
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Post by absarokanaut on May 27, 2016 20:05:27 GMT -8
Lonely Sheepherders, terrorists, what's not to like?
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Post by ecocentric on May 29, 2016 15:08:07 GMT -8
I'd like a nice paella.
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But she won't heckle you like I would... 
