High Sierra Topix

I guess it was only a matter of time.

The press release doesn't mention anything about Wilderness permit holders, but I would assume the same system as last year would be in place. That is if you have a wilderness permit valid for the Half Dome area you get a permit to walk up half dome without any additional reservations, etc.

Read the press release here. http://www.nps.gov/yose/parknews/hdpermits3.htm

Yeah, and I agree with this policy. Too many people on that rock not only destroy any sense of the experience, but they make it darned dangerous as well.

I don't think I'll ever do Half Dome again as a day hike. Cloud's Rest is a better hike, with better views, and way fewer people

Note: Backpackers with an appropriate wilderness permit can receive a Half Dome permit when they pick up their wilderness permit with no additional reservation required. Rock climbers who reach the top of Half Dome without entering the subdome area can descend on the Half Dome Trail without a permit.

Above is from NPS web site.

Something about the way it all sits now...well, it still needs work. Work costs.

Problem is that the Half Dome trail is still designated as wilderness (yeah right) and everyone immediately cries foul when any fees get attached to any wilderness endeavor. Additionally, there are strict restrictions on what you can and cannot due to any designated wilderness area...usually nothing at all.

Being pragmatic here, let us take that one singular trail, top of Nevada Falls to the cables - a narrow strip maybe 50 yards wide and 6 miles long...(well maybe the Main Whitney Trail too) out of this wilderness designation (make a new special trail designation?) and then Park bureaucracies could legally fix things. Charge a small fee (~$5 - 10 pp...still reasonable) for any required maintenance (Just for those trail/ trails only) and use the monies collected for:
- Put in and regularly maintain another 2-story toilet... at the cable base
- Put another row of poles going up/ another cable too - one way up and another down
- Maybe do something better with the last water supply (little artesian pool about 2 1/2 miles from the top)...a rock cistern?
- Pay a full time attendant - Valley "in park" registration, perhaps some trash receptacles at the base of the cables too?

Accept that Half Dome is today a highly desirable and easily accessible trophy climb. Realize that no real mountain experience is needed - almost anybody can do it and a lot want to. Thus, it should be available for mostly all to enjoy but, make it a safer and a cleaner experience. Realize that restrooms are needed and realize that some have no mountain etiquette and often leave trash anywhere....allow for it.

Make those who want to go up - (I have many times!) - pay a little extra now for making it right for the future.
If 800+ people a day are doing it, it is not wilderness. Got to do something.

markskor wrote:... Got to do something.

Ok.. so do something. Talk to those in charge. They're somewhat open to feedback and direct discussion, which sometimes leads to improvement.. Try and make something happen. I agree with you completely. It's more like an "E" ticket ride at D'land. Well, maybe "D".

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From the daily park news at Yose as of 7/15:

Half Dome Permits Update
Initial hiker counts for this season indicate that there are numerous no shows among Half
Dome permit holders. In an effort to make up for these no shows, the National Park Service
(NPS) will manually release additional Half Dome permits each day, at 7 am PDT on the day
before the permit date. For instance, at 7 am on Friday, additional permits will become
available online (recommended) and through the call center at Recreation.gov for use on
Saturday. This will continue throughout the summer until further notice.
NPS will initially release an additional 50 Half Dome permits each day and then adjust these
numbers, either up or down, throughout the season based upon ongoing hiker counts.These
additional permits will have $1.50 processing fee and be limited to purchases of four at a
time. Unlike the earlier Half Dome permits, these are non transferable. To counter the illegal
resale of Half Dome permits, the group leader, whose name is recorded at the time of
transaction, must accompany his or her group on their Half Dome hike. Once the permit
transaction is completed, the group leader’s name cannot be changed.
The day-before-release method was chosen to counter both illegal resale of permits and
speculative buying by the general public. While purchasing a permit the day before does not
allow as much advance notice as many people may wish, it should put permits in the hands
of hikers who will use them. (M. Marschall - 7/15)