Yosemite is open!

[rightstar76]

Not everybody. Concession employees won't get paid retro. Also, workers outside the parks. Many will be laid off and need social services. About higher purpose, that's what our government is supposed to be for. Annual shutdowns are destabilizing and could lead to the end of our democracy. Not what the Founding Fathers intended.

[rightstar76]

Another point: About park government workers, it's tough being furloughed. Even tougher working without pay until an unknown date. Rent, mortgage, childcare, food, etc. have to be paid on time. Some people will look for jobs elsewhere so they can take care of their families. The result will be that the parks will lose their workers to the private sector.

[AlmostThere]

Concession employees are working.

Those who want the park to stay open should take a shovel, some gloves, and a whole lot of trash bags - people are up there screaming about "my tax dollars wa wa wa" and pooping everywhere.

If you can't poop in a double bagged trash bag and take it home, don't go. Save the poor overworked park employees a lot of headaches.

[astrogerly]

This is the third shutdown I've been through this year. The first two didn't affect me directly too much as they were very short. I wasn't in my current position for the last shutdown, in 2013, so can't speak to that. I do know that it's not guaranteed that everyone will get paid back. Civil Servants have a very good chance of it (and usually do), but for many gov't contractors, it's an unknown. I know a lot of folks who have left their jobs due to all the unknowns...

I'm not sure how it works for the NPS employees, but the area I'm in, Civil Servants absolutely cannot work unless they are on the "essential" list (which is very small). Some gov't contractors can if their contract is forward-funded, but if you can't access the equipment you need to work, you are out of luck.

I'm hoping that with some of the parks closing, the folks that are allowed to work and all the folks volunteering to help clean up, can at least reverse some of the damage that's been done. I feel bad for all the folks that work so hard to protect the parks (rangers, etc.), only to have it destroyed by people who just can't respect anything...

[rightstar76]

In JT, volunteers were cleaning the restrooms. Because climbing community. But the waste filled to the top and the park can't remove waste because of shutdown so had to close. Also, depending on the park not all concession employees are working. Yes, the Majestic Yosemite Hotel is open, but Wuskachi Lodge, Grant Grove Cabins, etc. are closed. So those concession workers are out of luck. Also, the workers in the motels and restaurants outside of the parks as less people visit.

https://www.visitsequoia.com/government-shutdown

AT, partially disagree with you. At beginning of shutdown when YOSE was completely open and restrooms were unusable, it was understandable that some were going to use the roadside as a toilet. YOSE responded properly and closed most areas and limited access. This underscores role govt plays in maintaining parks like YOSE and JT.

[maverick]

Yosemite NP:

Beginning tomorrow, January 5, the Mist Trail and John Muir Trail between Yosemite Valley and the top of Nevada Fall will be closed. The Tuolumne and Merced Groves of Giant Sequoias will also close tomorrow. (The Mariposa Grove is closed, meaning no access to giant sequoia groves in Yosemite.) These closures are due to human waste and safety reasons.

Yosemite Ski and Snowboard area is closed this weekend during the storm. The ice rink will close for safety and maintenance reasons through January 17 (opening January 18).

Upper Pines Campground will be unstaffed this weekend, but reservations will remain valid. Visitors seeking first-come, first-served camping must follow posted guidance at both Upper Pines Campground and Camp 4 (the only two open campgrounds in Yosemite).

If visiting this weekend, be prepared for rocks, trees, ice, and snow on roads, which may result in closures, chain requirements, and/or delays. Call 209/372-0200 (then 1, 1) to check current road conditions.

Visit https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/shutdown.htm for more information.

[mrphil]

The Valley has always been a mixed bag of visitors, even under full operation: those with reverence and respect for their environment and others, and those that sorely lack one or both attributes. We've now seen what's happened and likely to continue to happen with what looks to be only a fraction of what this shutdown is likely to entail...without adequate oversight, the park should be closed entirely. There's too much at stake. The writing is on the wall, and the message should be clear by now.

[rightstar76]

I think the message is that for Yosemite NP (and all other national parks and monuments) to operate properly, a healthy functioning government is required.

[maverick]

I think the message is that for Yosemite NP (and all other national parks and monuments) to operate properly, a healthy functioning government is required.

I thought this current one was "the best ever" and that there has "never been a better one previously", at least that is what the current president says, don't tell me that this is fake news!

[AlmostThere]

The problem with expecting people to use the roadside as a toilet -- parts of the roadside are very steep, and many of the tourists are variably able to climb, descend or even walk off into brushy, rocky, etc uneven ground into the forest to dig a hole. And having taken many beginner backpackers who are variably aware of what a "proper cathole" is into the wilderness, I doubt that folks who don't have a clue what a cathole is would do more than poop behind a rock, wipe, and drop the TP on the pile. Because when I volunteer for trail crew and sometimes camp in the more primitive developed campgrounds around... that is what I end up dealing with, with my shovel and gloved hands. A neat little pile of fly covered poo with a dab of TP on it. Multiplying that by all the cars that pass through the park in winter (not as many as summer but many) I can only imagine what 41's pullouts looked like after a week. And so I will take plenty of trash bags - because even though the snow program on the national forest I volunteer in is unaffected by the shutdown because the staff operates on a grant from California (yes, they do, we are training and operating as volunteers because we have federal employees operating on state funding to supervise us) there are not enough staff in the forest to pick up after people, because there have never been enough, because they are still underfunded.

Don't forget trash bags. They are versatile and in a pinch you can do all kinds of things with them, from containing wet gear in the car to sledding down a powder-covered hill. And you can poop in them when your vehicle is stuck in the snow and you don't feel like digging through four feet of snow to cathole. Part of what we are doing in sno parks each weekend is handing out trash bags to people who completely fail at bringing them, so they can pick up their cups, napkins, paper plates, etc before they are frozen to the asphalt in the snow park and we can't.