High Sierra Topix

As always there is a much longer back story here. In essence this practice has become a work around to our Wilderness permit system that has been employed over the last several years because of how difficult it is to get a permit.

We will review the current wording during this years update to the compendium.

Stay tuned for more.

What does that mean? What practice? If dayhiking with a backpack is already prohibited what are they saying is being used as a workaround?

What does that mean? What practice? If dayhiking with a backpack is already prohibited what are they saying is being used as a workaround?

The practice of individuals foregoing a wilderness permit completely and just going into the backcountry. The "day hiking with a backpack" part, will hopefully be re-worded to be more precise, with this years compendium, making it more straight forward and enforceable. That is just my interpretation.
When I get more from Yosemite on this, will post it here.

Okay, so it sounds like there will be no substantive change to the rules.

As part of clarifying the dayhike rule maybe they'll actually print it some place a typical hiker might see it.

I'm still confused. How, specifically, does someone end up day hiking with full backpacking gear without breaking any other rules except that one?

I'm still giving the benefit of the doubt, here, but until I figure out a scenario that makes sense it kinda seems like this:

In essence this practice has become a work around to our Wilderness permit system

If it's as Phil posted above, that's still starting a backpacking trip in Tuolumne without a permit for it. Unless you walk the road the whole way.

Maybe your campsite reservation expired and you want to go on a day hike without leaving your gear because for some reason you have a campsite and no car?

I don't understand.

I personally do pack my bag, tarp, and overnight gear for solo day hikes, in the front country or back country, just in case I get lost or injured, causing me to spend the night, which has not happened, or if I run in someone who it could help, which has happened.
Someone could overestimate their abilities, loose track of time, and not make it out before sundown, or get lost/injured, in these cases, they having overnight gear would eliminate the need to make a bad situation worse and possibly turning into a SAR incident.

limpingcrab wrote:I'm still confused. How, specifically, does someone end up day hiking with full backpacking gear without breaking any other rules except that one?...

...I don't understand.

I don't understand your question. What other rule are you imagining someone breaking?

Ya, I understand that possibility, but I still think emergency day hike stuff is different than "full backpacking gear." Bear can, lots of food, tent, changes of clothing, etc...

Emergency gear will keep you alive, but not necessarily comfortable. Overnight gear keeps you alive AND comfortable.

There is a saying in mountaineering; if you bring a sleeping bag, you will use it. This is because all that gear that will make you cushy comfortable will slow you down to the point of not being able to actually do a route without bivouacking. I have spent enough unplanned nights on a cliff to know the difference between comfort and survival.

A few times I have thrown in my sleeping bag and tent on a day-hike brcause I did not trust the bears hanging around camp not to maul my gear, which would make it worthless. I must admit that it gave me an incredible sense of security even if it slowed me down! But, my aching back at the end of a very long day convinced me it is not something I would regularly do.

A person who is going to cheat the system and bring overnight gear, is not likley to take bear can regulations very seriously either. So being stopped with full on overnight gear but no bear can is not a guarentee the person did not INTEND from the get-go to camp. As for proof of camping, stealth campers make sure they are difficult to find. How do I know? I have done it a few times. It is very easy to hide, particularly with a bivy sack instead of tent.

So I think regulations do have to assume that gear is intent and then very specifically define that gear. Actually a good way to regulate this is to regulate parking. A car left at a trailhead overnight is a person who is camping overnight. They could issue special over-stay parking permit to hike trailhead to another trailhead with a requirement of proof of reaching the other trailhead, such as a tear-off part of the permit dropped into a special box at the other trailhead.

I understand the sentiment that in some instances it's a way to bypass the overnight backcountry quota system. That's not always the case, but even when it is, if the person actually does dayhike then what is the problem exactly? Isn't the point of the system to regulate overnight stays? If dayhiking itself is an issue then there should be limits to that that apply to everyone, regardless of what they have in their packs.

That's the ideal.

The practical aspect of law enforcement is why this rule exists. It's not because carrying a tent and sleeping bag on a dayhike is inherently bad. It's because a ranger in the field can't easily ascertain someone's intent, much less catch them in the act. So in addition to the act itself, the mere appearance that one might camp overnight is deemed sufficient to cite.

In my own experience, I still do the exact same hikes that I used to with overnight gear. But now I drive a whole lot more. Sometimes we drive two cars hundreds of miles instead of just one since we can't carry our gear. It's all fun and games and part of living in a state with 40 million people.

Why do you keep baiting the conversation instead of waiting for an answer?