Tag Archives: Yosemite

National Parks

FREE park admission for Founders Day at Yosemite August 25!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Yosemite National Park is Celebrating Founder’s Day on August 25th (which, coincidentally, is National Parks Day, too!).

Park entrance fees are waived for the Day!  All other fees associated with camping, lodging, or activities within the park are not waived. The fee waiver is good for Sunday, August 25, Founder’s Day, only.

From the National Park Service website:

Not just a great valley, but a shrine to human foresight, the strength of granite, the power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra.

First protected in 1864, Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more.

If you can’t make it to Yosemite, remember: August 25th is National Parks day, and many parks are offering free park admission on that day!  Check with your local park and see if it’s free!

Activities, Hiking - General, National Parks

Amusing Planet on Half Dome, The Granite Peak at Yosemite National Park

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Amusing Planet posted a blog with GREAT pictures about Half Dome and the joys of hiking to the top.

From the article:

The trail starts with a 13.7 km hike, followed by a rigorous 3.2 km approach including several hundred feet of granite stairs. The final 400-foot ascent up the peak’s steep but somewhat rounded east face is ascended with the aid of a pair of post-mounted braided steel cables raised on posts that lead to the breath-taking summit. This cable route was constructed close to the Anderson route in 1919 by the Sierra Club for visitors who have no rock climbing ability or equipment. Following the Half Dome Cables Trail is a unique experience, and it has become one of the most popular hikes in Yosemite National Park. As many as 1,000 hikers per day have sometimes climbed the dome on a summer weekend, and about 50,000 hikers climb it every year.

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National Forests, National Parks, News

Peter T. Hoss: Yosemite draft plan won’t benefit Merced River

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Peter T. Hoss has penned an editorial for the Monterey Herald about the idiotic Draft Merced River Plan.  In it, he lays out issues with the plan which I wholeheartedly agree with.

From the editorial:

An ad hoc group of retired people from all aspects of Yosemite life, small in number but vast in experience, has protested the current Draft Merced River Plan and the accompanying environmental impact report, which led to my testimony before a congressional subcommittee on July 9.

This plan, which would dramatically reduce recreational use of parts of Yosemite National Park, is not a political issue. Followers of all political persuasions cherish visiting Yosemite.

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, applied to the Merced River, was never intended by its draftsman, now-retired Congressman Tony Coelho, to apply to the 81 miles of the river within Yosemite. That portion made the final draft because of an administrative oversight when the House and Senate versions of the legislation were combined.

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Activities, National Forests, National Parks

Congressman McClintock Speaks on Yosemite National Park and Against the Mariposa

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

From his address to the U.S. House of Representatives, August 1, 2013:

Mr. Speaker: Yosemite Valley is a national treasure that was set aside in 1864 with the promise it would be preserved for the express purpose of “Public Use, Resort and Recreation.” Ever since, Americans have enjoyed a host of recreational opportunities and amenities as they have come to celebrate the splendor of the Valley. Now, the National Parks Service, at the urging of leftist environmental groups, is proposing eliminating many of those amenities, including bicycle and raft rentals, horseback riding rentals, gift shops, snack facilities, swimming pools, and iconic facilities including the Ice Skating Rink at Curry Village, the art center and historic stone bridges that date back to the 1920’s.

For generations, these facilities have enhanced the enjoyment of the park for millions of visitors, adding a rich variety of recreational activities amidst the breathtaking backdrop of Yosemite. But today, the very nature and purpose of Yosemite is being changed from its original promise of “Public Use, Resort, and Recreation,” to an exclusionary agenda that can best be described as, “Look, but don’t touch.”

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National Parks

The Cathedral Range: Project Yosemite’s Favorite Spots

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Yosemite Park has put up a new blog post about the Cathedral Range, which is one of Project Yosemite’s favorite spots.

The Cathedral Range is an offshoot of the Sierra Nevada mountain range just south of Tuolumne Meadows inside Yosemite National Park. The granite foundations of the range were sculpted during the Pleistocene by glaciation, while the peaks – which were above the highest glaciation – remained untouched.  The lack of glaciation gives the peaks a “spire-like” appearance.  The range is named after Cathedral Peak, which rises 10,916 feet above sea level.

Project Yosemite is a collaboration by Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty, who have “teamed up to film Yosemite National Park like never before.”  Their most EXCELLENT first film “Yosemite HD” is a must see.  Links below.

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