[pct-l] Tuolumne Overrun by Thrus

[Gail Van Velzer]

Many people, not just PCT hikers, are not happy with the Merced River Plan 
and other plans Yosemite is making.  Since this piece of earth belongs to 
the people and we pay for it, why can't we say how it's used?  I think the 
majority of people would like to see it maintained as a treasure, but also 
have access to it.  Personally, I don't like them taking away the "historic" 
parts like the tents in Curry Village, the horseback rides, bicycles and the 
ice rink.  These few venues aren't causing much of an impact on the Park, 
but we have "do-gooders" who think they are preserving something for 
eternity.  Truth is, it's better today than 50 years ago.  Mirror Lake is 
gone, or at least how I remember it...a beautiful alpine lake, now it's a 
meadow.  The sheep are gone, which wasn't good for the valley floor, but 
that's also part of it's history.  Now they want to take out the horses? 
According to one Ranger, "they aren't indiginous to the area".  What school 
did he learn in?  Horses most certainly were part of the history, as were 
the Indians.  I suppose the trams are more indiginous?  The whole idea of 
the busses was to cut down on traffic, so why isn't that a good idea 30 
years later?  Let us take back our Parks and natural spaces!
Golly

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Scott Williams" <baidarker at gmail.com>
To: "James Vesely" <JVesely at sstinternational.com>
Cc: "PCT List Forum" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2015 12:54 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Tuolumne Overrun by Thrus


>I think Stephen is correct.  Yosemite has been scaling down all the
> commercial enterprises for years now in the Valley, Tuolumne and 
> throughout
> the park to try to bring this iconic miracle of mountains back to its
> former state.  We were just at Tuolumne Mdws Lodge a few weeks ago and
> learned that some of the tent cabins will indeed be gone by next year.
> Also, and most crucially for many hikers who rely on the park busses, the
> Yosemite "bubble" shuttles to Tuolumne from the Valley will be phased out
> at the end of this season.  I learned this from several of the bus drivers
> who have been informed that this service is about to end short of a
> congressional mandate to keep them running.  Might be time to write a
> letter to your congress person if this service matters to you.
>
> As for the tables at the Tuolumne store when we were there, those across
> the drive from the store entrance were thoroughly covered with certified
> Hiker Trash.  Looked like good folks all around, and most of them were
> indeed stuffing burgers into their faces as they went through their boxes.
> I didn't notice any undue amounts of trash, and it didn't look any more
> crowded than it had been in 2010, when I was one of them.  There were 
> quite
> a number of tables to the right of the store all being used by families
> with kids and others clearly not Trail Trash, (they were all so clean) and
> all a good distance from the aroma of the thru hiker bunch.  Looked like
> the two groups were doing fine with the number of tables set out.  Didn't
> seem to be a problem in the least.
>
> As for the impact of the larger numbers of Thru Hikers on the PCT itself 
> in
> the High Sierra, I had just finished a good section of the JMT and didn't
> notice excess trash or crowds at any points.  The many thru hikers we met
> out there were as good a bunch of hikers as I've encountered in years
> past.  I'm sure there are some jerks, but we didn't meet any who would
> obviously fit into that category.
>
> A few hundred more thru hikers per year is small fry compared to the
> thousands of weekend backpackers and day hikers who all summer long use
> much of the PCT in the High Sierra.  Most of the thru hikers come through
> pretty early in the season, a time not known for large crowds, and often 
> we
> are the only people up there at those times.  Given the rigors of the 
> trail
> and the usual early season transit of the Sierra required of a thru hike,
> I'd be surprised to see the numbers get much above what we've got now in
> this post season "Wild" bubble.
>
> Shroomer
>
> On Mon, Jul 20, 2015 at 6:29 AM, James Vesely 
> <JVesely at sstinternational.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I just got back from hiking from Horseshoe meadows to Tuolumne and what
>> the picture does not show is that on the side of the post office and
>> restaurant  a set of at least 5 more tables and I did not see any hikers
>> using those tables.
>>
>> I did not see any trash at the tables pictured and all the hikers cleaned
>> up after themselves.
>>
>> I have been camping at Tuolumne for over 40 years and it has and will
>> always be a hiker intersection and most non hikers customers are mostly
>> curious about hikers and the interaction is very friendly.
>>
>> Jim
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Pct-L [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Richard
>> Brinkman
>> Sent: Friday, July 17, 2015 5:03 PM
>> To: Bob Bankhead; PCT List Forum
>> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Tuolumne Overrun by Thrus
>>
>>
>>
>> My experience was not PCT hikers taking over at all, but the 'hikers' and
>> others that were the true nightmare.  Best, Roadwalker mile 1,500
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent on my Samsung Galaxy S® 5
>>
>> -------- Original message --------
>> From: Bob Bankhead <wandering_bob at comcast.net>
>> Date: 07/17/2015  1:47 PM  (GMT-08:00)
>> To: PCT List Forum <pct-l at backcountry.net>
>> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Tuolumne Overrun by Thrus
>>
>> Correct. The 1st photo does not show trash. Rather, it illustrates how
>> hikers take over the picnic tables. That's only fair; those tables are
>> there for the customers of the store and the burger shack. Haven't met a
>> hiker there yet who didn't stop at one or both. The 2nd illustrates the
>> number of hikers currently in the store. Packs aren't allowed inside, and
>> there is no known criticism of them being neatly propped against the
>> outside walls. This is as it should be.
>>
>>
>> without express permission.
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