Yosemite Reservations

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HIKING HALF DOME!
Rick Deutsch
Outdoors Magic
21 July 2008
California’s Yosemite National Park may be best known over here for its big wall climbing, but it’s also the location of some astonishing trekking routes including the classic ascent of Half Dome - local author, adventurer and self-confessed Half Dome obsessive Rick Deutsch takes up the virtual trekking poles…
Of all the possible hikes in California’s Yosemite National Park, one of the favorite day hikes is up the backside of 8,842-foot Half Dome, at the eastern edge of Yosemite Valley.
It is the most hiked mountain in the Sierra Nevada, with about 50,000 ascents per year! This is a big hike; a full ten- to twelve-hour day for most, comprising about sixteen miles round trip. Included is a harrowing 425-foot vertical climb up the nearly 45-degree incline of Half Dome’s granite slope, which is accomplished with the aid of two steel cable handrails.
The famous “cables” on Half Dome are installed by the The National Park Service for the duration of the extended summer season - usually mid May until mid October.
To the outdoor adventurer, “bagging” Half Dome is a rite of passage, an entry on their “fun resume” and a “Certificate of Accomplishment,” which leads to other challenges.
The thought of climbing up Half Dome was considered impossible until October 1875, when George Anderson, a Scottish blacksmith and jack-of-all-trades, labored weeks to drill holes into the granite of the backside to create a ropeway.
He inserted steel spikes and built his own ladder. As he set an eyelet, he would ascend and stand on it for footing in order to drill the next hole. Slowly, but steadily, he worked until he finally reached the summit.
He then secured a rope to the eyelets with knots to allow a hand-over-hand traverse. The current system of steel cables, with “pipe” supports, and 2′ x 4′ wooden footrests (ten feet apart), was first put up by the Sierra Club in 1919. The cables were replaced in 1933 then again in 1986. It remains a draw for the adventurous seeking a challenge rewarded by a beautiful view.

Precautions
While this is basically a safe hike, there are a few things to be aware of.
1. Intensity - this is an “extremely strenuous” hike. You need to be in good health and train well in advance to condition your legs to the rigors.
2. Weather -Thunderstorms can arise in any month. Men have died from lightning strikes on the summit. Retreat if there is any hint of a storm in the area.
3. Altitude Sickness - Half Dome is only 8,842′ above sea level and generally poses no problem. Descend if you are feeling light headed and symptomatic.
4. Giardia - Do not drink untreated water from any natural source. Use a purifying filter or other method.
5. Bears - Be aware that this is their habitat. Your biggest chance of an encounter will be at your campsite - use the bear boxes for your food and scented item storage.
6. Falling - The most common type of injury. Wear good hiking shoes and use trekking poles. The cables are scary and steep (45 degrees); be very careful.
7. Waterfalls - people have fallen over the falls. Respect the signs and hike safely.
8. Dehydration -Ensure everyone in your party is well hydrated. Water is the key to your success. Drink before you are thirsty.
Accommodation
You should book your reservations well in advance. Call or book on line at: (801) 559-5000 or www.nps.gov/yose.
Curry Village tent cabins are close to the trailhead, sleep up to four in beds (with blankets, pillows, towels included), are close to the park services and are very economical. You can book them a year in ahead.
Yosemite boasts many fine alternative accommodations as well, from basic ground-tenting to the Lodge to the Ahwahnee Hotel. Off-site hotels would be an hour drive before and after the hike. You will be exhausted, so this is not recommended. There are direct flights to San Francisco, located just four hours west.
The Trail
The actual apex of Half Dome is only two miles from the trail head - as the crow flies. It’s 8,842 feet high. You will ascend nearly a mile as you continue on the path.
It is well marked and you will just follow the crowd. Upwards of 800 people do this hike on a summer weekend day! There are several well maintained trail toilets on the hike.
Begin your hike by 6 am. The goal is to be at the cables by 11 am. Arrive much later and you will be greeted by a long line, resembling a caterpillar slowly going up the cables. Bring a flashlight in case your hike takes longer than you hoped.
Be very careful and take the warnings seriously. You can get hurt, so assume responsibility for your own safety. If you have any trepidation, don’t proceed. There is no ranger or other authority on Half Dome to restrict hikers. Enjoy this freedom as you enjoy Yosemite and admire its status as a “World Heritage site”.
More practical information at the National Park Service web site: www.nps.gov/yose

FOREST SERVICE EXPLAINS ITS ‘LET IT BURN’ POLICY
Chris Bowman
Sac Bee
18 July 2008
If every cloud has a silver lining, what good can be said of the big brown dome of wildfire smoke that capped much of California these past few weeks?
Plenty, say ecologists who study the effects of fire on the landscape.
While the siege of lightning-sparked fires continues to inundate parts of Northern California with hazardously smoky air, the blazes also consumed more than 1,400 square miles of dangerously overgrown forests and oak woodlands – the size of nearly three Lake Tahoe basins – leaving that much less fuel for future, more catastrophic and expensive fires.
Federal land managers in California are retooling their firefighting strategies to capture more of the public safety, economic and environmental benefits of letting wildfires run their natural course without overwhelming the public with smoke and destroying homes.
That’s a tough balancing act in the nation’s most populous state, which already endures the smoggiest and grittiest air in the country. But in a select few remote national forests, parks and wilderness areas, ecologists say, the federal government has been weaning itself off Smokey Bear’s admonitions with measurable success.
“We didn’t have any injuries. We didn’t burn any houses, and we cleared out 15,000 acres of dense vegetation that hasn’t seen fire in decades and, in some places, a century – and that’s a good thing,” said Brent Skaggs, a U.S. Forest Service fire management officer who let nature take its course under close watch – and tricky weather – in the Clover fire that was recently contained in the Sequoia and Inyo national forests.

Federal officials call it “reintroducing fire” to the landscape. Historically, wildfire smoke filled the Central Valley and draped the mountains flanking much of the summer and fall. Extinguishing the fires became a federal mandate with the creation of the Forest Service at the turn of the 20th century.
The firefighting made it safer to extend development into the woods, but also made for more dangerous forests with the buildup of deadwood that would have otherwise gone up in smoke. As a result, modern blazes recur more frequently. And they often do more damage than good to the flora and fauna – humans included.
Backing off from total fire suppression and letting fire run more of its natural course effectively inoculates the forest from more virulent fires that denude large swaths of the landscape, which in turn invites mudslides.
“We could have suppressed it and had the thing out earlier, Skaggs said of the Clover fire, which was discovered May 31. “But by doing that we would be just prolonging the inevitable. We had an opportunity to manage fire or have it manage us.”
The practice, of course, could backfire. A sudden shift in wind direction or unexpected gusts in the unnaturally dense forests could turn such experiments into disasters – plastering communities with smoke or, worse, burning them down.
Fire managers have reduced the chances of a hands-off fire running awry by limiting the practice to the remote backcountry of the central Sierra and the desolate northern corners of the state.
Namely: Portions of the Mendocino, Klamath and Shasta-Trinity national forests that encompassed large wilderness areas; Lassen National Park and the neighboring Lava Beds National Monument and Modoc National Forest; and Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon national parks and surrounding Stanislaus and Sequoia national forests. Managers of these forests have plans in place for using the let-it-burn approach, known in firefighting parlance as “wildfire use” or “appropriate management response.”
Even then, the practice cannot be used without a series of approvals up the Forest Service line of command, from the ranger on the ground to the brass at headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Beyond that, forest officials in many cases need the permission of local air pollution control districts.
The Forest Service had a tough time getting the cooperation of pollution regulators when it began “wildfire use” about five years ago, said Trent Procter, air quality program manager for the agency’s Pacific Southwest region, which includes California.
Working against the agency were earlier “prescribed burns” – deliberately set to thin out fire-prone thickets – that went awry at Lake Tahoe and the Stanislaus forest.
Relations have since improved. “They realize that in the absence of (natural burns), we’ll end up with more catastrophic wildfires like those we have now, where the smoke will be worse, Procter said.
For its part, the Forest Service recently added at least a dozen portable air pollution samplers to the state Air Resources Board’s network for monitoring the smoke levels, which reached the hazardous level Thursday in the Trinity County seat of Weaverville, said Jeff Cook, an emergency response coordinator with the air board.
Starting today, the federal agency will be providing “smoke forecasts” enabling the air board to give the public more advance warning of unhealthful conditions.

YouTube - Yosemite National Park Half Dome Trek - www.openroad.tv.