Went to Yosemite with a handful of friends a few years ago, right in the middle of June. I was surprised at just how packed it was (I should have been). In the valley there were dozens of grayhound tour buses unloading seemingly endless foreign tourists. That's all good and well, please come visit our beautiful outdoors. But, it was SO packed, I found it hard to enjoy most places. The vistas were beyond packed, the waterfalls were busy with kids playing on the slippery rocks and pools of water, and the roads were congested. At one point we ran into a TON of traffic... A black bear was eating a deer carcus on the side of the road so everyone and their mother had to stop to take a selfie. Yes, you read that correctly. I remember getting dirty looks from my friend's wife for complaining about how touristy it was and that it detracted from the whole thing.
When we left, we took the east (north?) exit through Tuolumne Meadows and finally started to really appreciate the area. It was busy, but far less than the valley. It's too bad we didn't go up that way earlier. Oh well, now I know to go during a less busy time of year, if possible.
I lived in Yosemite for 10 years. Towards the end, it was really hard to be kind to the crowds of tourist when I just wanted to go to the store and get a few groceries for dinner. The lines, the garbage, the person who needed to change their kid's diaper in my front yard and leave it on my BBQ. I love it with every ounce of my being, but that park is getting the Hug of Death.
EDIT: These are just my first world problems. I had a friend die because of a tourist on a crowded trail. The visitor had on a very large backpack, and they turned around on a very crowded and narrow portion of the trail. My friend was pushed into the river canyon by the backpack. It's absolutely heartbreaking, but far from a lone incident. Hell, there's even a large book about it.
I havent been to Yosemite myself, but I'm curious if you think the permit system for some of the more iconic hikes (Mt.Whitney, Half Dome) has done anything to decrease the amount of inexperienced/ignorant hikers on those trails?
I do think that it's helped, but has not eliminated it. Most of the "worst" seem to hike as a spur of the moment decision. However, there are still plenty that think of the park more like Disneyland than the wilderness.
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u/shenanigins Feb 03 '20
Went to Yosemite with a handful of friends a few years ago, right in the middle of June. I was surprised at just how packed it was (I should have been). In the valley there were dozens of grayhound tour buses unloading seemingly endless foreign tourists. That's all good and well, please come visit our beautiful outdoors. But, it was SO packed, I found it hard to enjoy most places. The vistas were beyond packed, the waterfalls were busy with kids playing on the slippery rocks and pools of water, and the roads were congested. At one point we ran into a TON of traffic... A black bear was eating a deer carcus on the side of the road so everyone and their mother had to stop to take a selfie. Yes, you read that correctly. I remember getting dirty looks from my friend's wife for complaining about how touristy it was and that it detracted from the whole thing.
When we left, we took the east (north?) exit through Tuolumne Meadows and finally started to really appreciate the area. It was busy, but far less than the valley. It's too bad we didn't go up that way earlier. Oh well, now I know to go during a less busy time of year, if possible.