(Some reservations about Yosemite reservations)

After some hassle, we managed to get a “reservation” for Yosemite and Monday went up to Sonora, over Sonora and Tioga Passes and then down to Yosemite Valley and then back down 41 to home. It was great to get the ticket and a beautiful day in the mountains but I have some mixed feelings. Government programs tend follow predictable dynamics; 1.) They only expand and 2.) “Temporary” ones become permanent. An example would be the wilderness permit system. Instituted in the 1970’s in response to the increasing popularity of backpacking, it’s still in place, and larger, although backpacking popularity has steadily decreased to the point where in most places in the Sierra, back country usage is less than 25% of what it was in 1976. Contrary to popular perception, compared to the 1960’s the back country is relatively empty. There’s several contributing factors for the dynamic:
1.) A new program immediately begins to generate a self-interested bureaucracy and associated private industry partners.
2.) If it can generate some funds then it can be said to be “self-funded” – even if that’s not really true.
3.) If the original mission evaporates, a new one can be found.
4.) In time the public not only gets used to it but will actually defend it. Ultimately it’s function will be deemed essential not as the result of any analysis of need …but simply because it exists.
The result is just one more thing that you now need governmental permission to do. So I’m not optimistic as to the temporary nature of the new Yosemite reservation system. In my youth, I could get out of school on a Friday afternoon and on a whim throw my pack and climbing gear in the car, drive 5 hrs to the Sierras and wander aimlessly for a few days without destination or even a map. In the summers I would spend weeks hiking off trail. By age 20 I had hiked and climbed in most areas of the Sierra from Sonora Pass in the north to Walker Pass 200 miles south. But that’s no longer possible, and I fear that if the new reservation system lingers too long, then the days of “Hey, let’s go up to Yosemite for the afternoon” will be the latest freedom to go the way of the steam engine train and the unfettered wanderings of my misspent youth.