Under the preferred Alternative #5, lodging facilities will be modified at Yosemite. Since it is in the Merced corridor, the Merced High Sierra Camp will be reduced in capacity from 60 beds to 42 beds. So that means access to the multi-day hikes will be impacted. Housekeeping will have 34 of the 266 units removed. Curry Village will grow from 400 units to 453. These will be made up of 290 soft sided tent cabins and 163 wood sided ones. The 18 units at the Stoneman House and the 47 cabins with bath in Curry will be kept.
The hanta-virus prone signature insulated tent cabins are gone, replaced by hard sided ones. As if anyone would want to stay in them after the 2012 tragedy. No changes at the Ahwahnee (123 rooms), the Yosemite Lodge (245 rooms) and the Wawona Hotel (104 rooms).
Welcome to Yosemite
In other news the 2nd Sierra snowpack survey was done and we’re now at 93% of normal in the Sierra. After a jamming December, January has been kinda dry. Less snow means less waterfalls but improves the odds that the cables on Half Dome will get put up on May 24 as planned. We still have a long winter ahead of us. *But the days are getting longer.*
Unrelated thought worth quoting: “Everyone is entitled to my opinion” - Madonna
MrHalfDome™ – Rick Deutsch – www.HikeHalfDome.com
One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome
30. January 2013 at 8:57 am
reducing the size of Merced Lake High Sierra Camp will have minimal impact on anyone hiking a HSC loop, because Vogelsang HSC and Sunrise HSC, on either side of Merced Lake HSC in the loop, have capacities even less than 42.
Merced Lake HSC is about 14 miles from Happy Isles and at least that far from Tuolumne Meadows, so few folks hike directly into Merced Lake.
as a veteran HSC hiker, I am grateful it is not being abolished!