Topic

Yosemite Winter Rangers are Back!

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
Paul Wagner BPL Member
PostedDec 21, 2023 at 7:40 am

Each year an intrepid couple of NPS rangers spend the winter at Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park. Their posts are charming, informative, and, at times, almost poetic.

Here’s their first post from this year: https://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/update-for-december-20-2023.htm

Kevin Babione BPL Member
PostedDec 21, 2023 at 9:22 am

Thank you – I looked on Tuesday and there wasn’t anything.  Their first post in 2022 was December 16th so I knew it would be soon.  As we were snowless in my part of PA last year, I really enjoyed their reports and photos.

jscott Blocked
PostedDec 21, 2023 at 11:24 am

Yay! I love their page. I’ve spent a lot of time in Tuolumne Meadows hiking to various destinations that the rangers visit on skis. Great to see this beloved country in winter!

d k BPL Member
PostedDec 21, 2023 at 8:28 pm

I wonder if anyone ever dog-sleds in to Tuolomne Meadows?

David Thomas BPL Member
PostedDec 22, 2023 at 1:26 pm

d k: There are dog-mushing rangers in Denali, NP (who also do summer-time demos for the visitors, but I’d guess YNP leans towards keeping all canines out of the backcountry.  And there’s not the historic tradition of dog mushing in Yosemite the way there is in Denali.  Ah, found a citation, “Denali kennels manager David Tomeo noted theirs is the only sled dog kennel in the entire federal government.”

I’m pretty sure a guided or private party couldn’t take their own dog teams through there like they can in Denali.  That’s a pity, because heading over Hwy 120 or the unplowed portion past Badger Pass towards Glacier Point would be a really cool dog mushing trip although I can imagine conflicts with our trail users (sled dogs are quiet when running but yap a lot when in camp).

There are other unplowed, mountain-pass state highways in California that I assume would be open to dog mushing in winter.

Jerry Adams BPL Member
PostedDec 22, 2023 at 1:35 pm

McKenzie Pass highway 242 is closed for miles in the winter.  Another great place for a dog team.  Or skis,…

The Dee Wright Observatory would be a great destination.  Stone structure.  You could probably sleep in it.

 

Paul Wagner BPL Member
PostedDec 22, 2023 at 1:41 pm

Dogs are not allowed in any area of Yosemite National Park that is not paved.  Not on trails, not off trails, not in the back country.

d k BPL Member
PostedDec 22, 2023 at 3:45 pm

Ah – thanks, Dave and Paul; I am enlightened.  Not being a dog owner (love them, but allergic) I don’t pay particular attention to the regulations on them.  Though I have seen them rarely on trails in the valley, tourists being what they are.

Paul Wagner BPL Member
PostedDec 22, 2023 at 9:24 pm

In the Valley is fine, as long as they are on a leash, and on a paved road or trail.

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
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