All of us have noticed that human impacts are strongly associated with distance to the trailhead. The vast majority of backpackers on multi day outings are excellent stewards and practice LNT. ?It is rare for me to find trash more than one day from the nearest trailhead. ?I would argue that in many ways we are the least impactful group.
The land management challenges are greatest where people get concentrated in the parks. LYV, Tuolumne backpackers camp, sunrise, Lyle forks, Rea lakes etc. ?I personally find the trash and poor stewardship evident near high use areas very disturbing. ? For piece of mind I avoid all of these places as best I can. ?While I understand the desire to complete ¡°the whole¡± trail I would strongly encourage backpackers to seek alternative routes and eliminate the added stressors associated with these areas. ? Doing so will enhance your experience.
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On Sep 23, 2021, at 8:49 AM, Larry <lhkushi@...> wrote:
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Note that for next year, there will be 15 non-Lyell Donohue exit permits available per day, not 20 as in years past.? And of course all are Happy Isles passthrough permits.? Of these, 9 will be available for advance reservation, and 6 will be allocated to the walk-up pool.? There will be 30 (rather than 25) such Lyell Canyon permits, 18 for advance reservations, 12 for walk-ups.
Since all 15 Happy Isles passthrough permits will also be Half Dome eligible, it's fairly likely that many if not most of these individuals will want to camp near the JMT-Clouds Rest Trail junction.? This is a larger number than I believe currently camps there on a typical night.? Whether this will have a noticeable impact on the area is unknown.
Another aspect of this change is that only 27 Donohue eligible permits will be available for advance reservation through the lottery, rather than 35.? On the other hand, there is a specific walk-up pool for Happy Isles passthrough, and 18 versus 10 walk-up permits overall, perhaps better for (relatively local) people who don't need to incorporate airplanes and rental cars into their JMT plans and thus can afford to be more spontaneous.
I commented about these numbers on the JMT Facebook group a few days ago, in the thread where Inga posted a link to the Yosemite description about changes for 2022.? Perhaps I should elevate that to a post rather than comment in a thread, as some folks who are regular contributors think the allocations will be similar to years past.
