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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Apr 30, 2013 - 10:25am PT
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This one has more impact than the last on me personally so i wrote my own letter.
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Sometimes it is worth the cost of having small areas in a non-natural yet still beautiful condition. Please let us travel freely and enjoy el-cap meadow the way we have for the last many decades. I am not convinced that future generations will be negatively impacted by the current level of activity and trails in the meadow. Infact I would suspect that much more enjoyment will be preserved for all generations by keeping it open.
Decades of climbers and other visitors have spent countless hours gazing up and dreaming from the various vantage points afforded here. For me it is one of the key components to any trip to the Valley. The idea of sitting in the meadow checking out el-cap after another great day of climbing is often a more anticipated moment than the climbing itself. It is in a way the heart of every trip to the valley.
I am quite sure that laying down on a boardwalk where everyone is forced to walk by me will not be the same experience. The value dozens everyday get from settling in a spot away from others or just with friends will disappear. There has not been any other meadow so commonly utilized in this manner by visitors. Not just climbers but families and just about everyone who stops there.
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edit found this
El Capitan Meadow (RES-2-009) – Reroute climber use trails on north side of road from meadow
habitat to an appropriate upland route (a few meters to the east). Remove informal trails through
meadow and oak woodland. Protect re-vegetated areas with fencing or other natural barriers and sign
the area to reduce trampling of sensitive meadow vegetation. As opportunities arise through
maintenance or restoration projects, improve hydrologic flow and meadow connectivity by extending
the permeable road base across the entire segment of Northside Drive through El Capitan Meadow
and add additional box culverts with bottom elevations equal to the meadow surface elevation.
Remove encroaching conifer saplings (< 10 inches diameter at breast height) using loppers, handsaws,
or mowers. Heavy equipment including excavator, skid steer, loader, and dump truck would be used
to remove ditches and recontour natural topography. Work would take place in late summer or fall for
10 weeks.Other restoration treatments at El Capitan Meadow vary depending on alternative.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Apr 30, 2013 - 02:07pm PT
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Bump back to front page. Today's the deadline.
John
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