Yosemite Blog

Well, I can tell by all the bangs, whistles and pops that it’s now officially the 4th of July and I’d just like to wish everyone a happy 4th of July.

Please keep all appendages in their proper place. No missing fingers come Tuesday.

Merced Sun Star: “Anyone going to Yosemite National Park this weekend should go early or late, or think twice about going at all.
A heavy, slow melting snow pack has drawn large crowds to Yosemite during the past couple months — as many as 17,000 per day, causing long waits at park entrances and bumper-to-bumper traffic in the valley.

That’s how it was over the Memorial Day weekend, and that’s what could happen again this weekend, said Nanci Sikes, director of the Tuolumne County Visitor’s Bureau.

‘Because it’s a three-day holiday, we’re going to be extremely busy just like we would be for Labor Day or Memorial Day weekend,’ Sikes said.

‘When people get three days off in a row, they tend to want to get away.’

Before the weekend, there were still several hotel, motel and bed and breakfast rooms available in Merced and Tuolumne counties, both gateway communities to the national park.

But all reservable Yosemite Valley campsites are taken, and lodging in towns closest to the park — such as Groveland and El Portal — were almost filled by Friday.”

I got an email today that really tore at my heart so I felt it only fitting that I write this post.

It’s been almost two years since Martha Claassens husband, Fred, disappeared while on a short, two day backpacking trip in the Hoover Wilderness by the northeastern corner of Yosemite.

On July 31, 2003 Fred Claassen entered the Hoover Wilderness from Twin Lakes. He had planned on taking photos of the Sawtooth Ridge area. His plan was to hike into Crown Lake over Mule and Burro passes and return to Twin Lakes cross-country via Matterhorn Pass and the Horse Creek drainage.

Claassen was last seen on August 1st 2003 at Crown Lake.

If you should come across anything believed to belong to Fred Claassen or have seen anything we urge you to contact the Mono County Sheriff’s Department at 760-932-7549 or Yosemite National Park at 209-379-1992.

The search area includes Robinson Creek drainage (Barney, Peeler, Robinson, Crown, and Snow lakes), Horse Creek Drainage, and the northeastern part of Yosemite National Park between Mule Pass, Burro Pass, and the Matterhorn.

Claassen typically carried:

• a black Dana Designs Astroplane pack with the Sierra Club Centennial Patch on the lid
• Blue nylon GoLite day-pack containing photo equipment and a tripod
• Portable Sony tape recorder in plastic bag, microphones, and tapes in plastic box
• CD player, CD wallet, gold trekking pole with wood handle
• Sage green GoLite tent, teal-green down sleeping bag, blue Luxury Thermarest sleeping pad
• Black Garcia Bear-Resistant food container, MSR stove, red fuel bottle
• Red down jacket, navy Marmot Precip rain jacket and pants, Teva leather sandals

If you happen to be entering that area, please, report any stray articles of clothing, unattended equipment, unusual odors, or anything you believe might be useful no matter how small. Small clues can help.

Here’s a picture of Claassen in his typical gear.

If you should be planning on backpacking in the Twin Lakes to Crown Lake area please print and carry one of the fliers with you.

Remember, any little bit of information you can supply helps. Once again you can call the Mono County Sheriff’s Department at 760-932-7549 or Yosemite National Park at 209-379-1992.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Martha and Fred’s family.

MSNBC.com: Taking a summer vacation by car? If so, you might want to reconsider if your destination shows up on a list released Thursday of the 25 most congested tourist spots. The list covers the country — from The Hamptons on New York’s Long Island, to Yosemite National Park in California.

The Oregon coast topped the list, which is based on expected travel delays resulting from traffic bottlenecks.

“This study is a follow-up to our report on the most congested commuter bottlenecks in the country and is the first-of-its-kind effort to examine trends in recreational and tourist trips, which have become a significant part of vehicle travel in the U.S.,” Greg Cohen, head of the American Highway Users Alliance, said in a statement.

The partners noted that 2005 is likely to be the nation’s busiest summer travel vacation period ever, with 328 million leisure trips expected — up 2.3 percent from 2004.

And AAA estimates this July Fourth weekend will have more American vacationers on the road – 33.9 million – than even on Thanksgiving.

The study defined bottlenecks as “sections of roads or highways and bridges that lack adequate capacity to handle peak traffic loads during periods of high demand.”

The list, shown here in order, was based on existing bottlenecks in an area, number of traffic lanes, and estimated summer travel trips and miles driven:

• The Oregon coast
• Tidewater region of Virginia
• Maryland/Delaware shore
• Branson, Mo.
• Outer Banks, N.C.
• Cape Cod, Mass.
• New Jersey shore
• Napa Valley, Calif.
• Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish Country
• Catskill Mountains region in New York
• Pocono Mountains/Lake Wallenpaupack, Penn.
• Provo Canyon, Utah
• Yosemite National Park, Calif.
• Asheville, N.C.
• Sun Valley, Idaho
• Lake Tahoe Area, Nev.-Calif.
• Lake Winnipesaukee, N.H.
• Yellowstone National Park, Wyo.-Idaho-Mont.
• Presque Isle State Park, Penn.
• Acadia National Park, Maine
• White Mountains, N.H.
• Lake George, N.Y.
• Myrtle Beach, S.C.
• Whitewater region, Idaho
• The Hamptons, Long Island, N.Y.

Bakersfield.com: “Rescuers continued to search Tuesday for a 51-year-old Santa Barbara hiker who was reported missing a week ago in Yosemite National Park.

A helicopter, scent-sniffing dogs, and Marines from Camp Pendleton were all part of a search-and-rescue team that has been looking for Michael Ficery.
Ficery was reported missing June 21 after his wilderness permit expired. His backpack - with a map, camera and water bottle removed - was found the next day near Tilltill Mountain. But there have been no other clues, park spokeswoman Karen Caldwell said.”