“The woods, the streams, everything on it
belongs to everybody and is for the use of all.
How can one man say it belongs only to him?”
Wampanoag Leader (1581-1661)
According to Venturewild.net, only 1% of Yosemite’s visitors enters the Park through the Hetch Hetchy Entrance on Evergreen Road in northwest Yosemite. The road terminates at O’Shaughnessy Dam where the impounded waters of the Tuolumne River create the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Remarkably, the low visitation rate remains true despite the overwhelming crowds that have “flooded” Yosemite Valley, filling all parking spaces to capacity by 8:30 am during this month’s July 4th weekend (see image below from the NPS Instagram page).
SFGate, a San Francisco travel site, stated that some wishing to enter the Park waited four hours to get in at the Arch Rock, Big Oak Flat, and Southern Entrances.
Those two statistics, the 1% visitation rate at Hetch Hetchy and the parking-at-capacity by 8:30 am in Yosemite Valley, have me pondering words spoken by the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), Dennis Herrera. On May 3, 2023, he proclaimed the following at the Centennial Celebration of the completion of the O’Shaughnessy Dam (See YouTube Video at 6:05 minute mark):
“Hetch Hetchy waters . . . are no barrier keeping visitors away from enjoying the absolute stillness of the backcountry wilderness here. Those willing to leave their cars, trucks, campers, or motorcycles will find amazing hiking trails open from the trailhead right over there on the far side of the tunnel on the far side of the dam.”
Mr. Herrera, the distinguished lawyer and former City Attorney of San Francisco, presents his carefully chosen words in a manner that few could levy fault against. Nevertheless, his statement mystifies me in light of the two statistics I note above. His words appear only to obfuscate the issue of access at Hetch Hetchy.
It’s true, the “Hetch Hetchy waters are no barrier to keeping visitors away.” The waters are innocent of any accusation. They sustain life, and no one will contend otherwise. The Centennial Celebration, however, brought people together to focus on the construction and completion of the O’Shaughnessy Dam, not to defend the water against blame.
Unfortunately, San Francisco officials appear to have taken possession of the “arrogant-at-times" attitude of Michael O’Shaughnessy, the engineer who oversaw the construction of the Dam, by continuing to refer to the Tuolumne River watershed as “our watershed” despite its location in a National Park (See SFPUC YouTube video quoting Journalist Gary Kamiya at the 35-second mark, the YouTube video of Centennial Celebration quoting SFPUC President Hewsha Ajami at the 15:36 minute mark, and see the image of Mr. O’Shaughnessy below with the notation: "San Francisco's 400,000 acre watershed." -- Emphasis added). In the words of Massasoit Sachem, “The woods, the streams, everything on it belongs to everybody and is for the use of all. How can one man say it belongs only to him?”
However, humans do have the power to bring “storms” upon others by their policies and attitudes. Political maneuvering brought the Dam into existence and desecrated Hetch Hetchy Valley over a century ago. That operational style remains the primary barrier to accessing Hetch Hetchy today.
Mr. Herrera added that “Those willing to leave their cars, trucks, campers, or motorcycles will find amazing hiking trails open from the trailhead.” Again, that is stating the obvious. Who goes to Yosemite to stay in their cars? The only ones who don’t leave their cars are “those” unable to do so because the parking lots in Yosemite Valley are full and “those” are forced to turn around or make a quick loop and leave without getting out of their vehicle.
Policies and attitudes that distract from the real issue deter access to the area. The real issue remains that the Dam was built to provide pure, unfiltered water to the residents of San Francisco despite the land “belonging to everybody.” For that purpose, the prevailing policies and attitudes limit access to Hetch Hetchy in order to maintain the purity of that water.
Note the following policies that limit access:
1. PARKING: Only 54 parking spaces exist at the Dam. They fill early because people intend to leave their cars to access the short day-hikes. And, as a reminder, “vehicles and/or trailers over 25 feet long and 8 feet wide are not permitted on the narrow, winding Hetch Hetchy Road.”—NPS website
2. NO COMFORT STATIONS: A rest stop along the way to the Dam provides a restroom with about 20 additional parking spaces. The long hike to the Dam from there would require trekking along Evergreen Road, an unsafe proposition.
3. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: No public transportation exists for visitation to Hetch Hetchy and there are no parking spots for buses.
4. BACKPACKERS CAMPGROUND: The parking area for the backpackers’ campground accommodates about 60 cars including the overflow spots on Evergreen Road. This area is limited to backpackers only, meaning that “those” who wish to stay at this campground must have a wilderness permit according to National Park policy. Those permits are limited as well and 60% of them must be accessed 24 weeks ahead on a first-come basis. The other 40% can be accessed a week ahead of one’s start date on a first-come basis. The Park’s quota allows only 84 permits a day for the popular trailheads there, such as Rancheria Fall, Beehive Meadows, and Miguel Meadows. Consequently, those not having a permit may not access the “absolute stillness of the backcountry wilderness” overnight even if they are willing to leave their vehicle.
5. NO BOATING ALLOWED: To keep the water clean to drink, no boating is allowed.
6. FISHING ALLOWED BUT . . .: A fishing license is mandatory but “public access is prohibited below the highwater mark.”--NPS webpage
Even then, note how access is described by parkacation.com: “if you are planning to do some fishing there during your trip . . . the trail around the lake from the dam to the falls runs well above the reservoir’s water line. You will have to figure out a way to get down to the shore, and that did not look easy while we were there – (other than just off the road right in front of the dam).”
Steve Beck, in his book Yosemite Trout Fishing Guide (page 106), notes that the fish in Hetch Hetchy “can be hard to reach” since “no fishing from boats is allowed, and many fish stay deep” (the Reservoir can be 300 feet deep when full).
7. NO SWIMMING: Sorry, but those refreshing waters are reserved for San Franciscans to drink.
8. LIMITED HOURS: Unlike the Southern, Arch Rock, and Big Oak Flat Entrances, which are opened 24 hours a day, the Hetch Hetchy Entrance Station closes at specified times throughout the year. That restricts vehicles from entering before sunrise and after sunset (see hours here).
With the power to impose restrictions on visitors to keep the Hetch Hetchy waters pure, it’s no wonder the visitation rate is so low. With that kind of power, it would be no surprise to see San Francisco officials celebrate the bicentennial of the O’Shaughnessy Dam in another hundred years. The Dam surely has been constructed to last that long.
Fortunately, policies and attitudes do change over time. With that in mind, I propose that we capitalize on the words of Mr. Herrera to bring a solution to the crowding at Yosemite National Park, and the Valley in particular.
According to a 2009 summer visitor survey, the highest percentage of visitors to Yosemite (21%) come from San Francisco and the cities utilizing Hetch Hetchy water (see Table 11 to the right). Since the Hetch Hetchy waters, according to Mr. Herrera, “are no barrier” to San Franciscans visiting Yosemite, then that is where they should go.
Consequently, to solve the problem of too many visitors “flooding” Yosemite Valley,, the NPS can simply implement a new policy that restricts all San Franciscans to the “absolute stillness of the backcountry wilderness” of Hetch Hetchy during the summer months. As one website states, “If you are looking for a peaceful natural retreat, it’s perfection.” Who would not want to leave their vehicle for that? Plus, that would remove one out of five vehicles from Yosemite Valley! Please, San Franciscans, take the advice from one of your own travel journalists who posted an article in June 2023 at SFGATE.com titled: “Why You Need to Hike Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite Right Now.”
Oh, and, San Franciscans, while you are enjoying those “amazing hiking trails” there in Hetch Hetchy, be sure to leave no trace of your presence. You would not want to dirty the very water you may be drinking one day!
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