I head into Yosemite every year, usually in July and always from the east, but almost never go further west than Tuolumne. This past July we thought we'd take our daughter back down into the Valley. It had been ten years since we had been there and she didn't remember it, having been only five.
It had been a zoo in July of '05, but in July of '15 it was a three-ring circus on steroids. We drove around for almost an hour looking for a parking space. The crowding was beyond ridiculous. Everywhere we went might as well have been a weekday Manhattan sidewalk at lunchtime. I've been to almost every major national park in the system, and nothing compares. Disney World is the only place that I've been to that's equivalent in terms of paying good money to be overcrowded, uncomfortable, and irritable, with little to no redeeming experience.
Our daughter, age 15 and quite used to big-city crowds, finally said after two hours, "Can we just, like, GO? This is no fun and the other side of the park is prettier." She meant the eastern side, where she had spent most of her Yosemite life.
I agreed thoroughly, but on the way out I managed to find a parking spot near El Cap and walked her up to the base to show her what the Valley really felt like without the crowds. Peaceful, quiet, beautiful.
That night I ranted on FB about how the Valley had been thoroughly spoiled by overdevelopment. I was surprised at the number of people that responded that, no, that really wasn't the case, it's only like that for a couple of months each year. I'd be curious to know what percentage of the park's annual visitation is contained in that "couple of months." To me, that's like saying, no, Whitney doesn't have an overuse problem - except a couple of months each year.
Whatever. One thing I can swear to, though - it'll be at least another ten years before I have any desire to set foot in that Valley in summer.
