Research Finding: National Park Campground Reservation System Not Equitable

Above, The Beast at Yosemite's North Pines Campground. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I went to the national park reservation site to get a campsite at Yosemite National Park back in November 2015, it was because I knew ahead of time when sites at North Pines Campground would be available at 7:00 am on a specific date. 

I went to the site just before 7:00 and found about a third of the campground's sites were already reserved. I picked a spot and got it. 

Thankfully, it was because I had high speed Internet that I got in and reserved a site right away for the following April.

I considered myself lucky. But there was a nagging feeling that there were some "insiders" involved as a third of the sites were already taken within a minute or so after the sites on the reservation system opened up.

It appears that the system may be more inequitable than I suspected. A study seems to bear this out.

According to Wyoming Public Media:

In the last couple of years, national park campgrounds introduced reservation systems as a way to deal with an influx of users. A new study has found that this system is creating an equity problem.

Will Rice, University of Montana Assistant Professor of Outdoor Recreation and Wildland Management, said he realized a reservation system may not be fair when he saw that on any given day you might have 19,000 people vying for 57 campsites in a federal campground..

"When the odds are that low, any little advantage makes a huge difference to just having a little bit faster internet speed, or having one more friend out in the world who's also helping you," said Rice.

The article goes on to state that possibly a lottery system may be more equitable.

To read the full article, go here. 

Yosemite Campground Lottey Opens This Week

Above, The Beast at North Pines Campground in 2016. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yosemite National Park's new campsite lottery system opens this week.

Frustrated by the previous system of securing a campsite in a Yosemite Valley campground, a test lottery system is being implemented to ease some of that frustration.

The campground involved with the test is North Pines. I stayed at North Pines in 2016.

The Mercury News reported:

In an attempt to address “frustration and disappointment” over the Yosemite reservations process, the national park this year is testing a lottery for spots at one of its campgrounds.

From 7 a.m. Pacific time on Tuesday, Jan. 18, to 8 p.m. on Feb. 6,  potential campers can submit their names at the Reservations.gov site for early-access booking of North Pines with arrival dates of July 21 through Sept. 14.

On Feb. 10, 640 selected applicants will be emailed a time slot to make a reservation online, starting the following week.

There is a non-refundable $10 fee to enter the lottery, and campsites cost $36 a night.

To read more, go here. 

Yosemite's North Pines Campground Tries New Reservation System

Above, The Beast at North Pines Campground in Yosemite Valley. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Six years ago, I camped at North Pines Campground in Yosemite Valley. I camped there in April 2016 after getting a reservation through the National Park Service's reservation system the previous November.

I found out when the "window" for making reservations for North Pines Campground would open and set my cell phone calendar to alert me about 15 minutes before.

Then, when the window opened, I secured a reservation for the campsite. I was able to see aerial photos of each campsite before and selected my choice. 

Now, the National Park Service is trying something new for reserving a campsite at North Pines Campground.

From the Fresno Bee:

It’s hard to get a summer campsite in Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park hopes to at least make the reservation process a little less intense for many by trying something new. 

The popular park in California announced on Friday that it will start a new reservation system, where winners of a lottery get first dibs at making summer 2022 campsite reservations at North Pines Campground. 

The idea is to give lottery winners a chance to make reservations in a less competitive environment during an early access window, where fewer people are online at the same time trying to grab the same campsite.

North Pines is a coveted campground in Yosemite Valley along the Merced River near the Mirror Lake trailhead. Most Yosemite campgrounds are full from April through September. The demand far exceeds availability in Yosemite Valley.

To see how the reservation system will work, go here.

Half Dome 2019 Preseason Lottery

Above, a view of Half Dome from North Pines Campground. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Want to hike to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park? Well, here's your chance!

The park just announced when the preseason lottery for permit tickets will take place.

YubaNet.com reported:

March 5, 2019 – Yosemite National Park announces that the 2019 preseason lottery for Half Dome permits will open at 7:00 am PDT on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. For the latest information on the Half Dome preseason lottery, please visit https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermits.htm.

To read more, go here. 

2019 Pre-Season Half Dome Ticket Lottery Delayed

Above, a dawn's view of Half Dome. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For those who plan to hike Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, the pre-season lottery for tickets has been delayed.

According to National Parks Traveler:

The 2019 preseason lottery for Half Dome permits at Yosemite National Park will be delayed for an unknown amount of time this year due to a transition to a new contracted provider. 

The lottery typically opens March 1. You can track developments with this matter at this website. 

All hikers are required to have permits to ascend the subdome steps and the Half Dome cables seven days a week when the cables are up. Park rangers install the cables each spring and take them down each fall, based on weather and trail conditions. The cables are typically up from late May to early October.

To read more, go here. 

Daily Permit Lottery At Yosemite National Park Now Open

Above, Half Dome. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It's that time of the year again!

CBS in Sacramento reported:

The daily lottery for permits to ascend the Half Dome Cables in Yosemite National Park opened Wednesday, May 9 for the summer season. Matt Yurus reports.

To see more, go here. 

Half Dome Hiking Permit Lottery Now Open

Above, Half Dome. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

We must be approaching spring, even though the recent weather in my area doesn't seem to indicate it.

But with the coming of spring, the lottery for climbing Yosemite National Park's Half Dome is now open for applicants.

According to KABC-TV:

FRESNO, Calif -- Hiking to the top of Yosemite National Park's Half Dome is one of the world's most spectacular hikes. 

It starts on a trail that winds past glorious waterfalls and ends with a strenuous cable-assisted climb up the side of the granite formation to reach the expansive vistas at the top. 

But only 300 hikers each day get the honor of making the trek, and right now, you have the opportunity to apply for a permit. 

The National Park Service is currently accepting applications for their preseason lottery. Now through March 31, climbers can submit their name online for a chance to be granted one of the 300 daily permits. 

The cost to apply for the lottery is $10 and if you win, the permit costs an additional $10.

For more information, including where to apply, go here. 

The Draft Lottery: Where Were You In 1974?

A discussion in a forum thread about who had what lottery number for their birthday for the Selective Service draft got me to re-check mine. This was sparked by the Ken Burns documentary, "The Viet Nam War" on PBS.

For those in my age group (born in 1954), the draft lottery took place on March 8, 1973 for 1974. Fortunately for us, the Viet Nam War was already over for a year and the lottery was held just in case an emergency occurred and draftees were needed.

Here's the 1974 lottery for those born in 1954:

The Draft Lottery

Above, yours truly on Catalina Island in 1974.

A discussion on the draft in a RV forum I belong to got me to take a look at how I fared with the draft lottery system.

According to the Selective Service website:

LOTTERY TABLE INFORMATION 

Administrative processing number (APN) denotes the highest lottery numbers called for each table year. The APN (highest number) called for a physical was 215 for tables 1970 through 1976.

The last draft call was on December 7, 1972, and the authority to induct expired on June 30, 1973. The date of the last drawing for the lottery was on March 12, 1975. 

Registration with the Selective Service System was suspended on April 1, 1975, and registrant processing was suspended on January 27, 1976.

Registration was resumed in July 1980 for men born in 1960 and later, and is in effect to this present time. Men are required to register within 30 days of their 18th birthday.

For my birth year, 1954, the lottery was held on March 8, 1973 for the 1974 Random Selection Sequence. But the Viet Nam war ended two months prior.

Even if the United States were still involved in Viet Nam, I wasn't worried about being called up for service since my lottery number was 150 for my birthdate.

Somewhere around here, I still have my draft registration papers.