Visiting National Parks for Free

Fall colors have never seemed so brilliant. Canyon echoes have never been so resounding. Forest trails, seemingly leading nowhere, have never held such allure.

In essence, the great outdoors has never been so great.

Since the fateful morning of Sept. 11, many people have experienced a renewed appreciation of the wild and wonderful world beyond our cities.

And to help foster that appreciation, Interior Secretary Gale Norton on Sunday proclaimed this Veterans Day weekend “a weekend of unity, hope and healing,” and announced that entrance fees to national parks--$10-$20 in most cases--will be waived Saturday through Monday.

“After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, many people have visited parks such as Yosemite because these special places offer hope and encouragement--qualities needed to help the nation heal from the recent assaults on innocent Americans and unify our efforts to rebound and find justice,” Norton said during a speech in Denver.

At Yosemite National Park, where the leaves of the dogwoods remain a radiant red and those of the oaks a lustrous yellow, September visitation was up 15% from the previous year and October has been busy as well (those numbers will be released later this month).

The weather has been beautiful throughout majestic Yosemite Valley--with daytime highs in the low 70s. About all that is missing are cascading waterfalls. Dry conditions have reduced them to a trickle or, in the case of Yosemite Falls, eliminated them entirely.

California has seven national parks and more than a dozen National Park service units--monuments, recreation areas, historical sites, etc.--and entrance fees are being waived at all of them.

Some have special events planned. Yosemite, for example, is inviting Saturday visitors to hike with a ranger who will explain the history and significance of the national park. On Monday, visitors are invited to “step back in time 100 years” to commemorate the role of African American soldiers at the park. Both begin at 2:30 p.m.

Park ranger Scott Gediman acknowledged that the free-weekend offer is as much a ploy to get people reacquainted with the parks as it is a gesture of goodwill, saying, “But if it provides people with a better opportunity to connect with our parks and to understand their meaning and learn why they’re there, then everybody benefits.”

Visitors to all parks are advised to check beforehand about lodging and campsite availability. The National Park Service Web site is https://www.nps.gov.

Not all parks experienced visitation increases after Sept. 11, and some suffered significant declines. Among these was Death Valley National Park, which relies heavily on European visitors during summer months.

“That hurt the inns and motels quite a bit,” park spokesman Tim Stone said. “It was a pretty big blow.”

Cal Jepson, manager of Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch Resort, said that from May to mid-October, his clientele is 85-90% European and that cancellations were made by the dozens after Sept. 11.

“In the late fall and winter, however, that flips around and we’re 90-95% domestic,” Jepson said. “We’re still seeing quite a few Europeans, but mostly Americans.”

He isn’t complaining now. The annual Death Valley 49ers Encampment is in progress through Saturday, making this one of the busiest weeks of the year.

Stone said daytime temperatures in the 3.3-million-acre park have been 80-85 degrees, with nights dipping into the 50s. Campsites and lodging are available.

Results of a national survey conducted by outdoor retailer Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) show that 70% of Americans “will turn to the outdoors this holiday season to relieve stress and lift their spirits.”

The mid-October survey of 1,000 households determined:

* Of the 70% who plan to spend time outdoors, one-third said they will spend more time outdoors than they did last year.

* Nine of 10 respondents said spending time outdoors is important and more than half interviewed (70% in California) said it was “very or extremely important.”

* 93% said being outdoors lifts their spirits; 75% said it was a good way to build family relationships, and 71% said it was effective in reducing stress.

Hitting the Slopes

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area on Thursday became the first resort in California to open for skiing and snowboarding. About 300 showed to ride a Broadway Express run covered with six to eight inches of mostly man-made snow.

“The crowd was really mellow and just excited to be out here again--the vibe was really good,” resort spokeswoman Joani Lynch said.

The vibe figures to improve significantly in the coming weeks, if not sooner. Mammoth (https://www.mammothmountain.com) is celebrating the new season Saturday with snowman-building contests, free instruction and live music (by Heart Full of Soul) at the main lodge.

Notable among improvements for this season is the renovation of the mid-mountain lodge from a cafeteria-style eatery to a larger facility that includes a gourmet restaurant, a food court and sundeck complete with bar and barbecue.

Squaw Valley USA in the Lake Tahoe area has scheduled a Nov. 17 opener. Most California resorts are shooting for Nov. 21.

Awaiting the Games

Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort, site of the men’s and women’s giant slalom and snowboarding events during next February’s Olympic Games, had planned to open Saturday but this week abandoned those plans because of a recent prolonged period of warm weather.

The opener is now slated for Nov. 16. Park City (https://www.parkcitymountain.com) will have 96% of its terrain open to the general public during the Games Feb. 8-24.

Deer Valley Resort (https://www.deervalley.com), the Olympics’ other primary skiing venue, has pegged Dec. 8 as opening day. Deer Valley, site of slalom, mogul and aerial events during the Games, was voted North America’s top resort by readers of Ski magazine. Deer Valley will have 97% of its terrain open during the Olympics.

Fishing and Fisheries

* San Diego’s albacore season is all but over, but Morro Bay’s is going strong, when weather permits. Boats were kept at bay Monday and Tuesday but were back out Wednesday and Thursday, their anglers encountering fairly large schools of very large albacore.

The counts don’t necessarily reflect how good the fishing is.

Admiral skipper John Rowley on Wednesday reported that during one frantic stop in rough seas, 33 of 34 anglers hooked up at one time but only six managed to boat their fish. The vessel returned with 40 albacore weighing 40 to 60 pounds.

* The first trip of the season to the Revillagigedo Islands, aboard the Red Rooster III out of Lee Palm Sportfishers in San Diego, ended Sunday. It yielded 140 yellowfin tuna and 238 wahoo for 24 anglers. Top tuna was a 219-pounder by Peter Wight of Torrance.

* Sport fishing and conservation groups aren’t claiming victory yet, but were highly pleased last week when the Pacific Fishery Management Council, during a meeting to discuss the Draft Plan of the Highly Migratory Species Management Plan, said it favored “preferred options” within the plan that prohibit longline fishing within the West Coast Exclusive Economic Zone (from three to 200 miles offshore) and place severe restrictions on vessels fishing outside the EEZ and landing their catch in West Coast ports.

Public hearings will be held in January and February and the PFMC will adopt the plan in March.

The United Anglers of Southern California, Billfish Foundation and Recreational Fishing Alliance have been leading the public campaign to keep longliners from making inroads off the West Coast.

Longline gear, which typically involves miles of line with hundreds or thousands of baited hooks set at various depths for various lengths of time, is effective but largely indiscriminate and thus extremely controversial.

* The Sportfishing Assn. of California’s annual Casino Night fund-raiser is Nov. 16 at Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach.

Cost is $60, which includes dinner and $100 in scrip, which can be turned in for chips and wagered at blackjack, craps and roulette.

Prizes range from long-range fishing trips to rods and reels. Proceeds will help fund the fight against restrictive fishing measures--notably a network of no-fishing zones--being proposed as part of the Marine Life Protection Act.

Details: (760) 226-6455 or at https://www.sacemup.org.

Winding Up

Want to put a wild turkey on the table this Thanksgiving?

The fall hunting season opens Saturday (along with pheasant season and the second half of dove season) and prospects are only fair because of a below-normal spring rainfall.

Wing Beat News, a Department of Fish and Game newsletter with fall prospects and information on hunting and state and federal wildlife areas that allow pheasant, dove or turkey hunting, is available on the Web at https://www.dfg.ca.gov/-coned/publications.html.

Turkey season runs through Nov. 25 and the bag limit is one per season, either sex.