“These temple-destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism, seem to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and, instead of lifting their eyes to the God of the mountains, lift them to the Almighty Dollar.”                            John Muir

The Fb photo of Yosemite Valley and the quote, “We love being the third most popular National Park,” was posted by, “Yosemite Nation.” I have seen many of their posts without knowing who they were. A quick check on their website reveals exactly who they are and what they are dedicated to:

Yosemite/Mariposa county bureau of tourism.

 John Muir would properly observe that they are dedicated to the “Almighty Dollar.” How else could they claim to “love” the fact that 20,000 visitors are encouraged to enter Yosemite Valley each day in August? This number does not account for 1800 YNPS summer employees who live in The Valley or commute from Mid-pines, El Portal, Mariposa or Foresta. It also does not reflect the nearly 2,000 Delaware North employees or Yosemite Conservative volunteers who live in The Valley. There appears to be about 10,000 potential beds and sleeping bag spaces at DNC hotels, lodges, and campgrounds.

 I don’t k now if there is a known peak daily total number of humans in two square miles that includes YNP headquarters, Yosemite Village, Yosemite Lodge, Curry Village, the stables and Ahwahnee Hotel, but the number is probably in the mid-30,000 range. Historically, these numbers only occurred on the three summertime national holidays, but are now common on most August days. The results include terrible traffic jams, trails with hordes of people that look like masses flocking to rides at Disney Land. Daily garbage is no longer measured by cans, but tons, and human sewage and waste-water is pumped to lower elevations in millions of gallons per day.

 John Muir disliked crowds of people, hotels and crass commercial development. Yosemite Nation, Yosemite Conservancy and Yosemite NPS, have converted The Valley that Muir called a cathedral into a huge cash cow and desecrated his memory and vision.

 The Ahwaneechee and other Native American tribes lived in the Yosemite Valley area for an estimated 3,000 years. There are a growing number of YNPS critics who point out that some of the damage they are doing may be irreparable and will surely not survive another 3,000 years.