If only president had seen Yosemite as we do

President Barack Obama has now seen the best the West has to offer – our crown jewel, Yosemite National Park.

While we who love the park can rejoice in knowing our president has seen the very best of the best, we can’t help but recognize that he certainly didn’t see Yosemite in the same way many of us regular visitors see it.

For starters, he should have driven up at noon on a Saturday to the Groveland entrance on Highway 120, in an unmarked vehicle sans entourage. How long would his wait have been? If it was like ours, he would be sitting for an hour or more watching an incredibly inefficient entry system operate in slow motion.

After a slow, drive in a long string of cars he likely would have had to bypass the wonderful scenic turnouts, because on a weekend they are not only jammed to the max but waiting cars will block the road preventing others from proceeding to the valley.

Once in the valley, he would likely have to follow a tour bus, belching diesel exhaust fumes, and again missing the spectacular vista area at Yosemite Falls due to another colossal traffic jam.

Did someone mention hiking? Perhaps he have wanted to climb Half Dome, the ultimate day hike in all of wilderness experience. Good luck with that unless he planned this trip months ago. That’s when you have to get into the lottery for passes to the trail (which you doubtless would not have won). So, “Sorry pal: no pass, no hike.”

Oh well, at least a drive up to Glacier Point would be in order. Except it is now Saturday afternoon, and to make that drive, again in a normal civilian vehicle, is going to consume all the time you have left in our great park. So skip it.

So, let’s go to the Ahwahnee for lunch in America’s most beautiful dining room. Alas, there is no more Ahwahnee, and the name plaques and historical markings have all been solidly obliterated, due to the incompetence and lack of foresight by the National Park Service.

Speaking of the NPS, we suspect he did not interview those NPS folks recently named in the news who have been charged with systematically harassing and abusing the help. Bad timing on your visit, Mr. President. The troops have not been behaving in good manner, we are hearing.

Bet he’ll miss the High Country altogether. Most of us really serious aficionados of Sierra parks believe the high-elevation areas, notably Yosemite Meadows and the Tenaya Lake region, are the best parts of the park. Sadly, most one- or two-day visitors only have time to visit Yosemite Valley. And while the views are sensational in the Valley, so are the the crowds.

And last, but certainly not least, he likely missed Hetch Hetchy Valley. Now, that is not only a gorgeous place to visit, but also deeply entrenched in the worst of political history. President Howard Taft was taken there by none other than John Muir, just before the dam that destroyed this valley was authorized. The tales of their heated discussions are legendary in Yosemite lore. In the end, President Taft recognized what a great tragedy had overcome this lovely place.

So, while we can rejoice that our national leader has seen our mountain treasure, we can only wonder what his reaction might have been had he seen the Yosemite we all see, through our journeys that are neither privileged nor protected.

Our park is still a great natural wonder, it is just sad that so much bureaucracy makes it less enjoyable for us regular folks. But not for presidents.

This story was originally published June 18, 2016 at 7:51 AM with the headline "If only president had seen Yosemite as we do."