National Park Notes 



369 



more fully, as Mr. Lewis has made a very complete resume of the work 

 accomplished in this park and of its needs for the future. We call par- 

 ticular attention to his fearless stand upon the grazing question. 



ROADS AND TRAILS 



During the fiscal year 191 7 the service maintained approximately 104 

 miles of road, as follows : Floor of Yosemite Valley, 22 miles ; El Por- 

 tal road, 8 miles ; Big Oak Flat road, 13 miles ; Wawona road, 4 miles ; 

 roads in Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, 10 miles; and Tioga road, 47 

 miles. As indicated in former, reports, all of these roads, with the ex- 

 ception of a few miles on the floor of Yosemite Valley, are dirt roads 

 which were originally built as wagon roads and which have been grad- 

 ually improved until reasonably safe for automobile travel. All of these 

 roads, however, are built on heavy grades and with sharp, dangerous 

 curves, and the roadbeds themselves vary from 10 to 15 feet in width. 

 The result is that automobiles, especially those of lighter construction, 

 travel these roads only with considerable difficulty and with a consider- 

 able element of danger. That these conditions exist is unfortunate, and 

 every effort should be made to take up the work of their improvement 

 in order that automobilists may travel these roads with safety and with 

 greater degree of ease and comfort. 



It is a well-known fact that for the best interest of the park as a 

 whole disproportionate publicity has been given to the waterfalls and 

 other features of Yosemite Valley, with the result that travel to other 

 portions of the park has been minimized. Although it is realized that 

 Yosemite Valley itself will always be the most important feature of the 

 park, both because of its accessibility and because of its many features 

 of attraction for the recreationist, and as it is also realized that the bulk 

 of moneys expended in development work in the park should be ex- 

 pended in and around Yosemite Valley where it will be of the most good 

 to the most people, it is, however, important that a certain amoimt of 

 development work be done in the outlying portions in order to attract 

 visitors and thereby make known to the public something more of the 

 opportunities for campers and outdoor people in those areas. 



During the past year a trail was built from the White Cascades down 

 the Tuolumne River to a point near the top of the first Water Wheel 

 Fall. This has resulted in a large increase in the number of visitors to 

 the Water Wheel Falls during the past year. In order, however, to com- 

 pletely accomplish the object for which the trail was started, namely, 

 that of reaching all of the Water Wheel Falls, it is necessary that the 

 trail be continued some two miles down the canon to Return Creek, a 

 tributary of the Tuolumne River. With this trail completed the Water 

 Wheel Falls country would be easily accessible by horseback, and the 

 trail would be extended to a point from where at some future time, 

 should travel warrant it, it could be extended down the entire Tuolum- 

 ne Canon to Hetch Hetchy. This latter proposition is not one for con- 

 sideration at this time, but should be given consideration in connection 



