As the federal government shutdown drags on, people have poured into Yosemite National Park in California, many of them taking advantage of the absence of park rangers to engage in illegal activities.
There have been squatters in campgrounds, people crowding hiking trails without permits, and adrenaline junkies BASE jumping off the iconic 3,000-foot El Capitan cliff face, SFGATE reported .
BASE is an acronym for jumping with a parachute from buildings, antennae, spans (bridges) and earth (natural formations). It’s forbidden in Yosemite.
‘Holding Our Breath’
Yosemite local Beth Pratt, who worked in Yellowstone National Park from 2008 to 2011, told Cowboy State Daily that she and others there are “holding our breath,” hoping that nobody gets killed or seriously injured.
“Yeah, peop