Yosemite National Park’s granite rock faces are a Mecca of sorts for climbers. Formations like Half Dome and Cathedral Spire are popular spots to climb. None, however, is more famous than the imposing wall of El Capitan. It is a sheer granite edifice that is front and center when you first enter Yosemite.
Over the past several years, El Capitan has been hit by leftist political protests. In 2023, a climbing group known as Climbers With Palestine unfurled a large “stop the genocide” banner that was intended as prominent propaganda to greet park visitors.
One of the members who hung the sign, Miranda Oakley, is an expert climber and a Yosemite climbing guide who has scaled El Capitan over 20 times. She is also half-Palestinian. She told Climbing Magazine: “I’m not an activist. I’m a climber, that’s why I’m up here. Do what you can do to end this madness. Maybe it’s calling your representative, maybe it’s boycotting brands that profit from the apartheid, talking to friends and family, whatever. We’re just up here doing what we can do.”
This statement is silly. Oakley became an activist the second she decided to hang a political banner up on a prominent rock wall and when she involved herself in a climbing group called Climbers With Palestine. That’s about as politically neutral as a climbing group called Pro-Life Climbers. She is, however, not a very good activist. How many minds did her sign change? Probably less than the amount of people it annoyed. People don’t come to Yosemite to see political slogans plastered on majestic natural formations. It kind of defeats the purpose.
Some members of the National Park Service were part of the next group that decided to deface El Capitan with a political message. They hung a giant American flag upside down — a nautical symbol of distress — in protest of DOGE cuts to America’s national parks.
Finally, late last month, a group of transgender activists hung an obnoxiously large trans flag across the famous monolith. The flag was, according to the activists, 55’ by 35’. In other words, you couldn’t miss it. They were protesting rollbacks in “trans rights” — i.e., executive orders restoring common sense, military readiness, and protections for women and children.
An activist climber and drag queen named Wyn Wylie, a.k.a. “Pattie Gonia” — you may remember him from his 2023 North Face ad — apparently helped hang the flag. He told reporters: “We flew the Trans Pride flag in Yosemite to make a statement: Trans people are natural and Trans people are loved. Let this flag fly higher than hate. We are done being polite about trans people’s existence. Call it a protest, call it a celebration — either way, it’s giving elevation to liberation.”
While the very notion that they aren’t permitted to “exist” has always been a silly one, the claim that they have been “polite” is revisionist and laughable.
All of these imbroglios finally led to a flag ban. In fact, 94% of Yosemite National Park — all that is considered “wilderness” — is now off limits to flag displays except for regular-sized flags (3’ by 5’). Any larger flags require a permit. Those who violate this requirement could face up to six months in jail and pecuniary penalties (a $5,000 fine for individuals and a $10,000 fine for groups).
The New York Times describes this ban as “criminalizing protests.” However, even the Times admits that huge flags on a popular climbing wall are a safety hazard and also deface the beauty of the park. Acting Yosemite National Park Superintendent Raymond McPadden explained in an updated permit compendium: “This restriction is necessary to preserve the values of wilderness character in accordance with the Wilderness Act, provide for an unimpaired visitor experience, protect natural and cultural resources in designated Wilderness and Potential Wilderness Addition portions of the park.”
Ken Yager of the Yosemite Climbing Association commented on the ban in a very hedging way, stating: “[Flags have] proven to be a very effective form of protest. … I do worry about local law enforcement having to start enforcing this and us losing what ground we’ve gained. We actually have a really good relationship and I’d hate to see it go backwards.” In other words, he thinks the flags are great and effective, but he doesn’t want to rock the boat and be banned from climbing in the park altogether.
Oakley also commented on the ban, asking why it’s going in place now after the trans flag debacle. The answer is obvious — we have a Republican president who cares about our national parks and maintaining their universal appeal. Leftists are not used to being told “No.” We have seen that in the George Floyd riots and in the current Los Angeles riots.
This Yosemite flag ban is a win for everyone who loves nature, particularly those who’d like to use the great outdoors as an escape from the madness that is American politics. Let’s keep out wilderness propaganda-free!
