Clintons Camp Out, Work Up Sweat On Canyon Hike On Proposals To Privatize Parks, President Questions The Risk
Nearing the end of their Western vacation, President Clinton and his wife truly roughed it Monday, spending the night in a tent in chilly temperatures and hiking through a rocky canyon for 2-1/2 hours.
The fact that there were Secret Sevice agents all around and communications equipment galore did not seem to detract from their enjoyment.
On Sunday night, they sang campfire songs with two cowboys playing guitars, and put on their hiking boots in the morning for a long trek on a rock trail through Cascade Canyon.
The hike was strenuous and had the president and Hillary Clinton perspiring freely before it was over. When they came to a 130-foot cliff where their daughter, Chelsea, had taken a rock-climbing lesson last week, it seemed to give them pause.
Asked if she was concerned about her daughter scaling such a cliff and using ropes to rappel back down, Hillary Clinton said, “I am now that I see it.”
But both she and the president said they supported their daughter’s rock climbing. “It builds confidence,” Clinton said. He said he would support her scaling even bigger cliffs “under the proper instruction.”
Toward the end of the hike, the president eyed some rock climbers on a 700-foot cliff through binoculars. “It scares the hell out of me just to look at it,” he said. “It’s exciting.”
The Clintons saw a lot of hikers on their way through the canyon, but not much wildlife. Near the end, however, they encountered two moose lying lazily under a tree about 15 yards away. It seemed to make the Secret Service more nervous than the Clintons.
When one of the moose lumbered to its feet, the Clintons moved quickly on. A White House staff member who tried to take a picture was advised by a Secret Service agent: “Be careful. They can charge at the slightest provocation.”
While hiking up the mountain, Clinton was asked about Republican proposals to privatize the nation’s parks. Would it really cause all the commercialization that some fear?
“The truth is, nobody really knows,” he said. “Why would we risk it? If it works and it’s not broke, why fix it?”
He said he doesn’t think proponents of privatization of the parks have a majority in the Senate and perhaps not even in the House.
Hillary Clinton worked on her book about children at the campsite Sunday night, doing some editing by hand. She said that she’s about half finished.
“It’s been quite an experience,” she said. “When you’re immersed in something and you care about it, every word, every page is kind of a challenge.”
The Clintons camped out under the stars on the property of Laurence Rockefeller, known as the JY Ranch.
“It was a tad nippy,” the president said. His wife saw it differently: “It was really cold.”
They sang songs by James Taylor, Willie Nelson, John Prine, Kris Kristofferson and Carly Simon, and roasted marshmallows over the fire.
The president and the first lady slept in a tent, in sleeping bags with rubber mats beneath. Chelsea and a friend, Rebecca Kolsky, slept in another tent.
Clinton arose at the crack of dawn and rode a horse back to the ranch.