Yosemite National Park

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- For the last five years, hundreds of workers with mules, chain saws and shovels have built new wooden foot bridges on Yosemite National Park's backcountry hiking trails. They have rerouted popular paths to protect the roots of ancient sequoias in the park's Mariposa Grove. And they have installed new signs, stone walls and rock staircases across the famed John Muir Trail.

The $13.5 million job, which was completed this month, is the largest trail restoration project in Yosemite's history. But most of the funding didn't come from taxpayers; $10.5 million was paid for with private donations.

LOS ANGELES -- A hiker who died in Yosemite National Park this week after plunging down the face of Half Dome was identified Wednesday.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. -- For many, the allure of Yosemite National Park isn't just its jaw-dropping vistas but the exhilaration of edging right up to a rushing river, cascading waterfall or towering granite face.

Here in the glacier-carved Yosemite Valley, the most striking beauty is often found on the most dangerous precipices, and not everyone heeds the park's safety warnings. Hikers take unusual risks to get that perfect snapshot and families swim in pools that swirl just above raging falls.

Invariably, some get hurt, go missing or die.

This summer, the number of deaths at the park had jumped to 14 by the end of July, twice the average at that point in the year, sparking a debate about what can be done to improve safety.

Park officials say warning signs, barriers and efforts to educate people about the risks at Yosemite are adequate and that it's up to visitors to make the right decisions.

This is shaping up to be the deadliest year in Yosemite National Park in recent memory. A San Ramon, Calif., woman who fell to her death Sunday from Half Dome was the 14th person to die in the park this year.

Haley LaFlamme, 26, was descending the dome's rain-soaked granite face using mounted cables Sunday when she slipped and fell 600 feet.

Yosemite typically sees five or six deaths by the end of July and 12 to 15 by the year's end, said Kari Cobb, a spokeswoman for the park.

An influx of visitors could be contributing to the surge in fatalities. Last year, the park had more than 4 million visitors for the first time since 1996. This year could bring nearly as many.

A summer that looks a whole lot more like winter has travelers across the West scrambling to revise their Fourth of July itineraries -- or at least their packing lists.

LOS ANGELES -- With the threat of a government shutdown only hours away, Robyn Knutson on Friday decided to take control: She raced from Orange County to the Federal Building in Los Angeles and got in line at the passport office.