Want to go camping in Yosemite!

joeyza

joeyza

Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Messages
916
I have never been but have seen many pics..looks like heaven on earth!! any of you ever been there for camping or hiking and what not?
pleeeeeaase tell me how great it is so i have no choice but to go this summer!!
 
I've been to Yosemite several times, mostly as a youngster, most recently about three years ago. I live down near Los Angeles, and my wife is outdoors adverse, so I jumped on the chance when invited to go for four days back in 2010. Yosemite is beautiful. There is no doubt about that.

There are 'pitch a tent' campsites, a couple hotels (one of which is very hoity toity), I believe some cabins for rent, and my favorite, Camp Curry/Curry Village, which is made up of a bunch of tent cabins, which are basically 12'x12' canvas huts with a locking screen door and bear box. There are working showers and plumbing, so a $h!t spoon isn't necessary. Yosemite is VERY BUSY, and an outdoors tourist trap, so plan accordingly and book far ahead. Check out their website here.

When I was there last, my friends and I did the Half Dome hike. From bottom to top to bottom again took approximately 13 hours. I was in the 2nd best shape of the four of us, but my boots destroyed my feet during the last couple miles. Three years ago, if you wanted to do this hike on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, you needed to purchase a pass in advance, because traffic on the trail was becoming congested. Mondays through Thursdays were free, but there were still a bunch of people on the trail. This may have changed, so you may want to research this. Bring more water than you think you will need. I brought just shy of one gallon, and had to refill my Camelbak from the river, and purify using iodine tablets; beware of giardia. Bring some gloves as well; they're nice to have for the log and chain staircase that goes up the side of Half Dome proper. To this day, this is still one of my favorite hikes.

As mentioned, my boots weren't laced properly, causing my large toes to hit the front of the boot with each step. When I took them off that night, I had great big blue nails. Drained the blood out, and the nails eventually fell off. Took 8 months to grow back. I don't bring this up to gross you out (although that is a neat side effect), but to complain that I was too footsore to make the Yosemite Falls hike with two of the other guys. The fourth guy didn't go because he wanted to sleep in. I hear it was a good one, too :mad:

There are plenty of other things to do and hike; Glacier Point, raft down the river, watch a helicopter rescue climbers on El Capitan, grab a beer in one of at least three bars there. The bar/restaurant in the hoity toity hotel has patio seating with brilliant views of the surrounding peaks. Amazing, especially at sunset. I was there during late July, and it does get quite warm. Nineties warm.

Sorry for the rambling post. I love Yosemite, and despite the glut of tourists that arrive each day, is one of my favorite things about living in California. Can't wait for my 2 year old son to grow up a little bit so I can take him camping. If you go, you will enjoy yourself.
 
I love Yosemite, but I'll never camp the main park again. It's way too crowded. You can only camp at the main area around Curry Village at the mouth of the valley unless you have a wilderness pass and are prepared to hike to your reserved area. For me the best of these are as far East in the park as you can get. I much prefer camping in Kings Canyon or Sequoia.
 
If you are thinking of going this year, you will probably not be able to get a campsite in the valley. They are reserved long in advance. You may be able to get wilderness permits for backpacking, depending on the trailhead.

It is best to go mid-week before school gets out (which means in the next week or so, and the falls wills still be going decently, but not huge because it is a dry year). After that it is essentially a traffic jam in the valley. It is a beautiful place, but I haven't been there in a few years because of the crowds.

Lots of things to do there for dayhikes. Yosemite Falls is a good one. Or drive up the Glacier Point Road and make the short hike to Sentinel Dome or Taft Point. Both offer great views without huge crowds (but there will still be a fair number of people there). You can also go up to Tuolumne Meadows.

If you are extraordinarily lucky, you might get permits to dayhike Half Dome. Although it's crowded, it is a must-do for anyone who loves mountains. It's long - 16 miles round trip with close to 5000' vertical - so you would need to start at dawn. Here are pics from my last time on Half Dome:












 
Sad... Glacier Park in Montana used to be much less crowded, too... 40 years ago. Off-season, Glacier's not so bad, but still, I think I had the best of it when I was a teenager wa-a-a-y back then.
 
Camping in the valley is madness. Get a backcountry permit and do some hiking. I would highly recommend Snow Creek, which is the ridge opposite Half Dome. It's a very tough hike up, but you get a pretty unique view of Half Dome. Also, if you get a backcountry permit, you can stay at the hiker's campground the night before/after for $5.

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thanks for the great pics guys!! sad to hear its often crowded, but still looks worth the trip!
 
It's really beautiful for sure. The only drawback is it's pretty crowded, and the campsites get booked up months in advance. Definitely worth the trip though. It's only about an 8 hour drive north for you :D
 
It is absolutely gorgeous, but absolutely crowded in the summer - in the valley. They aren't kidding about the hoity toity hotel. 12 years ago a glass of OJ was $8, and a junior studio room was over $300/night. I haven't gone back in since. I haven't read up on it in a few months, but I'm pretty sure the tent cabins in Curry Village are the ones with the mouse issues. Stick to the backcountry, wilderness, and high altitude areas and you'll be just fine. Much less traffic up there, too.
There are several waterfalls worth hiking to.
Wish I could tell you more, but I haven't been in 3 years, and the last 2 times were with small children so I didn't get out much.
 
I've been to Yosemite 3 times most of the time I spent camping on the wall of el cap in a portaledge but one the fe days I got to hike around and do some tent camping it was great, I try to go back every year before the snow comes in for a week or two of rock climbing. I highly suggest if you can go that you do, but as someone said it does get very packed full of people, even on the vertical walls it's crazy the amounts of people you see. At night we would look out our portaledge and see tons of other portaledges all lit up on the rock walls all around, and even some people on the small ledges where you can camp. It's really cool to see all the amazing things nature has created in Yosemite and I think it's worth a trip even if you only do it once to knock it off your bucket list.
 
My wife and I went last March as part of our honeymoon and we really enjoyed it. I hear April is the best time to go as you beat the summer crowds but much of the snow is gone so the hiking is easier. We did a ton of hiking, including valley floor to Upper Yosemite Falls and some exploring at the top. Being from the East Coast it was very different than hiking around here - most trails in the Northeast take the straightest shot regardless of steepness but in Yosemite there tended to be a ton more switchbacking so climbs were prolonged but not terribly steep.

We stayed at the Lodge at the Falls which was not cheap but not terribly unreasonable and was very convenient. Afterwards we went to Sequoia/Kings Canyon and stayed at the John Muir Lodge. It was truly something special and I'd really love to go back there and do some camping further off the beaten path.
 
Used to go there a lot, now I won't because of the crowds. When I say "crowds" I'm talkin' almost New York City Times Square on New Years Eve type crowds during Summer. The valley campgrounds are set-up so you have people every 5-10 yards apart so you are never able to experience any real quiet.

With that said, if you've never been there, it is worth the trip, even with the crowds. Just plan it so you visit in Spring before the Summer crowds get there.
 
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