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LanaPo
climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 21, 2016 - 02:24pm PT
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Hi! I live in another country. And I'm going to business trip to San Francisco and after that I have time from 18th till 25th of August to visit Yosemite. I'm going there alone (my friend can give me a ride to the valley and leave me there). I didn't have a chance to reserve a place in camping unfortunately. And I'm not an experienced car driver, so I hope to find a place in Camp4. Actually I'm doing some climbing, but I think that for the first visit it would be more interesting to go hiking to see the Yosemite Valley.
Can you give me some tips?
As I have time from Thursday(18th) till Thursday(25th), I thought that the best time to go to Yosemite is the night between Sunday and Monday? (to have more chances to get a place) - what do you think?
I've seen people advise to stay in line early in the morning, but there is a sign on the ranger kiosk "Line forms at 6am, prior to 6am it may be considered a violation of ..." - so what is better? To arrive really early, like 3a.m. and start staying in front of the kiosk? Or arrive around 5a.m? Or they really can punish me if I'm there before 6a.m?
As I understand, my friend is not allowed to wait for me in the Valley sitting in the car at night time?
And another option - maybe some of you are going to Yosemite on these dates and I can join you? This is my first time in Yosemite, so I really want to see as much as I can, but climbing there also sounds great :)
Thank you in advance for any help!
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 21, 2016 - 02:31pm PT
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Camp 4 in August is going to be hot. Bring some swim trunks to chill out in the Merced.
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ron gomez
Trad climber
fallbrook,ca
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Jul 21, 2016 - 02:39pm PT
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Or....go to Tuolumne, get in the campground line 5:30 or 6:00 am and stay there. Cooler, great climbing and sightseeing. Drive Early to the Valley if you have to climb there to avoid hideous traffic lines. Have fun, be safe.
Peace
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 21, 2016 - 04:45pm PT
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Ron, I agree. But there is nothing like the first view coming out of the tunnel and seeing el cap.
Cheers!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jul 21, 2016 - 04:59pm PT
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You'll be happier in the Valley without a car and the heat in late August should be bearable....just. The climbing is also much better in the Valley than in Tuloumne.....just chase the shade.
Start early and hike up to the top of the falls and up to Half Dome.
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Jul 21, 2016 - 05:26pm PT
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Yes early Monday morning is your best chance at a site. 4-5 AM is about right. The most they would probably do is kick you out of line IF they came by before 6AM, which I doubt they would. They probably mostly check to see if you are sleeping in line (which I would do between 6 and when they open). If your friend is not sleeping in the car they aren't breaking the rules.
You could also get a permit to do a backcountry hike, with that you can spend a night in the backpackers campground (short hike in from North Pine campground) before and another night after your permit date.
Speaking of which, I would try every morning to get a backcountry permit to hike half dome. The best hike in the world.
The valley is more spectacular, but the weather is better in Tuolumne. Do both if you can.
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LanaPo
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 22, 2016 - 10:09am PT
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Thank you for your suggestions! I'm a bit afraid to sleep outside alone without a tent :) And getting the wilderness permit is my backup plan, so I'll try Camp4 and if no luck, I'll try to get the permit.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Jul 22, 2016 - 04:31pm PT
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"I'm a bit afraid to sleep outside alone without a tent :)"
CHICKEN!
I dare ya and double dare ya to follow Warbler's knowledgeable instructions and warnings. Nicely said, Kevin.
The point is that the adventure awaits.
We Americans want you visitors to enjoy the Park the way it was meant to be enjoyed, not by how our "Protectors and Servants" wish it to be enjoyed.
Lines are meant to be crossed and rules meant to be broken.
Don't be a wuss.
MFM
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 22, 2016 - 05:17pm PT
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I'm a bit afraid to sleep outside alone without a tent :)
Why??
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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Jul 22, 2016 - 09:22pm PT
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What Ron Gomez said.
The Valley in August is hideously hot.
Tuolumne Meadows has beautiful hiking to alpine lakes and it is easy to get to the trailheads. There is a shuttle bus that can transport you along the Tioga Rd.
There is a nice visitor center in the Meadows where you can find out about the hikes.
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chill
climber
The fat part of the bell-curve
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Jul 22, 2016 - 10:45pm PT
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I'm a bit afraid to sleep outside alone without a tent :)
Why??
A bug might fly into her mouth.
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overwatch
climber
Arizona
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Jul 22, 2016 - 10:49pm PT
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I slept out in the open in camp four one time in May. It was fairly cool so I was bundled up in my sleeping bag with just my face showing.
I woke up in the morning with every half inch of my face covered with mosquito bites
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 23, 2016 - 08:03am PT
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Good point overwatch, but mossies should not be much of a problem in August.
To the OP, why not just bring a green bivy sack with a hoop and no-seeum netting or such? They are low profile.
Just make sure your food is stored in the bear boxes.
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overwatch
climber
Arizona
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Jul 23, 2016 - 08:12am PT
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Mosquito netting and cover up is part of my kit to go anywhere, not a big fan of bug juice.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 23, 2016 - 08:20am PT
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Are there still bike rentals in the valley?
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overwatch
climber
Arizona
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Jul 23, 2016 - 08:27am PT
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I was actually checking into that the other day on the website and they do but it's pretty pricey 40 bucks a day.
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LanaPo
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 23, 2016 - 08:30am PT
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I'm a bit afraid to sleep outside alone without a tent :)
Why??
because a bear can come and eat me!
rules meant to be broken
sounds cool, but expensive
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 23, 2016 - 08:31am PT
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Holy crap! How do I get in on that action?
Still, it would be worth it for a first time visitor for a bike spin around the loop trail.
edit: Lanapo, a bear won't eat you. Just store your food properly. Bears don't eat people. They just want our food.
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overwatch
climber
Arizona
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Jul 23, 2016 - 08:35am PT
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If I was going to do a valley trip and I might this year I would definitely bring my own bike. Seems like the way to get around to me. I gotta start checking into decent yet relatively inexpensive bike
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Craig Fry
Trad climber
So Cal.
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Jul 23, 2016 - 08:49am PT
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I had a killer bivy spot way above Camp 4.
I found it during the day, it was a 10 minute hike up the talus field, so it was really off the beaten path. The spot was a giant flat boulder with perfect views into the Valley below.
So I go back to the Valley a couple years later, and the first night I hike up to the bivy spot and there are about 8 people sleeping there!!
What the F!!!
I don't know these people, so I end up in a drunken stumble searching around in the dark until I find some crappy cubby hole in the boulder field that I can unfold the bag and get some sleep.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, CA
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Jul 23, 2016 - 10:46am PT
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There has been a lot of pressure on The Valley the last four decades. Sometimes 50,000 or more visitors arrive in a single popular day; 632,000 came during last year, and they average 21,212 per day for August. Even for dirt camping, the lawful planned capacity of the camp is usually far exceeded, especially since it has been reduced in size since the big flood decades ago.. All this distorts what should otherwise be a pleasant experience and promotes anger and disappointment.
So people have been camping “out of bounds” even back in the Fifties. From the mid Seventies, it became compulsory, basically, with the alarming crowds. Especially if you want privacy.
Since you will not have a car, you will have to store your stuff in the bear boxes located in camp or trust someone already in a campsite to haul your belongings far up in the trees beyond the forest animals. When you come down in the early morning with your stuff, clearly having slept out of bounds, there may be rangers checking you out near the marked boundaries and they may issue a ticket for illegal camping even without having located you in your non-compliant spot. And worse, theft in camp is common. It is a kind of People’s Park. So there are all sorts of people around with idle hands making your visit even less secure.
The Warbler offers perfect advice as usual; just understand there are complicating issues to any sleeping plan nowadays. The rangers have been at this for fifty years and are proficient at it. So there are important details and schemes required.
You will have enough time to visit the Valley. Your visit will be awkward unless you are able to join forces with friendly people at a paid site and assume compliance. So long as there are not too many (six?). The rules are posted at the kiosk and online.
The bears are all over this area, especially at night but sometimes in the day too; they have been at it for more than half a century like the rangers. They have dens located all over, especially below nearby Ribbon Falls, which is very handy for them. They used to be fed garbage by the Rangers as a daily tourist event (see old Youtube videos) and now they still expect food from humans all the time and do acquire it very often. People commonly have food in their cars, even though the rangers go around in the early evening ticketing cars that clearly have edibles. The damage bears can do to a vehicle is really awesome by the way. But generally these brown bears are harmless and somewhat used to people. It’s about damage not danger. They are not Grizzlies who are larger, usually much more unpredictable and have killed and eaten people for centuries up in the Upper Plains (Montana, Wyoming, Idaho etc).
Yosemite is one of our spectacular, most popular national parks and law enforcement has become over the years a larger and larger issue. Instead of greeting you with open arms like a park should, it is more like an urban environment with modern inconveniences and risk every which way you look and a harassed authority trying to make it through the busy times.
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Jul 23, 2016 - 12:31pm PT
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Bandit camping is not a good idea for a first time visitor. Worrying if you are going to get busted is not conducive to a good night's sleep.
For a first time visitor do the very short hikes to the base of Lower Yosemite Falls and Bridalveil falls. They are crowded but very quick, and it's awesome to get misted at the base of a huge waterfall, I guess if the falls are still going when you get there.
Also do the short hike to the base of El Cap. Awesome to be staring straight up at a 3000 foot wall. This used to be a quiet hike with only climbers, but now there LOTS of tourists going up there too.
For a long hike go up as far as you can past vernal falls and nevada falls, as mentioned if you get a permit to summit half dome even better. The other big well known hikes (top of Yosemite Falls, 4 mile trail to Glacier Point) don't have much water or are in direct sun too much.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 23, 2016 - 06:25pm PT
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so I end up in a drunken stumble searching around in the dark until I find some crappy cubby hole in the boulder field
How many of us have done that. Funny memories which somehow I survived.
Agree that going rouge is not necessarily a good idea for a first timer. You should be able to find someone that will share their campsite.
edit: just be careful about getting your gear stolen.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Jul 23, 2016 - 06:52pm PT
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Rereading your OP, you have less than a week to spend in the Valley with your business meeting being first on the list.
The limit for a stay in a campground is seven days in each year (gee, thanks, Smokey the Ranger).
If you can't get in the walk-in registration line early enough to get a space, you may have to resort to a "bandit camp" as we call it.
The trick seems to be to get to the head of the line first or as close as you can come. This has been a system used in the California State Parks for many decades, as some are way more popular than others.
As a family of campers, we had to resort to "squatting" for a night at Carpinteria Beach SP (Santa Barbara) in the fifties. And that CG is huge.
Are you renting a car to come to the Valley? It's far easier managing things from a car, rather than taking a bus in and relying on your feet.
Climbers often have more to carry travelling than the normal camper.
So, putting aside your fear of sleeping out alone, if you have a car, you have the option of driving out of the Park to El Portal and finding a place to pull over safely and sleep in the car. It works for Alex. Make it work for you. Wake up early, drive to the parking lot and get in line. Think of it as an alpine start.
Good luck and safe journey.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Jul 23, 2016 - 07:44pm PT
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Just stay at the Awhannee. It's spendy, but cush.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 24, 2016 - 08:45am PT
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Just stay at the Awhannee. It's spendy, but cush.
Stayed there a few times; definitely spendy, but my guess is it is booked thru the summer. Majestic.
edit: also, it appears she will be carless and being dropped off by a friend. complicates things a bit. maybe something can be found in camp curry/half dome village?
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