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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Mar 30, 2017 - 05:45pm PT
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Big Rock Jim,
I live less than 2 hrs from The Valley and have climbed for 20 years off and on there.
1. Yes, its crowded and hot and full of tourists and posers and wannabes and idiots and its ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL.
2. Yall are going to have a blast.
3. DO THE CABLES with your kids no matter what anybody on this site says. Its a terribly long, dry, dusty, crowed hike and I swear every few years I'll never do it again but it is absolutely fantastic and my kids each do it when they turn 13 as a right of passage. Its hard on the knees and its a grind but the cables are really fun/scary and many memories will be made.
3.5. I would recommend doing it as an overnighter if possible. That is how I have always done it even though it is definitely possible in one long day. spending a night in little Yosemite Valley with a light packet and some camping gear makes for a really nice and memorable day and a half long trip. You can get up very early before sunrise, take a cup of coffee and go sit outside the permit office and get a next day permit to hike in. Very easy and I've done it often. You really need to be one of the first in line ( there are a limited number each day and some people are only one person in line getting permits for many people) but it has always worked for me
4. Consider the tent cabins. Still "camping" but much more comfortable. Spend the money if you are making this a "trip-of-a-lifetime". Pretty touristy, a bit expensive, but fun and a roof over your head when it t-storms which it can any day of the year.
5. Camp 4 is very nostalgic and wonderful to spend days romping around, touching history and feeling the vibe....but it is crowded, flat, loud, and often full of non-climbers. I love visiting and spending time there but rarely actually camp there.
6. All of the camping in Yosemite on the Park floor is crowded and dirty and not impressive from a campsite perspective. No real space, neighbors on top of you. Not very lush. But lower your expectations, plug in and have a blast making a cup of coffee and wandering around in the morning as sunlight spills over the rim.
7. Base of the Nose.....climb Pine Line (5.7) with the kids or scamper 100 feet left of The nose up onto a rad little flat platform at the base of Pine line and lay your hands on The Big Stone with them. I just took my office staff up there and it "blew their minds".
8. Raft/Float the Merced one day with some lunches in an ice-chest unless the water is raging. In mid-late summer its usually a slow, meandering affair that takes a couple hours. They will charge you up the wazoo for a raft in the park, or you can drive an hour down to Oakhurst and buy your own inner tubes at Big 5, Wallgreens or another sporting goods store. Totally worth the float. (Or buy these on your way into the park at your last big town)
8 1/2. Enjoy some breakfasts at The Cafeteria by the lodge. Lots of local dirtbags hang out there and use the free Wi-Fi and free refill coffee and it's a good place to people watch. I recently saw Alex Honnold there, I have bumped into more than a few Hartman including dean potter, cedar wright and Steve Schneider there over the years. Kind of fun to hang out and feel the vibe sometimes in the morning.
9. Excited for you and your family. Have a great trip and email me at Tripolehq@yahoo.com if you have any questions or need more specific climbing/camping beta!
Scott
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crankster
Trad climber
No. Tahoe
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Mar 30, 2017 - 05:56pm PT
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I'd stay in the Valley, but not in C4. Work your way to a quiter campsite on the perimeter. And be careful on those cables. Super slick and lots of frightened tourists. Waterfalls are going to be spectacular.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Mar 31, 2017 - 04:10am PT
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What Lynne said!
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Mar 31, 2017 - 10:59am PT
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My main advice:
1. Don't plan to drive on the valley loop during the day.
2. Try to get super-early starts to avoid crowded trails, then linger in relative solitude at the valley rim from different perspectives, soaking up the beauty during the hot parts of the day.
3. Consider doing some night hikes and then sleeping in late hangin' in your campsite.
4. Budget some time for Tuolumne Meadows. Maybe even shift base camp halfway through. They have a first-come first-served standby system (or is it a lottery system?) for getting a spot. They reserve a bunch of slots for this mechanism that are not on the recreation.gov site. This info is old, but last time I did it you sign up some time before 8am, then come back around 10am to see if you got it. Of course, get more current details and exact timings from someone else.
5. If you don't get a standby spot and you are self-contained, you can bivy outside the park to the east.
First time I drove to Tuolumne I thought "wow, you have to hike 20 miles in Sequoia/Kings Canyon to see terrain like this and we get to just drive on up here!" Worth exploring. Also worth a day to check out Mono Lake, Bodie, and see the Sierra escarpment from the east side.
Also plan a visit to Ribbon Falls area... No real trails up there, but a great day adventure with the family that does not require roping up. And you can be scoping future climbs too, and seeing El Cap from a less common perspective. As soon as you get off a main trail, you won't feel like Yosemite is crowded at all. Just magic.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Mar 31, 2017 - 11:04am PT
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I don't know how it works with the permits these days, but a great way to do Half Dome is a night hike with sunrise on top. No conga lines of people stopping halfway up the stairs to vernal falls, sniffing the butt of the person in front of you.
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