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A Week Camping In Yosemite


Razors Edge

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5 minutes ago, 12string said:

We had the Half Dome hike all planned

We didn't get the Half Dome permit, and after going up to and a good bit beyond Nevada Falls, I was fine having lunch, soaking my feet in the river, & turning around and coming back down the Muir trail.  It would be a nice "bucket" item to do the full hike, but it wasn't too pressing to me that I was upset we didn't do it.  I'd like to think we will be back there in the next decade, hopefully earlier in the season (maximum water on the falls), but we were at least lucky that 1) there were no fires, and 2) there was still a lot of water in the park due to a wetter winter.  Hopefully they are back into a wet cycle rather than a dry one.

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3 minutes ago, Dottie said:

You must be traveling hwy 395

A tiny bit from Lee Vining up to the road to Bodie.

I will say that the road leaving Sequoia NP (198) - just after the Giant Forest Museum - was the craziest road I have ever driven down.  Zig zagging constantly for maybe a dozen miles.  So fun, but man would it suck with a trailer or if you had motion sickness.  And it would be a great ToC finishing climb.  A shame the NPs don't allow races through park land anymore, because that would be a beast of a climb.

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Very cool, and still no reach out!?!?  That’s OK I’ll remember not to call next time I’m in VA!?

CA is awesome in many ways.  I’ve been to all of the places noted but it’s been 30 years since I’ve been to Sequoia NP. 

When you are heading East on 120 at the 395 in Lee Vining there is a gas station (Shell i think) on the SW corner.  There is a small restaurant in the gas station, best  grub in town.

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25 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

We didn't get the Half Dome permit

You need a permit to hike to the top now? When I was there in July of 1995 you didn't. From 90+ heat in the Valley to snow up to your knees on the top, it was an amazing (long) day hike!

* When we were there you needed a permit to camp above a certain point, but not to hike to the top of Half Dome.

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3 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

Very cool, and still no reach out!?!?  That’s OK I’ll remember not to call next time I’m in VA!?

CA is awesome in many ways.  I’ve been to all of the places noted but it’s been 30 years since I’ve been to Sequoia NP. 

When you are heading East on 120 at the 395 in Lee Vining there is a gas station (Shell i think) on the SW corner.  There is a small restaurant in the gas station, best  grub in town.

The Whoa Nelly Deli is where we ate coming back into the park. Live music, outdoor seating, and delicious food.  Place was hopping, and it was well worth the wait for food (fish taco platter for me!).

And we were down past you the last couple of days in Vista.  No bikes, just relaxing on the back porch watching golfers, reading, and chatting.  A few walks along the beach, and some good food, but definitely a transition from camping.  Very pleasant (and apparently just missed a streak of hot days).

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10 minutes ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

You need a permit to hike to the top now? When I was there in July of 1995 you didn't. From 90+ heat in the Valley to snow up to your knees on the top, it was an amazing (long) day hike!

Absolutely need the permit now - essentially for that final stretch. And they aren't "day of" permits, so you have to plan slightly ahead or won't get one. 

 

9 minutes ago, Zealot said:

Did you make it to the Redwoods as well?

No Redwoods. Those are more coastal trees, so have to head north and west to get to them.

I simply could not capture the immensity and awesomeness of the sequoias in Mariposa (Yosemite) or in Sequoia NP.  The camera just failed to do any justice to them.  Simply breathtaking.

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5 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

The Whoa Nelly Deli is where we ate coming back into the park. Live music, outdoor seating, and delicious food.  Place was hopping, and it was well worth the wait for food (fish taco platter for me!).

And we were down past you the last couple of days in Vista.  No bikes, just relaxing on the back porch watching golfers, reading, and chatting.  A few walks along the beach, and some good food, but definitely a transition from camping.  Very pleasant (and apparently just missed a streak of hot days).

Whoa Nellie, yeah that’s it!  We were camping in Mammoth one year and made a trip to Bodie.  Everyone was getting hungry & didn’t want to wait till we got back to Mammoth to eat so we stopped in there.  Unbeknownst to us it was a local hang out known for their food.  

Yeah Vista is a bit south of me by about an hour. You were probably in town when my MIL was here! You just missed her...

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22 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Absolutely need the permit now - essentially for that final stretch. And they aren't "day of" permits, so you have to plan slightly ahead or won't get one. 

 

No Redwoods. Those are more coastal trees, so have to head north and west to get to them.

I simply could not capture the immensity and awesomeness of the sequoias in Mariposa (Yosemite) or in Sequoia NP.  The camera just failed to do any justice to them.  Simply breathtaking.

If you miss the lottery, you can re apply for a next day permit.  They usually have a few available.  They had to go to permits because the cables were getting too crowded.

I've been to the redwood Forests.  Amazing (if you go to an old growth forest like Cowell)  Are the Sequoias that much bigger?

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2 minutes ago, 12string said:

If you miss the lottery, you can re apply for a next day permit.  They usually have a few available.  They had to go to permits because the cables were getting too crowded.

I've been to the redwood Forests.  Amazing (if you go to an old growth forest like Cowell)  Are the Sequoias that much bigger?

Yes, in circumference and height.  The redwoods in Big Sur are spectacular but they are much smaller than the Seqouias.

To Toms point, a camera just doesn’t do justice to El Capitan & half moon in person.  It’s really amazing to stand in the valley surrounded by the granite cliffs.

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23 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Absolutely need the permit now - essentially for that final stretch. And they aren't "day of" permits, so you have to plan slightly ahead or won't get one. 

 

No Redwoods. Those are more coastal trees, so have to head north and west to get to them.

I simply could not capture the immensity and awesomeness of the sequoias in Mariposa (Yosemite) or in Sequoia NP.  The camera just failed to do any justice to them.  Simply breathtaking.

I lived in Marysville.  We visited Yosimite and hiked and camped in  Humbolt (redwoods).   Took lots of pics (35mm days). And while some of the pics are good, like you said, doesn’t really capture it. 

Heres a few of the trees we took. You can see us at the base if the tree in a couple:

0E1B7F80-C6F3-4E64-BE87-587650989673.thumb.jpeg.3872b1b9c21d3c7e599819ed7902d1ae.jpegF32A9892-0000-47DD-834A-2C8EEEA764DD.thumb.jpeg.978b24d7adf7eac3872cc58ea9e72958.jpeg80FF080B-294A-451C-B75A-91F998B5C32C.thumb.jpeg.df45a63a30474b5520d0b36af00945a5.jpeg184DB732-EB51-46B4-B488-1CDEEC0FF264.thumb.jpeg.686b8ec954e201a2ca33c99acc83598c.jpeg64782223-B3F5-4940-8BF9-90FD279AC742.thumb.jpeg.376fa2c645574cce00f0add551fb2eac.jpeg

 

 

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9 minutes ago, 12string said:

If you miss the lottery, you can re apply for a next day permit.  They usually have a few available.  They had to go to permits because the cables were getting too crowded.

I've been to the redwood Forests.  Amazing (if you go to an old growth forest like Cowell)  Are the Sequoias that much bigger?

Sequoias are IMMENSE.  They are "bigger" in volume, but don't grow quite as tall and tend to lose their crowns.  So, if you have seen Redwoods, they aren't the same.  Both are spectacular but in different ways.  Redwoods are also impossible to catch properly on my iPhone or inexpensive Sony camera.  I actually tried just doing a video to get the full sequoia. Maybe I have some pics with a person in it as a reference size.

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38 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

That’s freaking amazing. Where do you park the camper?

They have RV camping  in Yosemite.  Tom probably timed it right but the one bummer in the summer is the crowds.  Look up and the view is spectacular. Don’t look down across the valley is it’s pretty much a sprawl of people, RV’s cars & more people.

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13 hours ago, Parr8hed said:

That’s freaking amazing. Where do you park the camper?

Sadly, the camper (and the monster outdoor breakfast grill) was too large to fit in my duffel bag.  I had to settle for a lousy tent :(  Damn airline weight restrictions!

14 hours ago, Dottie said:

How were the mosquitoes this time of year?

Zippo! Unlike camping in the Cascades last year, there were no mosquitoes and almost no pestering bugs at all during our CA trip. Seems fewer annoying bugs is another selling point for already awesome California.

12 hours ago, ChrisL said:

They have RV camping  in Yosemite.  Tom probably timed it right but the one bummer in the summer is the crowds.  Look up and the view is spectacular. Don’t look down across the valley is it’s pretty much a sprawl of people, RV’s cars & more people.

Still pretty crowded in the Valley, but our normal strategy (using the East Coast time boost) is to GET OUT EARLY.  The sun rose right around six, and we could have our coffee and head to a trail before seven and have it almost (or totally) to ourselves.  You can't do that in the summer, probably.  We did Lembert Dome and were TOTALLY alone at the top for almost 1/2 hour before a guy came up as we were going down.  Nuts.  Definitely some RVs but not crowding the roads.  At our one campsite, we had two RVs by our spot - both rentals - but overall, not an excessive amount relative to some places we regularly camp. Our final camping spot in Sequoia - Buckeye Flat - didn't allow RVs, so that was just a bunch of tent campers. HIGHLY recommend buckeye flat if you have kids and want to play in a great river (has some natural water "slides" and nice swimming holes).

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