yosemite travelers checks vs debit card

[markwebster]

Howdy all,

I'm going climbing down to yosemite with my son soon. He's 21 and I've not been there since he was a baby.

 

I've been climbing in Washington lately so have lost touch with simple things like: How do you pay for gas and food on i-5 in Oregon and California, and food in the valley.

 

My key bank debit card works great around here for food and gas, taking funds directly from my checking account. I'm wondering if the debit card will work in California. I also have an American Express credit card, which I rarely use, and visa cards.

 

I'm wondering whether I should maybe take travelers checks like the old days since the plastic might not work. Also, anyone have a ballpark figure for what two adults would spend on a nine day vacation going from Seattle to Yosemite and back?

 

Looks like camp 4 is $5 per person per night, so that is $90 for camping. I figure about $250 in gas round trip, but the food is tough. we are cooking our own food, no restaurants or hotels, sleeping in rest areas.

 

Anyone know if you can sleep in the back of a pickup at camp 4, or do you have to walk-in to a tent.

 

 

thanks in advance for any advice or info you can offer,

 

Mark Webster

[willstrickland]

If your debit card is a "check card" with backing from Visa/MC (is there a logo on it?) you won't have any problems using it anywhere on that trip. Valley has both regular ATM machines (there's one in Yosemite Village between the village store and Ansel Adams gallery) as well as cash registers that accept credit card/check cards.

 

Ballpark cost? How much beer do you drink? Nine days, probably $500-$600.

 

You cannot sleep in your car at C4.

[Mark_Husbands]

Gas here in Mariposa is now about 3.30. Down the hill it can be 3.10. Up the hill in El Portal or Crane Flat it's close to 4.00. No gas in the Valley anymore. I use my Wells Fargo debit all the time in the Valley climbing shop, groceries, everything. If you stock up on groceries at a big market in the Central Valley you'll save, and you can always supplement in the Valley. The only limit is on the amount of food locker space you can find, since you absolutely cannot leave food overnight in your vehicle. If you can't find space in Camp 4 the camping prices jump to 20 bucks per night for most of the spots around Yosemite. I've only lived here since last November, but I was surprised at how hard it can be to find camping anywhere around Yosemite on the weekends. But i've also had pretty good luck with last minute cancellations and such.

 

Have fun!

[markwebster]

Thanks for the info, sounds like my debit card should work fine. Regarding the not leaving food in vehicles. Have the bears gotten that bad? Will they rip open cars?

 

On another subject, is there any cell phone coverage in the valley? I have a verizon phone, and my son has a virgin mobile phone. We don't really need cell phones but they might come in handy in an emergency.

 

I can't wait to get down there. I've been climbing far too many bolts on crappy basalt...can't wait to get on some real rock. Serenity crack, Cookie cliff, my son is not gonna' beleive it.

[Alpinfox]

Thanks for the info, sounds like my debit card should work fine. Regarding the not leaving food in vehicles. Have the bears gotten that bad? Will they rip open cars?

 

Yes.

 

[Mark_Husbands]

re: cell phones--we had a visitor that got hit and miss service in the Valley. not sure what provider he had. some providers equal zero service up there (or so i've been told.). i am not sure which ones do work.

 

re: food in car--between the bears and the rangers enforcing the no food in cars rule, any overnight food storage in car would be a mistake. the lockers are available at many parking areas and even at the base of some crags (e.g. manure pile buttress) where bears have gotten into food at the crags during the day. i saw a photo online of a bear mauling a pack at the base of middle cathedral--taken from the route above.

[matt_warfield]

Verizon has service in the main part of the Valley, but was spotty elsewhere. Plan to do your calling when around the tourist centers and you'll be fine.

 

Camp 4 has posted a stat about the large number of cars that are broken into every year by bears. If you leave food in the car, they WILL know and find it. Camp 4 has strict camping regulations regarding reservations, people per site, etc.

[markwebster]

We just got back yesterday and my key bank debit card worked great. They still have dial up, so it takes longer, and I had to sign the slip since you can't enter your pin. My son's Tacoma Sound credit union card also worked. You do have to show picture id.

There are bear visits to camp 4 almost every night. They walk right up to the table when you are cooking and try to snatch food when your back is turned.

 

After hearing it happen at the same campsite two nights running, I walked up 60 feet up into the darkness and sat on a log to watch the bear come down out of the woods. When he came, he walked down a lane of darkness in the moonlit meadow between trees. I could just see a dark shape moving that wasn't human. I shined my flashlight and could just make him out, two red glows from a large german shepard sized object. He stopped, then hid behind a tree and I lost him. 5 minutes later, I heard the girls screaming bear! One of the teenagers with a headlamp chased the bear up into the woods. It was very entertaining to watch the bear running uphill, with the kid 15 feet behind it, both moving very fast. Not something I'd recommend even though it wasn't a full grown bear.

 

We called it bearwatching, made great after dinner entertainment.

 

Verizon coverage was excellent around camp 4 and curry village. I carried my cell phone in my camera case for emergencies. Virgin Mobile had zero coverage.

 

When you are signing up at camp 4, all campers need to be there with picture id, and it's $5 per person per night.

 

Campers there are very discourteous and americans are the minority. There are many stuffed up 20 somethings who think only of themselves and their right to party as late as the beer lasts, usually hikers. Climbers are more courteous (and tired from early starts). The 10 pm quiet time is not enforced, and you will usually be ignored if you complain.

 

Half an hour after a polite request at 11pm, I called the ranger on one loud party (5 feet from our tent) but the rangers did not show up. I don't think they care about camp 4.

My son had the right idea, he wore headphones to sleep instead of listening to some self righteous jerk 5 feet from you tent talking about the superiority of a meatless diet when you have to make a dawn start on a climb.

 

The climbing was of course awesome, though the cracks were harder and more polished than I remember from 20 years ago. I'll start a new topic on that.

 

Oh, there is no gas in the valley, so fill up at the last town.

[chelle]

In my experience the only way to sleep in camp 4 is with ear plugs. That place is pretty ghetto.

[drater]

Rohypnal works ok too.

[Off_White]

You could also try to outcompete the assholes, but you might want to borrow some of Donny Baker's brass knuckles.

 

[enelson]

just a tip, you can sleep at the base of the nose if you have all your gear. leave food and car across the bridge where that guy takes the pictures. we got super trashed one night, had no where to sleep and ended up stumbling up there. in the morning we were drinking tequila and heading up a route when a youth group came to climb. they were doing everything wrong, we tried to help, were drunk and thought they were going to die, so we left. sorry for the hijack, thought it was funny.