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where can we crash if camp 4 is full?


markwebster

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where can we crash if camp 4 (yosemite) is full? I've seen this question answered here before but I couldn't find it so I'm asking again.

 

I *think* I heard that you can park at el cap and hike up the trail for twenty minutes and bivy. Is this still true? There are bear boxes there too. Our problem is that me and the wife are arriving mid day Friday and camp 4 is likely to be full until Monday morning.

 

thanks for any advice you can offer. Yosemite in 2 days babeeee!

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Harden Flats.

 

There is a pay campground just outside of the valley as well that I've used, you might check it on a map. The other possibility is that you can find a friendly face in a regular site and ask to crowd into their site. I saw that done a bit last time town, in fact, we had a climber pop in with us and then he moved over to another bud. 6 is the limit of bodies in a site and 2 cars, so observe accordingly.

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great idea on the 6 pack. I did see a few bodies one morning in our site at camp 4. I'll bet I could also hike up to the base of a few unnamed climbs with gear, bivy, climb the next day and hike out in the evening...they would never know. Rangers can't be everywhere.

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Yeah; I was usually able to crash in someone's camp in Camp 4. Maybe find some nice folks that are willing/able to share?

 

BAWAHAHAHAHA....like that counts...you were female (and still are) and single!!!! "Uhhh, yeah, sure, have at it!"

 

:lmao: :lmao:

 

chix have it so easy...

 

hey, when's lunch!!!????!!!???!

Edited by RuMR
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I had a ranger wake me up at night and hassle me when I was sleeping in my hammock. It was right by my tent and then he demanded to look in my tent to make sure no one else was in it.

 

They can and do come through camp at night. I did see them bust guys camped "illegally" at night so watch out or be prepared to throw up a hefty wad of cash if they catch you.

 

Or go to the other camp ground and you won't have as many problems. They actually treat "guests" there with respect and don't hassle them as much. I'd imagine you could get away with more over there.

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yeah the rangers in yosemite are dicks. i dont look like a dirtbag and i got hassled on a vehicle stop on the valley floor. this female cop was playing detective and asking what my buddy and i had in the paper bag sitting in between us in my truck. lol. it was shit to make smores and we both laughed at her when she asked. it pays to follow the rules in the park

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yeah the rangers in yosemite are dicks. [snip] it pays to follow the rules in the park

 

I'm not speaking to your experience specifically here, you just provided a lead in...

 

I've found the rangers to be very nice when I've paid my campsite fees and follow the rules. I think they're usually "dicks" to people who feel they can violate the rules w/o consequences because they're dirtbaggin' it or out to do some radical climbing feet.

 

I think you closing sums it up: follow the rules and they're generally pretty nice.

 

My opinion about staying in the valley: don't. Communing is where it's at. Who wants to hang out with a bunch of people, anyways?

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My first time in the valley was in 78. I was 19 and hitched from Tacoma. I was picked up in a hippie van in Modesto about dark and we drove into the park unscathed (no pay). I had no idea where to go and got out with my 80lb pack and plenty of controlled substances on board. I was almost unable to walk. I made it to a dark grotto and sacked out under a bush.

When I woke up, the dark grotto was between two ranger residences and I was under a lilac bush. It was about 5AM so I just packed up and moved on.

My dealings with the rangers were always good.

They have to manage a hell of a lot of people over the summer to prevent unrepairable damage to a very small area. Rules suck but you know what would happen to that valley if they weren't strict.

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It's fun to walk 40 meters uphill into the dark meadow above camp 4 and hang out in the moonlight. If you are patient, you can see the bears ghosting down though the shadows and sneaking up on the noisy picnic tables. So funny when the bear grabs a loaf of bread and the table explodes with cries of bear, bear! We called it bear spotting. Great entertainment

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I second the notion to crash in a corner of someone else's site (ask or don't, though I'd bet the 6-pack would help), then get up at the crack of dawn to be first in line at the kiosk for a permit. I wouldn't go up into the talus field above Camp 4 because the rangers supposedly do patrol up there. (I think that's where they caught Chongo?) I've had people crash in my site, so I think if you just find another group of climbers (not tourists!), they'd be happy to let you join them - especially if you have beer.

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Snagging a spot in Camp4 generally requires being selected from the early morning applicants. So arriving after 7am means you don't have any chance. Where to stay when you arrive mid-day? You stay at the walk-in temporary camp (adjacent to North Pines Campground, no parking provided) for those who are registered to start a backpack trip the next day. The key is that you wait to approach the Ranger supervising that area until AFTER 5pm, so that they cannot insist that you show your (purchased) backcountry permit before being allowed to crash. You plan to get pick up the permit in the morning right before you start your pack-in. Not sure what the parking rules are now, but several years ago we had to use a parking area half a mile from the campsites. I would not trust this info to be up to date. Get a more recent confirmation on Summit Post, or call Yosemite and ask about the procedure for getting a backcountry permit when you arrive late in the day.

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I've gone up to Tamarak Flat. The rough rd keeps most folks out. One of the cheaper car-camp sites.

 

What about West Yosemite? That looks interesting. Looks like FS land on the W boundry of the Pk.

 

Any more than two people and you are too conspicuous for Guerrilla camping. Though I have ideas. Call me for beta.

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evergreen road (the one that leads to hetch hetchy) is free camping on the side of the road.

 

poaching in camp4 is risky cuz the rangers come thru in the middle of the night. even if the folks in that camp let you stay with them.. if your tent or bivy doesn't have a tag - you're roasted.

 

just bivy in front of the kiosk at camp 4... you'll be 1st in line for the next day and have a place to sleep that night. there's even a bear box right there

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We stayed at sweetwater campground the first night. It's 50 minutes from camp 4 west on 120. Very quiet and wide open campspots. Got in line at 6:30 Sunday morning at camp 4 and had no problem getting spot for the week. Every night though, we'd see people show up at 11 with a bivy sack to poach in our site. There are no midnight tag inspections, or at least not that I heard about, and I asked around. It appears that poaching and cheating on the rangers is a long standing tradition at camp 4. I'm thinking they may have had budget cuts, which means less rangers? It was very quiet, no loud parties at all in our end.

 

The bathrooms are another story. For two days, there was vomit in one of the sinks, toothbrushes floating in the vomit. Definitely not the hilton.

 

Another common trick is that one person pays, and the other is invisible (show up after dark). A week later, the invisible one pays, the partner goes cammo. We had an awesome trip...Trip report coming.

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