Concerning the Tuolumne Meadows Campground's 50% availability for walk-ups [non-reservable], are some spots usually still untaken throughout the day?

I have a Lyell Canyon Backpacking permit for July 15th, but this time, I want to get to TM, and camp there for a day to acclimate, since I'm coming from Santa Rosa.

Last year, I drove really early, and got to TM at around 10:30am ... and just headed straight down to Glen Aulin ... 8-day backpack ... the elevation kind of did a number on my brain ... which felt like a month-old semi-rotten yam by midday.

Would like to spend a day at TM before pounding down canyon. ...

I can probably get there before 11:00am ....

please help save me from brain-to-yam syndrome!

Thanks in advance,

Michael

Michael,
There is a backpacker's campground at Tuolumne Meadows! You can stay there the night before your permit starts (and the night you get back). I stayed there last summer and it was very nice. The main Tuolumne Meadows campground DOES fill up. Especially on weekends, I would imagine. It looks like you will be arriving on a weekend :/
Good luck. But you could possibly stay at Tamarack Flat, White Wolf, Yosemite Creek, or Porcupine flat, too. A lot of people don't want to drive down the dirt road to Tamarack Flat or Yosemite Creek, so you could try those.

Good Luck! Let us know how your trip goes!

Oh, hey ::

That's good news to share! I wasn't aware of a backpacker campground there. That ought to suffice fine. Is it back there by the wilderness permit station?

Well, I'll check.

I'm glad I asked; I wondered if that larger family campground ever filled ... I couldn't believe the size of that campground. I told the ranger after I stayed there one night last year:

"This is the LARGEST campground I have ever seen in my entire life!!!! And I've camped in very many states, and on 2 continents!!"

She told me then that Tuolumne Meadows campground is officially the 2nd largest campground in the United States. (there is one in Yellowstone that is bigger).

Incidentally, my trip up Cold Canyon last year, afer I stayed at Glen Aulin, was a bit challenging; because then in October, it was desert dry!! It was absolutely parched ... no water anywhere .. even the rangers were not sure if I would find any as I progressed further up; so that's why I'm insisting on a July backpack this year. So I'm heading down Lyell Canyon, mid-July.

The backpacker's campground is actually within the Tuolumne Meadows campground. You pull up to the kiosk, tell them you want to stay in the backpacker's campground. When we stayed there, they had us park by the kiosk and walk our gear back to the walk-in backpacker's tent campground. There is a box with the envelopes to pay your fee. Then we had to move our car over by Lembert Dome or something.

July might be like October last year... there hasn't been much snow this year, so it's melting early!

Where does your hike end?

I backpacked around Vogelsang in August last year, it was beautiful! If you're the type who likes to look at pictures before a trip (see another thread on this forum for that discussion) you can see my pictures here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/2carolyn/sets/72157594277008328/

Yes, I hears snow was low ... but at least there'll be a river nearby if I go through Lyell Canyon.

My plans are to head up and over and see Banner and Ritter ... .just "graze" around there for a few days w/camera and camcorder ... chat with some raccoons ... bag a peak ... sit on a log ... as long as there's a little water, I'm good to go!.

Good to hear about the BP jumo-off campground at the main camping area ... I need a day to adjust (I'm 55yo) ...

Are Banner and Ritter the ones over by Garnet Lake? It's very pretty there in the Ansel Adams Wilderness. Here are some pics from our trip there. I got some nice pictures at sunrise when there was no wind and the water was calm:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/2carolyn/sets/72157600031007377/



Post Edited (06-03-07 13:33)

Letterknit, I enjoyed your photos; I've been wanting to do some backpacking up in Yosemite this summer (in addition to the dayhikes and Mt. Whitney) and now I can't wait. All I need is the time to fit everything in...8^)

I do have one suggestion; for those of us unfamiliar with some areas, a short caption to at least identify what it is or where it is really helps. There are some, but I found myself wondering where a lot of the photos were taken. Not a criticism, just makes it easier when you see a place you'd like to visit but can't figure out where it is. Thanks for posting the photos though, very nice.

---

Gary
Yosemite Photo Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/roberthouse/yo

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!

Very spectacular photos in your link. Yes, Banner and Ritter are over there.

I checked out the permit details and it appears I can just meander over and into the AAW if I have my valid YNP backpacking permit.

I've been entertaining some thoughts about bagging Lyell, as long as I'm in the neighborhood ,,, but I'll see how I feel.

Sierrafan, thanks for the feedback. I did caption my photos once upon a time, but used to post my pictures to another website. Then, when I tried to transfer them over to Flickr, I lost the captions and didn't want to copy and paste every single caption. Note to self: add captions in iPhoto *before* uploading, that way they will always have captions!!

I will try to do a scan through the Flickr photos to see which ones don't have caption info. If you have any questions on locations, just leave a comment on the Flickr photo and I'll add it in. I get an email every time someone leaves a comment on the Flickr photos so that would be the fast way to get an answer.

Thanks



Post Edited (06-07-07 11:51)