Hello everyone. First, thanks for all of the great info you all provide, I've already spent countless hours reading through tons of really helpful material. I was hoping to gain enough information through reading but I've become overwhelmed in this trip planning. I'm taking time away from my homework (still in college) to try and plan this trip and I am concerned with how slowly things have progressed, so I decided to ask for help. As the title suggests, we're looking to plan a trip for May 2 - 9. Not ideal, but it's the only time of the year that will work for both my girlfriend and I. It will be just us 2, and we're both early 20s and in very good shape. We've never done any overnight backpacking, but by the time of the trip we will have done a few here in Ohio to brush up any rough spots with our preparedness. Neither of us are afraid of a challenge, so our only limitation is going to be weather and availability.
I guess I'll start with what I've got so far - we'll be flying into San Francisco and figuring out some public transportation into the park [we're both too young to rent a car]. Right now I'm hoping to get lucky and nab a walk-in site at camp 4, as I'm realizing I should have tried booking a campsite in the park for our first night. I am having a hard time narrowing our selections down, trying to cross-reference wilderness permit availability, trailhead quotas, and what may or may not be snowpacked or flooded out. I've looked at trailhead reports to figure out which are still available and it seems like all are for our dates. I am assuming Tioga and Glacier Pt roads will be closed during our visit, so I'm pretty much limiting our focus to the main valley for starters and heading out from there. This is ideal anyway, because it's our first visit to Yosemite.
The thing I'm wrestling with, and can't figure out if it's the best approach or not, is to get into the park around 1 (the public transit leaves at 7 AM, and after a few stops gets you there by 1 per the itinerary), and head to the ranger station to see what's doable, what's available, and what my options should be. It seems sinful to go to Yosemite without anything pre-reserved, but at this point with the variability due to weather and what could be open, it almost seems like my best bet. If anyone has some suggestions, I'm more than appreciative and eager to listen. Also, I apologize for the amount of complaining I've done here. Thanks!