Re: High Sierra Camps in 2024

This was sent out by Yosemite Hospitality (aka Aramark) yesterday:

We are thrilled to announce the reopening of the Yosemite High Sierra Camps experience for the 2024 season! The Lottery opens on October 9th.

The High Sierra Camps are a beloved Yosemite tradition, and we know many of you cannot wait to get back out to enjoy these camps. We will be opening the High Sierra Camps with a reimagined experience to more fully align with their original purpose - to educate and protect our wilderness. With our strong commitment to environmental sustainability and protection, we’re excited to share details on the 2024 High Sierra Camps experience.

The 2024 loop will begin at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge and then travel by foot (with an NPS guide or self-guided) to Glen Aulin, May Lake, Sunrise Lake and finish back at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge for the full five-night loop of the High Sierra Camps. After evaluating and working closely with the National Park Service to look at all possible alternatives, it was determined that the beloved Vogelsang and Merced Lake camps will be suspended for the 2024 season, as operating them would’ve come with negative impacts on our Wilderness.

The High Sierra Camps are an experience unlike any other. They are an introduction to the backcountry and wilderness of Yosemite, in a way that is accessible and responsible. Yosemite Hospitality and the National Park Service work in close partnership to protect and share the backcountry with those who want to experience it in this way. We take our role as stewards very seriously and actively work to protect the resources for generations to come.

The 2024 season is an opportunity to go back to the roots of the High Sierra Camps and focus on the education and protection of these unique landscapes.
We look forward to welcoming you at the High Sierra Camps this upcoming season!

Best,

Yosemite Hospitality

1. And what of people who have held reservations for the last several years whose reservations got cancelled?
2. I wish they wouldn't be opaque about why they're not opening Vogelsang and Merced Lake, and explain how opening the other camps is different.
3. Are they going to revert to "Tuolumne Meadows High Sierra Camp"?

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Not quite The Geezer, but getting there
1. And what of people who have held reservations for the last several years whose reservations got cancelled?
2. I wish they wouldn't be opaque about why they're not opening Vogelsang and Merced Lake, and explain how opening the other camps is different.
3. Are they going to revert to "Tuolumne Meadows High Sierra Camp"?

Well, at least they're opening. My guess for #2 above is that they don't have the personnel to open all the camps. The season is what, maybe 2 1/2 months? Most people want a "summer job" longer than that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2023 05:22AM by The Other Tom.

Those two camps are also the furthest in. They take more support than the others.

This sounds very similar to how they had planned to operate the camps in 2023 before the record snowfall last winter added another year to the High Sierra Camp hiatus.

Dug through the Yosemite Hospitality website a bit and found the schedule of guided trips in 2024. It looks like the guided trips to the High Sierra Camps will go clockwise from TM Lodge to Sunrise to May Lake to Glen Aulin and back to TM Lodge, which is reversed from the direction they travelled in the past, and also at odds with the impression given in the email they sent out and much of the route information on their website. Maybe they will update that information over the next few months... although it would be nice if it were more accurate now since the 2024 High Sierra Camp lottery is open and people should have accurate information when they submit their entry so they know what they are signing up for.

I think this is probably the end for Merced Lake and Vogelsang camps. Merced Lake HSC was established the same year as the National Park Service.

Fat flatlander,

Thanks for highlighting the mis-information by Aramark.
Communication is something else Aramark fails at doing.

I submitted an unguided trip request for 2024 after winning a spot last year. My request is flexible as to date and direction, I just want 2 nights in Sunrise.
The website states:
"As a 2023 High Sierra Camp lottery winner, you will be guaranteed a winning spot in next year’s lottery should you choose to enter it."

Yesterday I asked a member of Aramark's High Sierra team what does that mean? She said it means I would get at least one night, in either sunrise, may lake, or glen aulin.
She had no information on how they were handling Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, as it was not an option on unguided requests.

I can't wait to see how this works out.

I know that the above post is specifically about the lottery for the loop but anybody know about TM Lodge? Last night, my wife tried to book us a few nights for late next season (late Aug/early Sept) and she said everything showed up as blocked.

Meanwhile, State of California is addressing the issue of unused campsites: https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/california-law-harsher-penalty-campsite-no-show-18418167.php


Best news is that if you fail to use a campsite and fail to notify them about it, you won't be allowed to make future reservations until you resolve the issue. This should help!

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Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2023 06:51AM by balzaccom.

This is driving me crazy - I swear I read somewhere in the last few days that Vogelsang was going to be closed due to problems with the water at Fletcher and nearby, a virus or some other issue. But I cannot find the article again. Has anyone else heard this? That might explain the "environmental impact" statement. I know Fletcher was in the no-camping/closure zone last time Vogelsang closed.

As an architectural historian and building preservationist, I really hope all of the camps can remain operational. The NPS mission statement says "to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System." The camps are a cultural/historic resource, and were listed in the National Register less than ten years ago.

The original post contains this line: After evaluating and working closely with the National Park Service to look at all possible alternatives, it was determined that the beloved Vogelsang and Merced Lake camps will be suspended for the 2024 season, as operating them would’ve come with negative impacts on our Wilderness.

---

Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963