Just wanted to share my campground experience from last week. We were in North Pines with two sites and 13 people (five young children and we checked with ranger on this before we left). Yes, I know we were VERY lucky to get one let alone two sites in Yosemite Valley for one full week.
At check in, you have to show ID. If your ID doesn't match, they direct you to the Yosemite Campground office in Curry Village. I asked what happened after that and they said they ask questions about the reservation, how it was obtained and try to get information from campers about the scalping issue, specifically the one gentleman whose name comes up frequently on the boards. I told the host I knew about the situation and told her about this website and the people flagging (myself included) craigslist scalpers. The hosts had no idea of our efforts but were completely elated about them.
The bear warnings now include bottled water. Bears recoginze them and will go after bottled water inside our out. If you keep water in your car like we do, cover it up! The hosts said that bears are becoming more active and going after anything scented. A few days before we were there, a bear was found sitting on top of a bear box waiting for something, anything to become available. In Upper Pines the previous week, a camper left some scented mosquito wipes in their tent (they had been used) and a bear shredded the side of the tent to get in. This happened during the day when no one was around. We usually see/hear a lot of bear activity at night, but it was pretty quiet this year. We heard the bears in the stable area, and heard them being chased by rangers along Tenaya Creek, but didn't actually see any in the campground, but they were there. I saw eyes peering out a few times from the creek area a few times though, swimming or wading in the water (very cool). We heard the clear paint guns being shot at night around the backpacker's campground a few times too. The only bear we saw was in the meadow on the way to the Village where there are great views of Half Dome. It was eating apples in the tree and it was awesome. The apples started blooming in the last two weeks, so if you are there, look in the trees.
Our tent zips up. Make sure yours does or at least be cautious of your tent zippers. Racoons are getting very crafty and breaking into tents and stealing backpacks and bags. All they need is a small little crack or opening to put their claws or paws in. One camper whom I met in the bathroom at 4am (getting ready for Half Dome) was freaking out about someone breaking into her tent and pulling out her backpack. I hopefully calmed her down and told her it was probably a racoon, not a person or bear as she feared (nothing was taken though). Another camper, this one in our group, freaked out when she found a small animal in her tent and muddy prints all over the place including her bra. She was very freaked out. I would add that all I keep in my tent is my matress, sleeping bag and pillow, and I have never had anything enter my tent.
The camp hosts were excellent. The campers were quiet by 10:00 pm. The general atmosphere was the best I have ever had camping in North Pines. I was quite impressed with our stay there! The Merced is still chilly, but quite refreshing after a long, stinky hike. Tenaya Creek was a little colder, but still serene and refreshing.
We purchased our firewood from a store in Fish Camp on the way in. Cheaper and better wood than in the Valley, and within the requested 50 mile radius.
The Rangers still make the "bear talk" rounds. We saw one approach and my reaction was, "What did we do?". He laughed and just told us to watch the back door of a van that was open. Critters get in and make a huge mess. He also wanted to say hi.
If you have any questions, I can try my best to help. Just wanted to share the Yosemite camping love! I will post my Half Dome hike on a different thread.