Re: They should re name housekeeping camp raccoonville..

Had a very interesting and unpleasant stay over in housekeeping due to very brazen raccoons. Friday night we had the first raccoon come in at 9:30. It did not want to leave, even to the point of looking back at us under the tent flap. The second time was 2:30 in the morning and this time 2 of them came inside the tent. One was near my mom's head for the second time and the other was at the foot of her bed literally pulling the blankets off her bed. I jumped up once again to chase them out and heard alot of noise on the concrete patio. Getting up to see what it is all I could think of is "if that is a bear, I am going to have a meltdown". Thankfully (I guess) it was the pair of raccoons. They had taken a bag of my moms and had the bag opened and were pawing through the contents...

I also believe I found the answer as to why the employees didn't come down with the virus..they would have actually had to clean. The amount of stuff under the beds and how disgusting the bathrooms were was repulsive. I also saw a mouse running around our "neighbors" concrete patio area while we were talking to them Sat night. I like how it says don't camp next to burrows, etc and there were several right under the bear boxes next to the tents.

The saddest part of the trip was how rude other people were coming into the camp after 10 pm. Very loud and obnoxious. The first tent we were assigned to had an existing neighbor with at least 10 bottles of hard alcohol lined up on thier table. We went back to the front desk to request to be moved, and the snarky 20 something desk clerks says, "well, they are allowed to do that" and I said yes, but I don't have to stay next to it.

Saturday night we chose to sleep in our suv...I could not do another night of no sleep.

Also one other thing I thought was strange was not at any time did a ranger come through the camp, and there was trash left everywhere by people.

Send everything you said here to:
Don Neubacher, Superintendent
Yosemite National Park
PO Box 577
Yosemite CA 95389

He will respond.

Most regular park users know to avoid House Keeping. Now you know too.

I have had fine and pleasant stays at Housekeeping in the summer and spring. Never had any problems with raccoons or other wild critters. Noisy neighbors, yes. But I've had the same problem with noisy neighbors at Curry Village and the valley's regular campgrounds too. Some people are just plain inconsiderate of others and don't respect the posted "Quite Hours" of the park.

Unfortunately, DNC's housekeeping throughout Yosemite is a joke. Many would fine it disgusting to look under most beds not just at Housekeeping, but also at Curry Village, the Yosemite Lodge and even the Ahwahnee. I had hope they would be more diligent now due to the hantavirus outbreak. I guess not. Old bad habits die hard, I guess.

It's really sad how badly DNC operates many of its concessions throughout Yosemite.
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plawrence
It's really sad how badly DNC operates many of its concessions throughout Yosemite.

Is it possible to get a copy of their NPS contract?

Sorry to hear about your very unpleasant stay at Housekeeping. I've stayed there overnight throughout the years and have always preferred it over the canvas tent cabins at Curry Village.

I would strongly recommend that you follow Dave's advice and send Don Neubacher, the park's superintendent, a letter documenting your very unpleasant experience.

Also, next time if you encounter such agressive raccoons at any of Yosemite's lodging establishments, contact the park's dispatch at (209) 379-1992. They man their phones 24 hours a day and they would probably have dispatched a ranger or two to deal with the very agressive raccoons.

In all the years I've stayed at Housekeeping, I've never had problems with very agressive raccoons. Not sure why they would be so attracted to the inside of your Housekeeping tent. If there's no food or scented items inside, they should have no natural interest in entering your tent. (At least that has been my experience in the past.)

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Speaking with other campers, they all had a problem with the raccoons every night. We were all brainstorming how to keep the raccoons out of the tent.

One person said they mentioned it in the store and the repsonse was well, all the animals seen to be hungrier this year. Another person said they commented to the front desk at hk that it must be busier there with the problems at curry village and the response was what problems.

I will write the gentleman as suggested.

If the dnc was regulated as a normal "hotel" I cannot see them passing any inspection, nor not being shut down for uncleanliness.

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nightsklabs
Speaking with other campers, they all had a problem with the raccoons every night. We were all brainstorming how to keep the raccoons out of the tent....

Racoons are smart. If they find food in a place just once they'll keep coming back for more. They'll tell their buddies too.

I know several ways to keep them away, but they shouldn't be used in the Park and can cause serious harm if used improperly. They're just hungry and that's no reason to harm them.

+1. People are pigs. You gonna blame the raccoons?

Here's a basic YNP rule: Want to avoid "animal problems?"

Avoid people.

Simple.

Some people have encountered bats.

I have no doubt the raccoons entered your housekeeping unit, food or not. They are naturally very curious creatures and will go anywhere and everywhere, in search of food, whether they smell it or not. I lived in the mountains for over a year and the raccoons were everywhere. Little tracks in the snow, leading under our house, jumping into a friend's car as she left the door open to go lock the gate at work on her way home, a pack of them running by the window as my GF and I sat and ate at Lamppost Pizza. I could go on. I also care for raccoons at a rehab facility and they will put their hands into your pockets, try to undo your buttons and shoes, you name it. We have to empty our pockets before we go in with them. Once, a volunteer thought she had emptied her pockets, but the raccoon knew better. He found the quarter she forgot! I had to temp him with food to let go of it.

In 1969 and 1970, I lived in Camp #1 for NPS employees (where the SAR cache is now, the old jail). We had so many raccoon visitors that I thumb-tacked the sides of the tent to keep them from crawling in at night. Then my mother assured me that she had read in the guidebooks that Yosemite did NOT have any raccoons and they had to be a figment of my imagination. That was a standing joke with us for years, but I would not want to put up with it now. I would encourage you to share your narrative with the Superintendent.