Enjoying my stay. About the only snag was a neighbor who left a full cooler out and got a knock and a very loud lecture from a ranger.

However, I'm having coffee while my family sleeps, and some hikers cut through my site. The next two sites are unoccupied, and they cut through between my tent and car, which are about four feet from each other. They just seemed to lack any common courtesy or common sense.

People who cut through campsites act like they have some sort of cloak of invisibility surrounding them and therefore no one will notice. I've found the best way to pierce their "cloak" is to engage them in some friendly and neighborly conversation.

In a situation like you experienced above, greet them with a hearty "Good morning! Isn't it such wonderful morning? Would you like to join me for some coffee?"

They'll usually decline the invite and scamper off, but they'll get the message that they intruded on someone else's space and maybe think twice before doing it again.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2014 02:00PM by plawrence.

The worst incursion into my site was when the wife and I were sitting in our chairs basically next to each other on our little fake grass carpet next to our trailer when a couple not only cut through our site they walked right up on our carpet and walked right between our chairs while we were sitting there!. Then they had the gall to say, "How are you doing tonight?", and as I went into an immediate mental boil I said, "We were doing fine until you two rudely walked right though our site right between my wife and I"! My wife calmed me down. What was doubly infuriating was that they were part of the volunteers group who camp in Lower Pines all summer. They should have known better.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2014 02:03PM by mtn man.

I find that people who cut across occupied campsites are often the ones who fart at cocktail parties and park over white lines, taking two spaces.

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tanngrisnir3
I find that people who cut across occupied campsites are often ...

What I think you might mean is that you imagine, or would expect to find, that that people who cut across occupied campsites also do the other things you mentioned.

Or do you mean you've literally studied the farting and parking habits of a sufficient number of cutters-across-campsites to be able to draw valid conclusions about them?

Just to make it clear, I have no issue with people going through campsites - even if occupied. I've done so myself. However, why not go around through an unoccupied campsite if possible? Or at the very least try to avoid looking like a party crasher by avoiding walking right against tents

I think the layout of most Yosemite campgrounds can be an issue. I've been to others where the sites are well defined by brush or terrain. The other thing is proximity to trails as well as proximity to Curry Village.

I wonder if the also cut switchbacks.

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y_p_w

I think the layout of most Yosemite campgrounds can be an issue. I've been to others where the sites are well defined by brush or terrain.

Agree. The layout especially of the Yosemite Valley campgrounds campsites definitely doesn't help the situation, but I'm totally cool as long the visitors stay near the periphery of the campsite. The problem I have are with those that cut through the center of my campsite, especially when they don't acknowledge my presence with a friendly greeting.

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The discourtesies often found at organized campgrounds unfortunately go with the territory. That's why many of us avoid them like the plague and stick to the back country trails. I realize that option is not available or necessarily of appeal to everyone, particularly those with families. All one can do is tolerate it the best they can without blowing their tops.

My wife and I used to frequent Myrtle Beach Campground in SC with our pop-up camper and experienced the same behavior. The ones that really blow my mind are those who bring string lights and light up their entire camp site like a circus, casting unwanted light in all directions. One grits one's teeth.

We recently spent a week in Lower Pines. Numerous times a day people cut right through our campsite while we sat at the picnic table, rather than taking the paved road, they just came on through. I found that when I said "hey, how's it going?" they usually tried to slink away but if we ignored them they repeated it the next day. I have taught my kids that it is rude to walk through someone else's site but apparently that is losing favor with new campers. We even had a group of folks who decided to try their hand at my daughter's slack line that was set up next to our trailer!

The opposite problem from cutting through someone else's campsite, is expanding your campsite to block a public right-of-way. At some of the Pines campgrounds, for instance, there's a four-foot-wide public path between the "campsite boundary" posts and the fence above the river. I think the path is there so people can walk along the river without intruding on any campsites, but a few times I've had to step over someone's chairs or detour through their campsite in order to continue on the path.

At Camp 4, there's a path that starts at the phone booths in the parking lot, runs straight back between the parking lot and the campground, and becomes the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail. One time when I was walking toward the trail, two kids were taking a lunch break there. One was sitting on a rock on either side with their food and gear spread out across the path just like a picnic table. Picking my way through the mess seemed like way too much trouble so I detoured through the parking lot to get around them.

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gophersnake

The opposite problem from cutting through someone else's campsite, is expanding your campsite to block a public right-of-way. At some of the Pines campgrounds, for instance, there's a four-foot-wide public path between the "campsite boundary" posts and the fence above the river. I think the path is there so people can walk along the river without intruding on any campsites, but a few times I've had to step over someone's chairs or detour through their campsite in order to continue on the path.

Yes, some campers get to overly ambitious and encroach not only on a public area (like a path or trail) but encroach on their neighbors' campsites too. But I've found that this behavior is far less common and far less of a problem than people walking through the middle of someone else's campsite, even in Yosemite Valley campgrounds with their ill-defined campsite boundaries.

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We usually tie clothes lines and hang towels across problem areas. You still have the occasional idiot who ducks under the rope. Moving chairs and tables, camp kitchen, etc usually helps as well.
We just got back yesterday and had some lady walk between my truck and table to cut through. I literally had an empty spot on both sides of me. She acted like I was in her way. I made sure she heard my comment and she never did that again. Sad that you have to stoop to their level but courtesy is not in all peoples vacation itinerary.