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*thriller*
Deleted
Mar 23, 2004, 9:54 PM
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Hey
So the end of my university exams are quickly approaching and soon I'll be heading off on a big climbing trip. It looks like I'll be getting to Yosemite sometime in early May and I have a few questions about what to expect. I'm planning on staying in camp 4, but that's about all the plans I have. I'll be driving in by myself and staying for an indefinite amount of time. I've lead a bunch of sport, but I'm just now using my tax return to buy some more gear to make a meagre trad rack, and I'm very lacking in trad experience (read: none) but I'm very willing to learn. So here are some of my questions:
When I get to Yosemite I've read "get in line early for a spot in camp 4." Once i've gotten a spot what do i do with my car? Can i bring it to the site or do i park it miles away and carry my stuff in?
Is there a maximum limit for how long i can stay in the park or in the same site?
Where can i find partners who are willing to climb with a beginning trad leader?
is there anything else I should know about or plan for before making my pilgrimage??
-Ian
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george
Mar 23, 2004, 10:10 PM
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I pulled this right off of the Yosemite National Park website:
In reply to: Camp 4 (walk in) Located in the east end of Yosemite Valley near Yosemite Lodge at 4,000 ft (1,200 m). Camp 4 contains 35 campsites with tent space (no RVs permitted). Parking is available at the campground, but not at individual sites. Three food storage lockers are available in each campsite. Pets are not permitted. Open: All year. Reservations: No. All sites are on a first-come, first-served basis. Cost: $5/night per person (up to five other people may be assigned to your campsite for a total of six per site).
The website is:
http://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm
I stayed there one night five years ago in August and didn't have a problem getting a spot.
Now, get ready for a bunch of people to post smart-assed comments about how you are a looser because you've never been to Camp 4 before and how they've lived there for so long it's like they own the place.
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timpanogos
Mar 23, 2004, 10:15 PM
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In reply to: When I get to Yosemite I've read "get in line early for a spot in camp 4."
Getting there in may - just join up with existing sites - the trick is finding a bear box. Search for available bear box - snag it - move on in - meet people from all over - have a blast.
In reply to: Once i've gotten a spot what do i do with my car? Can i bring it to the site or do i park it miles away and carry my stuff in?
In reply to: Is there a maximum limit for how long i can stay in the park or in the same site?
not until June - the camp registration is not tightly regulated until June - then you only have like 3 days.
In reply to: Where can i find partners who are willing to climb with a beginning trad leader?
Enjoy
Chad
edit - woops George posted while I was writting, soo
your a losser for not being at camp 4 yet -- umm I mean for never being there before...
there
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diesel___smoke
Mar 23, 2004, 10:16 PM
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In reply to: When I get to Yosemite I've read "get in line early for a spot in camp 4." Once i've gotten a spot what do i do with my car? Can i bring it to the site or do i park it miles away and carry my stuff in?
This seems to always be what is said, but there wasn't much of a problem when I was there in Oct/Nov 2003
In reply to: Is there a maximum limit for how long i can stay in the park or in the same site?
I'm not entirely sure, but I believe it's 7 days....
In reply to: Where can i find partners who are willing to climb with a beginning trad leader?
Go talk to the people in the sites (C4 is a climber's campsite), or look on the bulletin board where you pay for the sites, there's usually address there for people looking for partners.
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mandrake
Mar 23, 2004, 11:31 PM
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Bump.
As of early September you'd be okay to arrive anytime from Sunday to Thursday. But, to get a spot on Friday or Saturday, it's best to be in line when the kiosk opens. Can't speak of how busy it is in May, but hopefully the locals will chime in with some helpful advice.
To find partners, just chat with people around the camp site. Also, post a note on the bulletin board at the kiosk. I'd be surprised if you had trouble finding partners, especially as you've basically volunteered to be a belay slave!
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moabbeth
Mar 24, 2004, 12:12 AM
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http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?m=34143&f=0&b=0
You should read this thread going on over at supertopo's forum. Parking situation at C4 has gone from bad to worse. Also, if you want good Yosemite discussion and route beta, you'll get it for sure on the forum there...it's tends to be mainly valley discussions for the most part (no offense to this site, but ST is way better with Yosemite info).
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strider
Mar 24, 2004, 1:57 AM
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I have to add that just about everything timpanogos wrote is incorrect. Caveat Emptor! It is this kind of mis-information and encouragement to break the rules that is causing the current headaches in Camp 4. The Camp works like this...
-There are 35 sites, each site holds 6 people/tents.
-You can only register for Camp 4 at the Ranger Kiosk in front of the camp. In the Summer this Kiosk opens at 8 a.m. and closes around 4 p.m. although this time varies. If the camp fills up or is currently full, a sign will be displayed in the window of the kiosk which reads "Camp 4 FULL". When this sign is present then there are no sites available and you must find an alternative location. If the Kiosk is closed and sites are available, then there will be a clip board posted on the front of the Kiosk where you fill in your name and site number. It is expected that you will pay in the morning. When timpanogos says, "just join up with existing sites," he is referring to squatting. A squatter does not pay the camping fee and simply walks around the camp, asking people if he can crash at their site. Please realize that you should not do this.
- The current cost to camp in Camp 4 is $5 a day per person. So if you and someone else stay for a week then you will each pay $35. The maximum stay during Summer is 2 weeks and during Winter I think it is three or four weeks, although I can't remember for sure.
-When you register you must give your first and last name, license plate number, site # (they will give you options and you pick which site you want) and your money. They will give you a long lecture about bear boxes and food storage, a tent tag to hang on your tent and a parking permit to place in your vehicle's window.
-The Rangers actively patrol during the day and night to check tent tags. If you do not have a tent or you have a sleeping bag laid out without a tent tag then they will leave you a note to pay your fees or leave. If you piss them off then they might confiscate your gear and food and make you come and get it, then give you a nice fat fine and lecture when you show up.
- Bear boxes. There are three large bear boxes per site. This means that each person has half a bear box to themselves. Please understand that one large cooler and a couple boxes of cereal will take up half of the bear box. Nothing will piss you off more than when you walk up to your site, see a family of 4 that is using only one bear box, and you find that the other two bear boxes are full and no one else is staying at the site! You should NOT just run amok looking for a bear box and "snag it". I have seen this cause more than a few arguments and I have also see the Rangers come and confiscate all the mis-placed food and gear.
- Partners can be found by looking at the bulletin board that is on the side of the Kiosk. Here you can post or read notes about partners, rides, gear for sale, gear that is missing, gear that is found, route conditions, falcon closures and much, much more.
Now, I have nothing against the squatters, pilgrims and dirtbags who are eking out a meager life living out of camp 4, but please keep a low profile. Remember that if you have not paid for a site, then you are imposing on the people who have paid and have a right to stay at the site you are squatting on. I have no problem with sharing a site with a squatter and have many friends that I have made through meeting other random, poor, climbers who needed a safe site that they could crash at. But remember your manners. Your kind host is doing you a favor.
And a final thought. No matter where you stay in Yosemite, please realize that just because you are a climber, you are not special. Yosemite may have gained notoriety from the amazing climbs that have been done there, but it was made famous and sacred by the beauty, peace and tranquility that exists there and no where else in the world. You are but a passing memory to the Valley and while the rock may not remember you, your presence and actions will have an effect on everyone else who comes after you. Please don't screw it up for the rest of us.
-n
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vincent
Mar 24, 2004, 2:58 AM
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homie there are so many places to bivy in the valley. don't let the so called "campgrounds" dictate where you bed down at night. there are plenty of ledges that can be scrambled to, meadows to hide in, trails to wander off on. sounds like you're trying to get an authentic dirtbag experience. so go be a dirtbag a find yourself a cool cave. plant your car in the lodge parking lot and try to find a different spot everynight...or if luck is in your favor, meet one of the pleasent YCS lifers and snuggle up
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skiclimb
Mar 24, 2004, 6:06 AM
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I have a general rule about not paying an area to climb...I havn't paid to enter Yosemite for years...nor have i paid to stay at a site...I often stay in the pines (just grab a site after 10pm and if the rangers ask say you just drove in an didn't have any choice but sometimes at C4...There is a board full of peeps looking for partners at the kiosk in C4...to get a site in may is usually tough and you do need to be there early (before 8am like 7 am...you might luck out the first try.)
To get in the park I drive in at night or wait for somebody leaving the park just before and out of sight of the gate flag someone down and ask for their reciept..usually takes 15 to 30 minutes. (college student story helps). leave at night works fine to if you didn't get a receipt.
there are tons of places to bivy in the woods...I don't like the boulders behind C4. Just get up early before 8 am and you should never have any trouble with rangers.
Find a bear box to use somewhere...I've even asked curry people if I could share theirs...leaving food in your car is a great way to get your car trashed by bears...happened to a rental car we got one january...left food in car cause I'm from Alaska and didn't expect bear problems in january...so much for that idea..glad we paid for the insurance.
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rizzuh
Mar 24, 2004, 7:02 AM
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Registered: Sep 12, 2003
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king cobra and 2 buck chuck. Bring lots of this and you'll make lots of friends. Camp 4 is sooo chill... you have nothing to worry about. Only be way conservative (sandbag) on your abilities.
Maybe I'll see you around early June... Look for the campsite with the kegs.
rock on,
nic
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