Yosemite

[Mister Bushice]

I'm planning the 88 family summer vacation. It looks like it's going to be Yosemite. I would like to hike to the top of Half Dome via the cables in the middle of the week to avoid some of the weekend traffic. Has anyone done that? If so, have you got any advice? Is there anything else we shouldn't miss?

For the most part, I generally enjoy not seeing other people during my vacations. We did The Great Smoky Mountains last year, and it was hard not to step on anyone. I've heard that the Yosemite Valley is a fucking zoo in the summer. So we will probably try to visit other places in the area. Any ideas?

You heard correctly. Tough to find parking places at times. They have switched over to a shuttle service for a big chunk of the park, and have ceased all development of structures and parking to try and stop the masses from destroying the place.

The half dome hike in summer is a long one. It will take you all day, climbing up hill most of the time so you'd all better be in good shape, wouldn't recommend it for small kids. It's hot there in summer and it can be humid and again, forget about being alone, ain't gonna happen between june 1 and labor day. Also, the later in the summer you go, the less volume the waterfalls and streams will have. Still pretty good thru July, but not if you compared it to May.

I'll try and break out a couple of pics to show you. I drive thru there 3-4 times a year to cross over the mountains to mammoth and bishop. How are you getting there, where ya coming from, and how long you staying?

Best times to go there are late spring (the waterfalls are awesome beginning in early April), or early fall ( there's not so much water, but the fall colors are great and there are far fewer people during the week. I realize that's impractical for kids/school, but you will be more alone.

Also, the campgrounds are like fucking trailer parks, the euros and the japs are annoying on the road and off, and you'd best look to reserve accommodations NOW. There is one company that controls most if not all of the in park campgrounds/cabins, and hotels. If U stay out side the park, closest affordable hotel like places are 45 min to an hour on the cali side.

[Dinsdale]

Fuck Yosemite.


Rumor has it that the waterfalls dry up for part of the year.

[RadioFan]

I was there in March of '92. I was a groomsman in a buddy of mine's marriage at the Ahwahnee Hotel. Nice place. (you could have dinner there one night, I believe, though it's kinda pricey, even for Calif.)

For his bachelor "party," he decided it would be cool for us dudes to cross-country ski from the Badger Pass ski area to the Ostrander Lake ski hut, over three days. (Two to get there, one to get back) Here's what it looked like in March, more or less.

In winter, when the Glacier Point Road is closed at Badger Pass Ski area, the trail to Ostrander Ski Hut is an arduous ten miles one way, and should be attempted only by intermediate level and above skiers and experienced snowshoers in excellent physical condition. The trip is not for novices.

Yep. It was very beautiful, but a brutal trip, even at age 27. I am a fairly proficient downhill-skier, but had never cross-country skied before, and each of us had a shitload of gear in our backpacks slowing us down. We spent the better part of three days in the snow without touching the ground -- weird -- including the first night in which we camped out and slept on the snow.

The thing about Yosemite is you either have to drive everywhere to see the cool shit -- big trees, waterfalls, lakes, etc. -- or you can spend a couple of days and do fairly strenuous hikes and camping.

The scenery is awesome, but I wouldn't recommend it for kids, especially in the summer with throngs of other people there.

I've been there once. That was enough for me, even in the off-season.

[Dinsdale]

have to drive everywhere to see the cool shit -- big trees, waterfalls, lakes, etc.

All that's within walking distance of my house.


It must really suck to live other places.

[RadioFan]

My bad, Dins.

88, fuck this trip to Yosemite. Book a trip to a motel in the greater Portland area. You and your family will be much happier.

[Mister Bushice]

We haven't chosen the date when we will travel or how long we will stay. The kids get out of school in early June, so we could basically cruise out there anytime between June 10 and August 30. I figure we will probably stay out there 8-10 days.

I plan to fly into Oakland using Skybus, which is a budget airline based in Columbus. Round trip airfare (non-stop) from Columbus to Oakland is about $220 per.

We are leaning toward June, because we hear the water levels drop and the tourist levels increase in July and August. But a lot will probably hinge on the availability of accommodations.

In June the water is still decent. some of the smaller streams are dry. You will hit crowds, but not like July. Weather won't be as hot either.

Seriously I'd look to reserve now. Hotels in and around the park are pricey. Camping not so bad. They do have tent cabins and regular cabins, but they get booked early.

Drive time from Oakland is about 3 hours.

You can PM me if you have any other questions, or perhaps "I once worked as a travelagentsdale" can tell you everything there is to know about cencal*

If you are into more physical stuff, there are a half dozen or so caves along the foothills of gold country (fairly close to Yosemite) where you can actually rappel down 150 feet or more into underground caverns, with tour guides. Very family friendly places. A couple of them I know of also have a walking tour if you don't want to rope it down. They have sets of roped stairs cut into the rock going down. Can be rather touristy, but not so bad during weekdays and really a unique thing.



* he doesn't know shit about so cal

[RadioFan]

88, not saying you should stay there, just that I think you could have dinner there, as there is at least one restaurant and a bar at the Ahwahnee ... at least there was in '92. (and the beer was reasonable)

[Dinsdale]

Book a trip to a motel in the greater Portland area. You and your family will be much happier.

Nah. We tend to make fun of slack-jawed Midwestern yokels, which surely 88's kids wouldn't dig.


But frankly, anywhere you go in the Sierra or Cascades is going to be breathtaking. At least all of the parts of them that I've been to have been....

Except a waterfall that dries up in summer isn't a "waterfall"... it's a "drainage ditch that just happens to fall off a cliff." Sin,
Dude Who Lives Near the Highest Concentration of Waterfalls on Earth, Or So They Tell Me

[Mister Bushice]

One other thing. There are campgrounds outside the park along the river. I know of an awesome one about 20 mins west, but it is a first come/ no reservations place. However, you can camp right along the riverbank in a bunch of places, fish, and swim. They even allow small water craft and the camping prices are reasonable. In park is much higher.

I have a bunch of pics on my home PC. I'll see if I can scare em up when I get back.

RF,

There is also a yosemite village, not as expensive as the ahwahnee, but it has a restaurant that is more affordable. There isn't much development on the upper meadow, a small town or two perhaps but most of it is a park preserve, and the speed limits are lowered to protect the bears.

Lots of good hiking up there, though.

88, Fish camp is on the southern end of the park, about a one hour drive from the valley floor, depending on what you get stuck behind on that one lane each way, difficult to pass because slow assholes NEVER use the turnouts road.

Tenaya lodge is a newer place built in the last 15 years I think, technically it's outside the actual park near the "fresno" gate. Nice looking place, never stayed there, but from there you're only 40 minutes from glacier point, which is a real trip. You can look down this sheer cliff to the valley floor over 3000 feet below, and you can see all of the major waterfalls and points of interest in the park from there. Very worthwhile stop. There are hiking trails that lead from here too, although most of the major hikes are on the other side of the valley there is a trail that leads down to the valley.

The trippiest part is the geological info, where it says "right now you are standing on a spot that was buried under 700 feet of ice during the glacier period"

Then you walk over and look down at this gigantic drop to the valley. Hard to fathom how powerful nature can be.

edit:

Heres a link to the caves. You can back track to the main list via links, this is one of the two I've been to. I've also been to California cavern, but this one is the rapeling one. CA cavern offers longer hikes and more to see. Can't speak for the others, plan to go some time soon, though.

http://www.caverntours.com/MoCavRt.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Dinsdale]

And Portland is a great place.

Today... not so much. Friggin cold. First cold clear snap of the winter, and I'm more than ready for it to fuck off and let it start raining again.

Humans aren't made to be in below-freezing temps. Couple of hours in the morning? Fine. Most of the day, with nasty east winds blowing... fuck that.

Dins is right.

No shit, Sherlock.

My best friend lives in Vancouver, WA. We get out that way periodically.

Your best friend is a meth addict? That sucks, bro. But the next time you talk to him, tell him I might be in the market for one of those brand-new mountain bikes they sell on every street corner. It is the #1 cash crop of Spuncouver, you know.


But I suppose if you're from Ohio, the complete freaking shithole known as Vancouver probably seems nice. All the crime of a big city, without all that pesky culture and stuff.


And tornadoes... don't forget the tornadoes.

[Y2K]

I know everything about Yosemite Mr. 88! Send me a PM about what your planning here in Cen Cal and I'll answer all query's from the family as best I can. Gold Country, Sequoia's, Central Coast, whatever...feel free to "fire away" my good interweb fliend.

BTW- Half dome is an absolutely fucking brutal 1 day adventure and you would be taking a gamble on making it back to tha valley, 2 day is perfect, They have an awesome camp at the back of the dome next to the cables.

Ask away.
Excellent choice for a vacation spot. It will be worth every dime.

[RadioFan]

RF,

There is also a yosemite village, not as expensive as the ahwahnee, but it has a restaurant that is more affordable. There isn't much development on the upper meadow, a small town or two perhaps but most of it is a park preserve, and the speed limits are lowered to protect the bears.

Lots of good hiking up there, though.

[Dins] Holy shit! What's next, you'll tell me they serve french fries and have a TV there? You get what you pay for and since it's California ... well anything you pay for pretty much sucks.

Btw, don't even get me started on bears. U&L bears are impervious to this "vehicle" bullshit. Go 120 mph. It's STATE LAW, motherfucker. [/Dins]

Actually, I have spent time in the "village." It sucked, at least in '92.

[Mister Bushice]

Sequoia's,

Oh hell yeah I forgot. Ya gotta include a visit to the giant redwoods. Awesome place, about 2 plus hours south of fish camp.

Rf,

Yosemite village still does suck, but it sucks at a much cheaper rate than the ahwanee.

[Dinsdale]

Geez -- why do you mischaracterize my posts?

It's the U&L -- any bears that were/are dumb enough to get too close to a road or other civilization.... DEAD.


Like snow, bears belong in the remote mountains. Like snow, there's shitloads of them there, and little around here... the way it's supposed to be.

[Mister Bushice]

You dumb shit, it IS in the remote mountains. It's not a major freeway, it's a modified mining road with one lane each way, lots of narrow winding curves and steep inclines. The meadow area is well over 8k up to 13k plus feet at the peaks, it's closed to vehicle traffic between mid November and spring, and there are fucking glaciers within a two day walk of the main road.

You really should limit your bullshitspeak to topics where you appear to know something. Whether you actually do or not is debatable, but consider googling some yosemite info before you spew about it.

I think your retarded doppelganger dinstale might be the brains of the outfit.

[Y2K]

You do not stay at a hotel in Yosemite, You camp......

You camp at Yosemite and make sure you have time to go to the Awahanee hotel and drink beer on the outside patio.
88 is a big money guy so maybe he might shell out the mid-summer cash but the guy is talking Half Dome and such. If 88 is looking for a nice room I would suggest a cabin or lakeside suite at The Pines Resort in Bass Lake.

[XXXL]

The view going to the valley floor will make the effort a winner...

[Dinsdale]

You dumb shit, it IS in the remote mountains. It's not a major freeway, it's a modified mining road with one lane each way, lots of narrow winding curves and steep inclines.

Silly me -- I forgot it was california. You people actually need for somebody to tell you to slow down on a "modified mining road with one lane each way, lots of narrow winding curves and steep inclines."


Round these parts, we don't do that out of some miguided sense of moral indebtedness to bears... we do it because of common freaking sense.


And frankly, we've seen how you people do on our remote mountain roads. Darwin doesn't seem to like you guys very much.

[PSUFAN]

This is truly breathtaking. When I post my "vacation on a Jersey beach" thread, I can look forward to some wicked advice and nudges towards the kewlness.

[Uncle Fester]

Dins:

What the name of that place on the Oregon Coast -- from the road looking down, it looks like a giant vagina?

The waves come crashing in, careening off the cliffs back and forth before slamming into a hollowed out cave. It was cool as hell. I hiked way out but got spooked by all the tidal pools, thinking that the rock I was standing on at some point was under water.

Watching the waves crash through that valley was awe inspiring. I'd like to go back some day.

[Mister Bushice]

Dins:

What the name of that place on the Oregon Coast -- from the road looking down, it looks like a giant vagina?

It was probably just dinsdale lying passed out drunk asleep on the beach with his mouth open.

[Wolfman]

88---definitely pencil in Northern Cascades on your life's agenda. I worked there for
the USFS on a surveying crew in '59-=-- God's Country ! I'm betting you would not have to
contend with crowds up there. I look forward to an 88 Yosemite PET.

[OCmike]

Dins, this is a thread about Yosemite. To this point your only contribution is a rather Bill and Ted-esque "Yosemite blows, Portland rules!" So you've contributed nothing, yet have still posted in this thread, what, seven times? Jesus, just go away already.

[PSUFAN]

I apologize for my lack of sophistication...but what the fuck is a PET?

[smackaholic]

It's an animal that lives with you. Usually a cat or dog.

Or it could be a photo essay thread.

[Goober McTuber]

Except a waterfall that dries up in summer isn't a "waterfall"... it's a "drainage ditch that just happens to fall off a cliff." Sin,
Dude Who Lives Near the Highest Concentration of Waterfalls on Earth, Or So They Tell Me

I’m surprised more of the horses don’t drown.

[WolverineSteve]

Except a waterfall that dries up in summer isn't a "waterfall"... it's a "drainage ditch that just happens to fall off a cliff." Sin,
Dude Who Lives Near the Highest Concentration of Waterfalls on Earth, Or So They Tell Me

I’m surprised more of the horses don’t drown.

Round those parts they breed the highest concentration of water polo ponies anywhere...or so I'm told.

[Diego in Seattle]

Stay at Cedar Lodge just outside El Portal. They've got a staff I'd recommend to anyone here.

[Kierland]

I've hiked 1/2 dome a half dozen times mostly as day hikes. (Doing it in April as a matter of fact, maybe I'll remember to bump this with some 'trail conditions' for ya) Not your usual 14-18miles, but I have seen some pretty young kids (5-7?) out on the trail. Not sure I would bring one younger than 10ish to the top.

[PSUFAN]

Or it could be a photo essay thread.

Ah, yeah...I'm a big velo fan too.