If we do Kings Canyon, that would be June or even July. It's a ghost town most of the year.

Regarding Yosemite, keep in mind that MANY people would not be able to even handle the Mist Trail. It's a strenuous hike (6 miles and 1000 ft elevation gain) and INCREDIBLY slippery - especially when the water is flowing. You also get soaking wet which is not comfortable in April. I've done it several times and I don't know if I could do the entire hike at this point in my life.

Sentinel Dome is also a difficult 6 miles that, again, not all people would be able to do (not to mention that the starting elevation is 7200 feet). Besides the fact that the Glacier Point road MAY still be closed in April. (I believe they opened early last year.)

Early June in Yosemite sounds great to me.

Or, we could do the Joshua Tree thing in March this year, and save Yosemite for next year...

I suggest lots of vacations in the Netherlands

Joshua Tree's not really a camping thing. (But, ask the mousepod clan, it would be a great thing to rent a house for the weekend and explore. I love Joshua Tree. It's nearby and I intend to go more than once this coming Spring.)


And of course, not everyone would be amenable to every hike in Yosemite. The Fissures/Sentinal Dome hike is a mild hike ... yeah, until the final push up Sentinal Dome ... but I've seen folks of every age, stamina, and build do that hike ... and love it.

The Mist Trail, ditto. Not flat ground, but hardly a mountain climb. Ok, not for everyone. So???


But yeah, the Glacier Point Road closed, the Mist Trail still closed. Yosemite in April is less than ideal (not that I didn't enjoy it ... ask zapppop how i thrilled to finally seeing the dozens of tiny waterfalls that only flow in early Spring. There was nowhere you could go in the entire Valley that did not have at least one waterfall in view. It was like being in Rivendell.)


That said, the big impressive falls, five - count'em - five of 'em - are flowing in June, and I feel the supreme majesty of the Mist Trail and the Sentinel Dome Trail should be available if and when we go ... and that newbies especially should behold these wonders with their own eyes.

June works, that's about when we went camping last year.

Lightweight.

So there isn't any camping out here where the cars are just a bit away, calling for the smallest of hikes. As much as I love cars, they do seem to encroach on that "one with nature" feel when they are 6 feet from your tent.

not when my tent actually sets up in the back of my truck. Im betting they would frown of me driving my tent into the communal area for the night. :P

I agree, but I've never seen a National park with such camping.

National Forests, yes.


It's not that I would be against camping in a National Forest, just that the National Parks have the spectacular stuff that I'm drawn to see for the trouble of camping.

I want both elements. I love our camp life, and would enjoy it if we did it in some nameless forest in the middle of nowhere with nothing around. But I also love the excursions to some of nature's most splended offerings.

I'm sure many of those can be found in National Forests ... but ever since I found out some of our pals who live in California haven't been to freaking YOSEMITE ... I've had a keen yen to remedy that pronto.


Maybe we can invest in a bunch of camoflauge nets and drape them over all the vehicles!!

There are a couple "walk in" campgrounds on the valley floor but they are still pretty much in the thick of things. The most prominent is Camp 4, but while the cars may be farther away the campers are dense enough that you won't be any more likely to feel particularly natural.

On the other hand, it is the primary campground for the mountain climbers so the people watching is pretty nice with very toned bodies and people scurrying around in place people shouldn't be.

Um, ok, I (and undoubtedly others) totally spaced on the January 15th Call-In.


Anyone want to try for the February 15th Call-In??? It would be our one and only shot for Yosemite Valley Campsites this Spring.


Or do we want to take the less hassle (now) route and more hassle (later) route, and simply try for sites outside the Valley?


Is anyone still interested in a 2008 Swank Camp? June 2008. Glorious Yosemite (as seen in Soariin' Over California!)