Yosemite.... Tips?

[Tomscat]

We are planning a trip to Yosemite next April for our 25 th wedding anniversary. We will be staying 4 days at upper pine camp ground.
So... Has anyone been there? Pros... Cons... Hints?
We wondered if it's safe to leave our kitchen out at night? It has two tables, paper towels etc. We know at night we will not be able to leave pots and pans or spices out. What about our grill and camp chef oven?
Thanks,
Also post any pictures of you visits to Yosemite would be great.

[goin2drt]

Never stayed at that campground but no you will not be able to leave stuff out. Bears are abundant and from the recent fires I hear they are getting even more prevalent. Friends went camping this summer and bears were breaking into cars, breaking windows trying to get to food. They had to string there food up in the tree to keep in away.

[simplyrwc]

Been camping there for years, mostly up the road at the housekeeping camps. Between the raccoons and the bears you will want to store everything at night.

[Carla]

Spring break is our favorite time to camp Yosemite. We've had snow and sun both times. It is GLORIOUS!!! We stayed in North Pines.

Yes, everything needs to be put away. We left out our water jug, that has only ever held water, and it was demolished. Heard the bear come through and knock it off the side table attached to the trailer. Then heard him move on some box at the site just across from us. We were in a tent trailer at the time so we used the bear boxes not the trailer to store food. The bear boxes are large and easily accessible and low enough that we would pull a box out, put it on top of the bear box, get what we needed, then slide it right back into the bear box.

We hike and use the shuttle, but the girls' favorite is the day we rent bikes to tour the valley floor.

You have your reservations already, right? You can watch sites disappear from the reservation list as soon as the reservation window opens. Even for April dates.

Enjoy! And Congrats on your 25th.

[Carla]

April 2010 - Pics, same week... 12 inches of snow the first night, then SUN the remainder of the week.

[Tomscat]

Thanks Carla, we are very excited about the trip. We have reservations and for early April, there are still lots of open spaces. We are trying to plan ahead and only bring what we need. So If camp kitchen isn't going to be helpful we will not bring it. It's a pretty long trip and so we don't want any extra weight.

[Tomscat]

Love love love the pictures! Thanks

[Carla]

Grab the free guide offered by the park and join up with the ranger-led hikes. It is amazing how FEW people attend. We've done a historic tour of the Ahwahnee, a night hike, and if the road is open, Sunset up at Glacier point is an otherworldly experience....

[bikendan]

Carla, we had the same April Yosemite experience a few years ago!

we have almost the same pics. it was 73 degrees and sunny the first couple of days and then a cold storm blew during the night, dropping 3" of snow in the Valley.

as to what you can leave out, the bears are used to anything looking like a cooler, as possible food. even a water jug.

and don't leave anything outside, like grills, stoves, containers, that could have had food on/in it.

agree about even April getting booked up quickly.

[Tomscat]

Thanks everyone. We are going to have to pack different than normal.

[Tomscat]

Bikendan.... The couple who is going with us is from Napa also....

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Tomscat

Bikendan.... The couple who is going with us is from Napa also....

make sure you make them responsible for the wine!