Camping in Lower Pines

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Ok, so this is a "first" blog... something I don't really do as I prefer my Livejournal. But in the interests of trying to get organized I have decided that I would rather have a separate space for my travel comments, review of resturants, etc.

Anyway, I recently went camping in Yosemite National Park in California. It wasn't my first time camping there, however it was the first at the Lower Pines site in Yosemite Valley. I have to say that I really enjoyed the spot, it had a good view of Half Dome and the surrounding area, was close to Curry Village, and IMO was not too crowded. However, if you want a lot of space for your campsite, this is probably not the campground for you. I felt as if it was far enough away that the surrounding campsites were not intrusive, yet the distance between fire pits probably averaged only about 20-30 feet. Additionally as you might expect there were not many trees for privacy screening. Nevertheless if you are camping with someone who is not very active or children, Lower Pines is probably a good bet. The weather at that elevation was also perfect for camping... not too hot, even during the day, but not freezing cold at night either. The campfire was a perfect place to warm up.

So the first day the other campers I was with decided to climb Half Dome, which I declined as I'm moderately afraid of heights (at least I won't get up there unless there is a much more powerful motivating factor than good views). They started late around 10am, but that worked for me since check-in at Lower Pines starts at 10 in the morning. It was really convenient then to just drive over to the campsite and get settled. For those who have not heard (or camped) before, bears are a significant problem in Yosemite Valley. As frequently stated Yosemite both gains and suffers from its popularity, and one of the problems is bears who have becomed accustomed to people food due to carelessness among the many campers who visit the park. It is IMPERATIVE that you properly store food and other scented items (I know, now I sound like a Park Ranger). So as I was not hiking Half Dome I got elected to unload the car, not a problem in my view since I was planning on going to the Yosemite Village to get a fishing license. As I was unpacking, this REALLY attractive woman from the next campsite over came to ask if I wanted their extra Duraflame logs... I have to say, I would have taken anything she was offering. 😉, bonus was the fact that she had something useful, lol. After politely thanking her for the extra fuel (and wishing she was alone, or at least without a bunch of guys so that I could get a little friendly), I finished stocking up the bear box and headed out to catch the shuttle for the Yosemite Village shops and my license.

The Park actually has a free shuttle that runs from about 7am-10pm everyday I believe, and the pick-up times range from about 10-15 minutes. The Shuttle will go to all the "major" points, i.e. Curry and Yosemite Villages, Housekeeping camp, the trailheads for Mirror Lake and Half Dome, and the various campgrounds. The Shuttle travels on a pre-determined loop that is easy to figure out and prominently posted at each stop. Yosemite Valley roads are well maintained and occasionally you can even see deer and other animals wandering across the paths of the buses.

After I got to the Village, I found (of course) food that was very over-priced, although the store was well stocked, and a California fishing license. Two-day licenses are $16.50 and year long ones are $38. Since I didn't feel like spending $40 right away, I opted for the two day pass. FYI licenses need to be prominently displayed on the upper portion of the fisher within "plainview" of any passing rangers. So either get yourself a plastic holder or use a pin. The guy that sold me the pass didn't bother to tell me about the rule or I would have gotten the holder too-- good thing that I read the small print and I ended up pinning the license to my t-shirt.



(added 22 September 2005)
Wow, I meant to get right back to the entry but clearly I've been procrastinating.

Anyway, after I got the license I headed back to my campsite, picked up the rod and decided to go down towards Merced River- despite the fact that the clerk had told me the best fishing would probably be found over by Tuolumne Meadows. Since I was staying at Lower Pines the drive would have been roughly an hour and a half (if not longer due to traffic within the Park)… I’m not THAT much of a fisher. Besides I hadn’t really expected to catch anything (no knife, or real bait to speak of), I just felt like kicking back and relaxing near the water rather than make my “vacation” too much work. So I get about a mile down the Merced and it really starts to thin out. I thought I was following a trail until it suddenly ended, since the opposite bank looked like there might be a trail behind it I decided to try and find a shallow part and cross over.

My mistake.

The water along the Merced is shallow in quite a few places, especially since it is late September. But don’t be fooled, there are still plenty of deep spots, and if you aren’t careful the water (which still runs pretty fast in the deep parts) can sweep you right off your feet. Which is exactly what happened to me. I stepped on a rock that I thought was stable and felt it shift too late to correct my balance. I fell into the (really C-O-L-D) Merced up to my knees. Since I hadn’t brought dry socks or shorts that pretty much did it for my fishing expedition. I carefully crossed the rest of the way and had my “lunch” of an Odwalla and some Propel while waiting for my socks and boot liners to dry and then headed back up to the campsite.

After I got back to the site, grabbed a nap and started to get stuff sorted and organized for dinner. That was pretty much it for my camping trip this time, except for one spot of excitement when the Park Ranger who was driving by saw our “fire” from the road and actually came over to ask if we were burning cardboard or something. Apparently the fire that I had built was about 3 times the size of everyone else’s…. Oops! ;~).

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