Yosemite Np In Winter Without Rangers

A recap of our winter camping adventure.
Miles: 1,870
Nights: 8
People in camper: 4

We started our adventure by driving from Tucson to Anaheim Harbor RV Park (picking up our kids from their Disneyland trip with their dad). This was a decent RV Park, with hookups, clean, free showers (with soap included) and nice bathrooms, a laundry facility, friendly staff, and convenient access to coastal Orange County, CA sites. The park is walking distance to Disneyland, and has a fantastic front-row view of the Disney fireworks without having to stand in the crowds. My one complaint about this park was that it was mostly a parking lot for RVs, so there was no easy way for us to set up our screen tent and it wasn't really set up to be a place you want to hang out.

We spent the day wandering through the junk/antique shops at Old Towne in Orange. We were happy to discover that the area has seen quite a bit of growth since we moved away, and there were a lot of very nice restaurants to choose from in addition to our favorite shops.

Although it was cold for Anaheim at night, with four of us in the camper, we did not need to turn on the furnace. Condensation was confined to the windows and easily wiped down in the morning.

The next morning, we left Orange County and drove up I-41 to Upper Pines Campground in Yosemite National Park with a full battery and a full tank of propane. This drive has to be one of the ugliest and smelliest drives in California, taking us through Cow-pocolypse, but the roads were clear and the traffic was not bad. When we reached Oakhurst, there was some issue with one of our camper's brake lights, but it seemed to resolve itself and we haven't had any problems since.

Despite the government shutdown, campground reservations at Upper Pines were being honored. When we arrived, there were no rangers on duty, and we drove right through the entrance points of the park and campground. Our reservation was posted on a white board at the campground ranger kiosk. We arrived after dark at 4:30 p.m., and had to fumble around a bit to get the camper into the tight campsite. The backup flood light was definitely a worthy addition to the camper (we purchased the kit to install ourselves; it was pretty straight forward, but I ended up spending some extra money getting our 7-pin connection fixed on our car since the center backup light connection was not installed).

The sites at Upper Pines are small and not level, and we were not able to reserve one of the sites that fits a larger RV, so we did not have room to set up our screen house tent over the galley. We discovered that we forgot to bring our little level, so we slept at a jaunty angle. Won't make that mistake again. My dad also joined us, sleeping in a bed he set up in his Prius. We squeezed the camper, a Prius and an Outback into our little campsite.

The temperatures hovered around 26 Fahrenheit (colder at night), with two days where the high was 42 mid-day, but we didn't get any snow, much to the disappointment of the kids. Snow would have at least made the bitter cold worthwhile, but also would have made the hiking and driving more difficult, so all in all, I think it was preferable (if less photogenic).

Our 11-year-old son slept on the top bunk, and our 14-year-old daughter slept on the bottom bunk. We set up our mattress as follows: froli star system, Camp-Inn mattress, 2-inch memory foam topper stolen from our queen-sized bed at home (FYI - we did not need to modify our mattress topper to fit the Camp-Inn mattress), waterproof mattress pad/cover, fleece sheets, twin-sized poly-fill comforter, and double-layer of REI 35-degree rated sleeping bags. For the kids' bunks, we wrapped the Camp-Inn mattresses with twin-sized flannel fitted sheets, tucked the top flannel sheet over, then had fleece blankets, and their sleeping bags over that. At Yosemite, both kids found that there was still too much cold air underneath, and they ended up sleeping inside the bags, putting the flannel sheet underneath them, and the fleece blankets inside on top of them to add warmth. But we were very comfortable with our bed set up.

Before we left, we swapped out the little propane tank with a bbq-sized tank, and we were glad to have the extra fuel for the furnace once we were in Yosemite. We ran the furnace for about half an hour as we got into the camper at night. We also brought a propane firepit and the small CI propane tank so that we would not need to worry about wet firewood. One thing I did not anticipate: as we used the propane from the tank, the tank started to freeze. By our last night, we were giving the tank a little shake every few minutes to get a flame going (until we finally gave up and went inside to read before bed).

On the first morning, we made breakfast and cleaned up using buckets (we used cold water combined with heated kettle water to wash). Because the rangers and campground staff were not around, trash was accumulating, and the bears were emboldened, so we decided to stick to eating in the cafeterias at the lodges. Yosemite Valley Lodge's cafeteria is significantly better than the lodge cafeteria at Half Dome Village. The restaurants at the lodges are very expensive, so we stuck to the cafeterias. If it had only been two of us, we might have splurged for a little better meal, but a $300 mediocre meal for 5 people didn't make much sense to us.

We saw rangers twice during our trip (they worked for about 2 hours a day to make sure campers were checked in and there were no major problems in the campground). Before the government shutdown, the rangers had been working on replacing all of the bear boxes in the campgrounds and picnic areas, and the bears have been trying out each bear box to see if they can get access. Well, the 560 Ultra, with its flat roof and small size looks to bears like it might possibly be a new container.... One night, around 2 a.m., I awoke to the dogs in the campground howling, then the coyotes started to yip, and about 5 minutes later, my window went completely dark, and I felt and heard a WOMP. I turned on our red lights and woke Tony, and we scrambled to make sure our doors were locked from the inside. In the morning, we found a clear bear paw print on top of our camper. Midday the day before, our campground neighbor had taken a video of a bear wandering into and around the Curry Village tent cabins before it crossed the street to Upper Pines, so it was probably the same bear. We're thinking of naming the camper, "Bear Paw."

As for Yosemite itself, we were able to see and do quite a bit (Bride Veil Falls was particularly gorgeous and visible thanks to the ice), but we did run into some of those unfortunate stories you have probably been reading about. I picked up quite a bit of trash from inconsiderate people who were dropping it willy-nilly along the trails (and this was in areas where the trash cans were not full). People had their dogs on trails that were prohibited and left dog poop everywhere, attracting and disturbing wild animals. And we saw plenty of people climbing around forbidden and dangerous areas. We were sad that we could not participate in the ranger-led hikes, and there were no evening ranger programs at the campgrounds and lodges. The kids missed their opportunity to earn their junior ranger badges, which is unfortunate, as well. Plenty of the visitors we saw could have used the message about how to be good stewards of our National Parks.

The Mariposa forest fire devastated a significant portion of Yosemite itself, which had fire damage well past the Tenaya Lodge and Wawona areas and close to Yosemite Valley Lodge.

That said, Yosemite cannot help but be beautiful. My heart ached for the rangers we did get to speak to, who were clearly anxious to get back to work to protect the park land, wildlife, and visitors they plainly love to serve.

Oh, and sadly: we decided to head to Yosemite in hopes of a White New Year, but instead the weather was simply bitterly cold with no snow, while at home in Tucson, we missed a rare and beautiful snowy desert. C'est la vie.

On our way home, we stopped in Los Angeles, and stayed at the Hollywood RV Park in Van Nuys for two nights. This park was not our first choice; we had originally intended to stay at the Leo Carrillo State Park campground in Malibu, with a spot overlooking the bluff, but Leo Carrillo was a victim of the forest fires. Hollywood RV Park is a nice park with mixed use (quite a few permanent/monthly renters mixed in with short-term visitors). The park has excellent, clean showers and bathrooms, a laundry, vending machines with a variety of quality snacks, and free espresso in the office. The location is pretty good, too. About 20 minutes from Hollywood (40 in traffic). We were finally able to set up our screen tent here, and they loaned us a level. It wasn't the beach view I had planned on, but it was a lovely park with nice people, and a good place to stop at when we want to go to LA. This park accepts Good Sam and AAA, and we'll definitely head there again when we go to LA.

End result: Kids love camping, but didn't like winter camping because it was too cold to enjoy the campground. Also: my son is going to very soon be too tall for the bunk beds (daughter, much to her chagrin, is never going to outgrow the bottom bunk because she's a permanent shorty). Since our camper has a roof rack, I am thinking about adding a rooftop tent where they could stretch out easier without needing additional campground real estate to pitch a second tent. Son is worried about the ladder, and the bear didn't help me convince him to sleep in a tent on top of the camper.

 

Great report and photos. So sorry about the federal shutdown. Irresponsible.

Can’t understand why people don’t pack out their own garbage.

Because of improved practices in Yosemite, the bear population is a lot safer than it used to be. Fewer bears in the garbage and fewer bears killed by speeding cars. Am sure you are right that the bears are encouraged by all the extra trash around. These bears will now likely become problematic animals. That isn’t likely to be good for them.

It’s snowy in Yosemite now!!

 

[It’s snowy in Yosemite now!![/QUOTE] It snowed the day after we left. I am actually quite worried about the bears. It's not their fault that they behave like wild animals and seek out food. It's our fault that Yosemite bears don't hibernate in the winter. According to the wildlife ranger who was called out to our campsite (wildlife encounters are considered emergencies, even if there was no harm done), the bear who checked out our camper was most likely young based on the size of the paw print and probably just curious because the camper doesn't look like a normal camper; the bears have been trying out every new bear box that has been installed. Probably thought he might as well check out the silver box while he was at it.

 

I'm curious why he's worried about the ladder? Usually kids love climbing. I'm thinking that you might have to spend a couple of nights up there till he feels safe from bears. There are a number of channels on youtube from the overlanding community where the rooftop tent seems to be the preferred mode of sleeping. Check out Primal Outdoors or Lifestyle Overland. They seem pretty happy with this solution. It might also help to have some bear spray in terms of feeling that at least you have "something" to use should the need arise. Let us know how it goes!

 

He worries about the ladder because he is sometimes a sleepwalker and falls out of bed at night. We had to use the railing for the top bunk in the camper after he fell off (and landed on my head) one night on this trip. He is worried that he will hurt himself falling down the ladder in the middle of the night. After our bear encounter, I would prefer that the kids are higher up off the ground than in a ground tent.

Bear spray is a good idea. The wildlife ranger we spoke with also recommended using our hiking whistle, turning on lights, and yelling "BEAR!" She said that in an organized campground that is often enough to scare off the bears.

 

Looks like it was still a great trip! I don't think I will share this one with my wife though. She didn't really care for the momma grizzly that strolled through our camp one night this summer in Yellowstone. I've encountered black bears in Yosemite many times and don't really bother me, but big brown beers are a different story.

Happy trails!

 

If you find yourself without a level again in the future, the camper doors do a pretty good job of telling whether or not you are level. Just open them up, and adjust the leveling jacks until the doors stay in what ever position you put them. This an Official Camp-Inn tip that I am merely passing along, and it works quite well.

 

I'll try that with the doors.

I just use a can of whatever is handy in the TD, such as spray olive oil. If it rolls, it ain't level.

 

Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for sharing and especially for posting the photos. I love seeing photos from folks' travels.

 

We camp in Alaska, have had multiple bear encounters, and this reasoning is exactly why our kids sleep in a rooftop tent above our 560.