March 15, 2011: Today was the first day to make a campground reservation in Yosemite National Park. The sites were available at 0700 at http://www.recreation.gov/. We are planning to be in Yosemite on July 19th-22nd when I will depart for the JMT. We orginally wanted to climb Half Dome on the 20th, but after hearing that all the permits were sold out in minutes for climbing in June, we are opting for the permit free Clouds Rest hike out of Tenaya Lake. Just sounds more peaceful.
So, there I was at 0655, all ready to go and logged onto recreation.gov. I started trying to book anything on the valley floor (Upper, Lower and North Pine Campgrounds) the second it striked 0700. To my surprise, everything was sold out at 0700. How could this be possible??? Quick thinking, I went to the back-up plan. I was able to reserve a campsite at Tuolomne Meadows for the 19th and 20th. I am able to stay at the backpackers campground on the 21st across the footbridge at North Pines Campground. So, we are all covered, but just barely. What a nightmare this permit/reservation process has been. I feel fortunate to have obtained my JMT and campground permits. I feel for all the deserving people that have inevitably been left out in the cold.
Updated plan is to drop off truck at Whitney Portal on July 19th. Drive up to Tuolomne Meadows to camp the 19th and 20th. Climb Clouds Rest from Tenaya Lake on the 20th. Break camp and move to the backpackers camp on the valley floor on the 21st and off on the JMT the 22nd.
Coming soon: Trip Itinerary.............................
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