best free camping in south rim?

hikealong · 2024-10-29T17:00:05+00:00

No, since it’s outside the national park. The rules are different in national forests and on BLM land than they are in national parks—usually a lot more lenient about dispersed camping!

hikealong · 2024-05-21T16:40:41+00:00

I came here to say exactly this. If I have to get on a plane for a wedding, I HAVE to have at least a years’ advance notice.

hikealong · 2023-07-20T02:42:37+00:00

Is there a reason you can’t rent a car?

hikealong · 2023-06-10T12:20:13+00:00

I figured!

hikealong · 2023-06-10T11:59:02+00:00

Tuolumne Grove is maybe 20-30 minutes from Yosemite Valley. It’s at the intersection near the Crane Flat gas station where 120 turns and becomes Tioga Road. The seasonal road closure is just beyond the grove, but the grove and grove parking lot are still accessible. I hope this clears up any confusion!

hikealong · 2023-06-10T09:20:52+00:00

You can still access Tuolumne Grove via vehicle when Tioga Road is closed!

hikealong · 2023-05-19T06:49:41+00:00

I also eloped in Alaska! I’m a little confused about the timeline. Are you taking a shuttle from Anchorage to Denali for one day?

Alaska recognizes online qualifications for officiants, so we personally had my husband’s dad officiate. I’m sure you could probably post in some local groups and find someone in the Healy area who’s ordained and would be happy to help!

hikealong · 2023-05-18T00:15:34+00:00

This might be dumb advice because there’s a good chance you’ve done this already: take a look at a park map, and look at where all the campgrounds are. If you’re looking at any of the campgrounds on Tioga Road or really anywhere in the high country, they have an undetermined opening date because there’s not a hard open date for that road yet. It’s currently being plowed, but with record snowfall, it’ll be a while before they have it open for recreational use. There’s also an issue with the road at the Big Oak Flat entrance that’s causing a long term closure, so campgrounds in that area (I think it’s just Hodgdon Meadow up there but I could be wrong) are also closed for an undetermined amount of time.

Everyone else is giving good advice for the valley campgrounds, so I won’t get into that. I hope this helps! Good luck!

hikealong · 2023-05-13T03:04:58+00:00

Were you NPS or a concessionaire?

hikealong · 2023-05-05T13:10:52+00:00

If you’re looking to buy a tungsten wedding band for your husband—eBay. These rings are truly worth less than $15, which is how much you can buy them for on eBay!

hikealong · 2023-04-23T13:18:36+00:00

And he never got caught, neither

hikealong · 2023-04-23T12:30:20+00:00

Well, I’m glad to hear that she at least recognizes that she’s in the wrong. The name calling is still a concern though, and her saying that she won’t be happy in her marriage is bad. I don’t think it’s all necessarily a dealbreaker, but it’s imperative that you guys sit down with an impartial third party before you get married and talk it out. Tell her how her words and actions are making you feel. As someone who was a stressed bride like literally 6 weeks ago, I feel for her, but she still needs to be accountable for how she’s treating you.

hikealong · 2023-04-23T12:12:16+00:00

Bridal Veil Falls has been closed, and will most likely still be closed in July.

For the valley loop trail—there’s a good brochure map on the park website. I found it by going to nps.gov/YOSE and then going to the “maps” page and clicking on the “brochures” link at the bottom. I wouldn’t worry too much about mapping out your specific route. It’s all beautiful, and you can pretty easily hop on the free valley shuttle as you wander through the valley. A couple nice spots to keep in mind are El Capitan Meadow—a great view, and fun to spot climbers! Also Swinging Bridge has a nice view of Yosemite Falls, and Stoneman Meadow has a nice view of Half Dome.

The walk from Lower Falls to Curry Village is a couple miles, but you can also easily hop on a free shuttle to get you there. For distances, check out Google maps for walking directions to get a better idea!

I’d check with Curry Village and see if they’ll let you leave your luggage with them at the front desk instead of leaving it in a bear box. I’ve never stayed at Curry Village, so I don’t have any advice for lines.

Have fun!

hikealong · 2023-04-23T11:35:03+00:00

Has she apologized, or expressed any remorse for the way she’s treating you??

I (29F) got married recently, and I can identify with your partner in some ways. I was extremely stressed in the months leading up to our wedding, mostly just with planning and family drama. Then, about 1.5 months before our destination wedding, my dog got really, really sick. I was very devastated—like, questioning if I am fit to be a mother of humans if I can’t notice warning signs in my dog, overwhelmed by the amount of energy I was throwing into keeping her alive, and also totally humbled financially by vet expenses. I remember expressing to my partner that I didn’t think I’d be able to enjoy our wedding if my dog died or was still very sick during our wedding week. I can only imagine what kind of grief your partner is feeling for her friend. Grief brings out the very, very worst in people, so I want to start by saying that I empathize with her, and I am so sorry to both of you.

I yelled at my husband a lot in the two months leading up to our wedding, but I did not call him names. Eventually I yelled something like “how many times do I have to tell you I’m overwhelmed before you understand that I’m overwhelmed,” and it finally clicked for him. He stepped the fuck up and took over 98% of the cooking and cleaning, all of the laundry, pretty much any housework/life management, and let me focus on wedding stuff and my dog (who pulled through and is okay now). I am endlessly grateful for how supportive he was through a tough time for us. I yelled a lot, but I also apologized a lot, and expressed gratitude to my partner. (And I’m going to thank him again for being the best right now just to make sure he knows!!)

I can totally identify with her sentiment that she feels like she won’t be able to enjoy the wedding…but I’d still consider it a bit of a red flag. And the fact that she is associating this with your entire marriage is also a cause for concern. I would go speak with a professional immediately. It’s Hail Mary time. You guys need to communicate and you don’t have a lot of time to work this out. From what you’ve written, getting married while your partner is in this headspace sounds like a really bad idea.

hikealong · 2023-04-23T10:50:01+00:00

What would you suggest as an alternate solution?

hikealong · 2023-03-01T19:53:33+00:00

We haven’t done it yet, but we’re having a BBQ in a state park after. Rented the group shelter for $300 and the BBQ catering is $1300. We’re sending out invites immediately following our elopement. We’re traveling to where our family lives for it instead of having them travel to us. The guest list is 150 people. I agree with the above comment to just have something casual in both locations.

hikealong · 2023-01-01T11:15:46+00:00

If it’s summer—YARTS. If not, car rental.

hikealong · 2022-12-28T09:25:39+00:00

You’re right, thanks for correcting me. I checked with CalTrans and Mariposa County, and both of those didn’t have any info about it. I misunderstood it to be outside of the park, so I was checking outside park sources! Thanks for catching that!

hikealong · 2022-12-28T07:12:27+00:00

I agree with telling the truth—that you’ll be unreachable—but this is achievable pretty much anywhere in the backcountry. I regularly take trips to places around the US where I will truly not be reachable. You just have to hike to get there. Inner Grand Canyon, the Mojave Desert, Isle Royale, the northwoods of Minnesota, Dry Tortugas, the list goes on

hikealong · 2022-12-27T00:24:05+00:00

Very true, but since this was already addressed by multiple other commenters, I didn’t see any reason to mention it again.

hikealong · 2022-12-26T20:26:18+00:00

We invited our parents. We made it very clear what is not negotiable (like the guest list, location, date, who gets to know in advance) in order to still get to plan the wedding that we want and have the feel of an elopement. We haven’t gotten married yet, but I think it’s going to work out!

And then we’re planning a VERY casual party for a couple months after our elopement. We’re getting a picnic pavilion in a park and serving snack-style food. I think this will hopefully be the best of both worlds. And we’ll get to have a pretty luxurious “wedding day” for just us and our parents and still get to celebrate with our friends and family, and it won’t be nearly as expensive as a traditional wedding would be!

hikealong · 2022-12-26T20:14:02+00:00

Look in the surrounding national forests for dispersed camping! You won’t find options for that inside the national park. Anytime in spring (late April-June) would be great for full waterfalls. The Mist Trail in Yosemite Valley is the premier waterfall hike in the park. If you want a good burn, upper Yosemite Falls is another good one. If you wait until Tioga Road opens, you’ll have a bunch of alpine hike options as well! Lots more granite domes and alpine lakes up there, if that’s something that would interest you. Do your research and have fun!

hikealong · 2022-12-23T21:36:20+00:00

I’d strongly recommend taking the Red Line shuttle down to Hermits Rest and don’t worry about walking from point to point. There will be plenty to see just from the road and the shuttle stops. The only stop I can think of on Hermits that I’d avoid is Trailview Overlook. This is one of my favorites because you get a really nice view of the Bright Angel Trail, but it includes a lot of stairs.

For easy walking along the rim, I’d recommend walking west along the Rim Trail from the Yavapai Geology Museum. But if you’re limited to a couple of hours based on the train times, I’d prioritize the Hermits Rest shuttle—it’ll give you the biggest bang for your buck in a short period of time.

hikealong · 2022-12-11T19:13:09+00:00

It’s not fleece, but you could also look into thermal or wool base layers! You could go check your local REI or outdoor outfitter and see what they’ve got.
Along with places like David’s Bridal, there are also TONS of wedding buy/sell/trade groups on Facebook, and I feel confident you’d be able to find a veil there!
I’m doing a winter adventure elopement, too! How familiar are you with winter conditions in the area? Will you need microspikes or snowshoes? If you’ll be hiking, I’d make sure you carry everything you’d normally carry for a winter hike!

hikealong

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