AV to Yosemite

Angie was excited to take Mike to Yosemite for his first visit

Could there be a better maiden voyage for a new camper van than a trip to Yosemite? A quick 3-4 hour drive outside the SF bay area, a trip to one of the most scenic spots in the US seemed like a great first trip. The van had a full tank of gas, a cooler full of food, and fresh sheets and pillows on the bed – so we should be able to just hop in and go.

The hike to the top of Sentinel Dome gave us a stunning 360 degree view, including Half Dome

Unfortunately, things are not quite that simple. Coronavirus means that the number of people allowed into Yosemite is controlled, so there’s a reservation system in place for entry to the park.

Hiking up Lembert Dome outside of Tuolumne Meadows

To further control the number of people, there’s a separate reservation system in place for the limited number of campgrounds that are still open in the park. And the wildfires in the mountains around the park means that nearly all of the campgrounds outside the park are shutdown to protect against more fires.

Visiting the giant sequoias in Mariposa Grove

Luckily for us, one of the members of Team Madrone is Angie. After repeatedly scouring the reservation systems, she managed to score not only a week-long entry pass to the park, but also a few of the coveted campground reservations that became available when other folks cancelled or shortened their trips.

Upper Cathedral Lake

We spent almost a week in the park. Our reward for hiking in the high country (above 10,000 feet/3,000 meters) for a couple of days was a series of natural mountain lakes ringed by peaks in the beautiful pine and cedar forest.

Camping on the east side of the Sierra Nevadas, a little east of Yosemite

And our last several days was spent in and around Yosemite Valley, which must be one of the most scenic spots on the entire planet. We hiked both the floor and rim of the valley, marveled at the sheer granite walls of Half Dome and the other less famous faces, and spent an entire afternoon staring upwards at teams of climbers attempting multi-day ascents of El Capitan.

First trip in AV – success!