hey claudia:

so are you telling me that we can camp ANYWHERE in a national forest? has anybody done this before? i want to know where good spots are to do this...such as how far off the road you have to do this.

daniel

I've done this before. Basically, I wait for the Big Brown sign then I look for something that looks like a fire road leading off the highway. A lot of times there are actually primitive campgrounds with little signs. I prefer these (environmental impact, smoother sleeping surface etc), but barring that, I try to get at least 400 yards off the road. Since I don't really like it if folks on the highway can see where I am. The recent yuckiness in Yosemite makes me even more cautious.

claudia:

what recent yuckiness?

and where do you park your car?

dan

ps thank you!

Re: the car.
I camp right next to it. This is why I try to get back at least 400 yards. I guess I should mention that the times I have done this I've just been staying the night and moving on the next day. the only time I've ever stayed for a prolonged period is when I was climbing at a place called Lover's Leap near S. Lake Tahoe. That time, I was at place that was sort of a primitive casual camping site eg. obviously used for camping before, but no water or facilities. Then I just pulled my car as far off the road as I could get it.

Re: the recent yuckiness
A mom and her teenage daughter and their exchange student were mysteriously abducted and found dead in their burned out rental car. It's not been solved, although the evidence points to someone very familiar with the areas bordering Yosemite Natl. Park. I realize it's a freak incident that could happen anywhere, but I use it as a reminder to myself about being careful. That's all.

Hi Daniel:

I think Claudia was refering to the recent murder of a mother and two teenage girls. They were missing for about a month before their bodies were discovered.

I worked in Yosemite one summer during my college years and the rangers always advised us to hike with others, especially in the high country. Not to scare you, but FYI, criminals have been known to disappear into the forests and hide out. Just exercise your normal precautions. It's no more dangerous than any place else.

Someone else recently asked about the climb to Half Dome and I, along with several other people, posted a response. It's under the heading "Yosemite Hiking - Half Dome?" I've climbed it four times and it's a great hike.

Have fun!

Dan -- it would be great misinformation to categorize Yosemite as more touristy than Lake Tahoe, and I would not want to put you off visiting Yosemite (especially for the 1st time). It is just that there is more opportunity for accomodations and variety of activity in the Tahoe area. A couple of times (many years ago) we went to Yosemite and it was so crowded we pulled off the side of the road and spent the night in the car, and then said the heck with it and drove up to Tahoe. You can easily visit both in two weeks if you want, and I think you might get a little bored spending a full 2 weeks in Yosemite (unless you want to go up El Capitan the hard way, hah). Depends upon what type of campers you are.

hey D.B. :

what time of year did you go to yosemite? we will be there right after memorial day weekend. is it still crowded as hell in early june?

so tell me more about the tahoe area. i assume you mean tahoe nat'l forest? i think we will be driving through there and i would love to stop and camp if it's as awesome as you say it is.

tell me more!

daniel

Dan,
More Mtn info from me.
Where you camp in Tahoe depends on whether you want north lake or south lake.
North Lake is where most of the Ski resorts are. It's a little more nature oriented. There's a great restaurant called the Cottonwood in Truckee. The Pacific Crest Trail cuts across Interstate-80 just west of Truckee. So you could hike in on that for a while. Donner Lake is nice if you want to rent a boat and tool around on the water for a while, the only camping immediately close to there that I can think of can be found driving up old Donner Pass Road. Up at the top, the PCT cuts through, so I guess there is probaly spots in there to pitch a tent, sure would be a nice view. There are also a couple of campgrounds due south of Truckee on Highway 89, right next to the Truckee River.

As you head toward South Lake Tahoe you need to head away from the Casino-land if you want to do any camping. There is camping at Camp Richardson and Fallen Leaf Lake.
Slightly SW of S. Lake Tahoe is the Desolation Wilderness. You'll need a permit to hike in there since it is a Wilderness area, by it is Valhalla to a number of Bay Area hikers. Lots of little lakes, beautiful scenery, ad nauseum. Further west on Highway 50 there is a campground built by the Access Fund for climbers at Lovers Leap, if you look on a map, you won't see it, but it is a few hundred yards east of Strawberry.
Another thing you haven't mentioned, but may want to consider is spending some time on the east side of the Sierras.
If the Tioga Pass Road is open, you might want to enter Yosemite from the east side. It's a shorter drive that way, you get to see Mono Lake on the way in(if you're so inclined, the tufa is gorgeous, esp at sunrise or sunset.), you get to see the Granite domes of the Yosemite High country...
But the thing I was really going to suggest is that you head down to just below Mammoth and camp at a spot called Tom's Place. The camp ground there is really nice, the sites are HUGE, really private. There is a restaurant there, where the little general store is that makes a great homestyle breakfast.
Hope that helps.