CA>June Lake/Yosemite>9-13 Aug 2014

[zealander]

Hi Westcoasters

I am from New Zealand and have done a reasonable amount of camping (not so much from my hammock, but working on that), I plan to travel with my hammock/fly/sleeping bag/underquilt while I visit your fair shores.

I have a lovely 5 day window while my lady goes on a horse trek from June lake and I was thinking it would be lovely to do some day-treks and some camping, this leaves me with the "where".
I have done a bit of research around where I could go, and Yosemite is an obvious one.

I will have a rental car so could head anywhere (within reason).

I am a pretty keen photographer and would love to find some spots to get some decent photos.

Do you have any suggestions of where I should do my day-treks?
Any recommended camping spots?
Any must-visit places?

I have planned to head up to Tulloume Medows and do a trek around there maybe Cathedral Lakes/Lembert Dome.
I am not too interested in doing anything that is going to be crammed with tourists, I would rather be more backwoods than the super popular tourist destinations.

And this all leads me to another question I have about these bears you guys have.
Here in New Zealand we have pretty much nothing to fear in the wild (we have 2 spiders which are deadly, but more people are killed by vending machines than these spiders) so I am not entirely sure about this whole not being the top of the food chain thing.
I have been made aware of these bear container things for your food/smelly stuff which seem like a good idea, but the whole concept of bears roaming around your campsite and having a go at your food container freaks me out. Seems to me like once they fail to get the food from your canister their next move will be to eat the nice meat burrito hanging from the tree.

I from what I can tell most of the campsites I have investigated are drive-in type deals so I would be able to sleep near the car, which means I can store my food/smellies in the car with out having to worry about bears? Is that right? I had a friend of mine show me a video of a bear practially raping a car to get at some scoobie snacks in the back. This leaves me confused about what I am required to do with the food/smellies.

Thanks
Chris.

[trhang]

I can store my food/smellies in the car with out having to worry about bears? Is that right?

Never leave so much as a stick of gum in your car when camping in bear country. Breaking into a car to get food is no challenge whatsoever for a bear. Most established campgrounds have food storage lockers, or "bear boxes", in which you should store anything that smells. If you are camping somewhere that does not have a locker, and the area has bears, you should either use a bear canister or hang your food properly in a tree. In Yosemite and neighboring Sequoia and Kings Canyon parks, bear canisters are mandatory, unless you are in a campsite with bear lockers. In Yosemite, if you leave food in your car and a bear breaks in to get it, the rangers will issue you a very expensive citation. Why? Because the bear that broke into your car now poses a threat to park visitors and will most likely have to be killed. Yosemite has more info on bears and food storage here: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/bears.htm

[lori]

You have absolutely no reason to fear bears. Respect them - keep your distance - but when they show up, you yell, pitch a fit, wave your arms, toss rocks (not to hit them) and don't let them stay around. They go. Follow the food storage rules to the letter and keep the car absolutely clean. There are lockers around parking lots where you store things with a smell or that look like food containers to bears (some of them know what an ice chest is).

Guess how many deaths there have been due to black bears in California? Hint: less than 1.

The grizzlies that lived here are all gone - they killed quite a few before we finished killing them.

You will need a permit before going into the wilderness and the rangers will tell you all the rules. If you want solitude, Yosemite is the last place I'd go. Also the John Muir Trail is a freeway for hundreds. Cathedral Lakes is a zoo of day use tourists during the day. You only get solitude in Yosemite if you hike out more than a day of walking, and not near the High Sierra Camps.

You would have more solitude in the trail system between the parks - and the bears would be less driven to get your food. Trails into Ansel Adams or John Muir Wilderness areas can be less maintained but also less often used. If you want the big scenery, you put up with crowds, and food-crazy bears that follow the crowds.

You have more to fear from being dehydrated than anything. It's very dry, and it's going to be a drought year. Take a filter and plan a route with lakes. Also lots of sunscreen. You'll burn up in the granite even if you wear a hat - the sun bounces up into your face. Don't forget your stove; you won't be building any campfires anywhere by midsummer, and they are always banned above 9600-10,000 feet elevation.

[zealander]

Thanks for the replies, I have managed to find some good information on the internet about the bears and what I need to do for the different regions.

Will have to put together a plan for what to do each day. Will post that up when I do it. I am sure some suggestions of places to visit will come out of the woodwork.

Thanks again.