Camping Spotlight-Yosemite National Park

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Camping Spotlight-Yosemite National Park
Summertime in Yosemite National Park is buzzing
with thousands of campers, tourists, climbers,
photographers... you name it you'll find it in
Yosemite. So, when it comes time to find a
campsite for a few nights, it is nearly
impossible unless you have reserved your spot
many months in advance. If you get fortunate and
arrive extremely early to the park, you may be
able to get first come first serve campsite. For
those of us who haven't thought ahead, we may
have to scour for a campsite outside the park. If
you know where to look, you can find many
beautiful campsites within a short distance to
the park entrance. One of the best camping
experiences we had was when we showed up short
notice to Yosemite thinking we would be able to
find a place to post up for a few nights. Wrong!
After driving out of the east side of the park,
we stumbled upon Aspen Grove Campground. The
campground is named for the beautiful aspen grove
that surrounds the 45 campsites within. At an
elevation of 7490 feet, Mount Dana and Tioga Peak
are visible from the campsite. It was a first
come, first serve site with a few vacancies
available. We pounced on a spot along the Lee
Vining Creek which snaked through the backside of
the campground. The snowmelt from the nearby
mountains had the creek flowing at a good pace,
which made for peaceful naps in the hammock and
even better night's sleep. It was an amazing
campsite only 3.5 miles from the park entrance.
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After setting up our tents and hanging our
hammocks between Aspen trees which lined the
creek, we all took a well-deserved nap before
cooking juicy cheeseburgers over the open fire.
The sunset turned into darkness until the
billions of stars began to twinkle above us. We
then cozied up in our sleeping bags and our heavy
wool blanket from Woolly Mammoth Woolen Company.
As the cold mountain blew in overnight, we were
all snug as a bug in merino sheep wool blankets.
The navy blue wool blanket was my favorite camp
blanket, but we also made use of the gray and
yellow wool blanket as well. The next morning, we
had a big day as we were going to conquer the
Clouds Rest hike. Clouds Rest is one of the best
hikes in the U.S. with the most spectacular
sweeping views overlooking some of the most
famous landmarks in Yosemite. Some can see as far
west as Hawaii and as far east as Oklahoma. After
hiking most of the day and wandering through the
park, we headed back to our nest at Aspen Grove
Campground to enjoy the serenity and solace of
the flowing creek and the fresh mountain air that
gently blew between the Aspen trees. Moral of the
story folks - you can still have a great time in
and around Yosemite even if you failed to plan
early.