Major road trip to western parks – mainly Yosemite

Ah, but a tent in CV isn't just a tent. There's Hanta Virus, too. At least in Cabin 922 where we stayed and earlier occupants stayed and died (later of Hanta Virus). They told us, but only after it hit the media that a second round of illnesses was happening.

Also, if you're late by a day (it happens), your cabin and $136 will be gone.

Edited to add: not shown on many maps, there is a BPing parking lot between Curry Village and Happy Isles that (at least early morning) is far easier to find a space in than at CV. It's a 1/2 mile from each.

The backpacker campgrounds in Yosemite have no designated parking, instead you leave your car at the trail head. In Yosemite Valley the only trail head parking lot is between Curry Village and Happy Isles, about 3/4 mile from the backpackers campground.
If you plan to leave your car in this parking lot for several days check in with the wilderness center about it, they may give you a stub to put on your dash board.

2 more questions I thought of:
1. Is there an easy place to recharge camera batteries for a couple hours in Curry Village (or other nearby place)? Wouldn't surprise me if all 4 I'll have are kaput in 5 days. I might try to charge one in TM also to make sure I don't run out so where might I go there for a couple hours?

2. Do they really have enough bear lockers at Happy Isles TH parking lot that I can stash our excess food for the 5 days we're gone (labeled with name and out date I'd guess)? By the time we hit the JMT we'd have a few days food remaining so it will all fit in an OpSak. I could likely even double bag the OpSaks. Any problems with theft or should I just leave it in the trunk against policy?

don't leave food in your car.
bears really do break in to cars.

there are quite a few bear boxes, but quite a few people use them.
as long as you don't have a giant ice chest you should be able to find space.
as always, don't leave valuables. never had food taken, but … there is a grocery store.

No good answer for the recharging question. I'm sure it is becoming quite the issue at campgrounds all over, as most of us now have electronic devices that need recharging, yet camp sites are blessed free of electricity.

Don't under any circumstances leave food in your car in Yosemite or in fact anywhere in the Sierra.

The bear boxes at the TH parking lot will probably fit your food. The reason I say probably rather than certainly has to do with the hanta virus that sickened and killed several Yosemite visitors this past summer that David referred to further up this thread. Hanta virus is spread by mice and mice can get in to the current bear boxes. In the short term Yosemite recommends that you use mouse proof containers inside the bear boxes, this means hard plastic containers, ice cheasts, coolers and the like, all of which will fill up the bear lockers. The long term solution I suspect will involve new mouse proof bear lockers, but who knows when that will happen.

Arts solution of buying food in the store seems like a good one. You'll be ready for some fresh food after a few days of backpacking.

Good to know about the mice! I'll use my Outsak though that will make it more attractive to 2-legged critters. May take a black trashbag to wrap it in, too. Mice can chew through any plastic container – just slows them down a while.

We will eat a real dinner the day we come out (someone had suggested pizza), but I suspect the store prices for goodies to be pretty high compared to going to a normal market. Though it's also true we wouldn't need a whole lot to finish the last couple days of dayhiking.

I have no choice but to leave some valuables in the trunk. My laptop isn't exactly lightweight. :P

cars rarely get broken in to by humans.

any eatery in The Valley will be very crowded, especially the pizza place.
there is a somewhat ok cafeteria right around the corner.

oh, did I mention the Tuolumne Grill (closes at 5pm) just outside Tuolumne campground ? pretty tasty burgers and shakes, especially when coming off the trail.

and down at the base of the road up to Tuolumne, the Lee Vining area, a classic must eat at place … The Mobile Gas Station restaurant. atmosphere very casual, food one step below gourmet, and reasonable, the owner is a real chef.

"and down at the base of the road up to Tuolumne, the Lee Vining area, a classic must eat at place … The Mobile Gas Station restaurant. atmosphere very casual, food one step below gourmet, and reasonable, the owner is a real chef."

Mmmmmm hmmmmm! A big +1.!!

Huh- I just recommended this on another thread, but… Just puttering around the Ken Patrick and rim trails and around the Walhalla Plateau is nice, but if you're looking for dayhikes on the GRCA north rim you could do Nankoweap. There's even a massively cool campsite part-way down at Marion Point if you can do an overnighter (don't rely on the seep near there, though- bring lots of water). It's still relatively high, so the temperatures aren't so extreme. It is very exposed though- compared to North Kaibab and the other corridor trails it is positively terrifying- but your son may like that. And with a kid I'd stick to just an out-and-back to Marion Point, because things get really scary just past there.

See the first day of my trip report:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=62675

You don't have to use the lower trailhead that we did- there is another on the north rim proper. Where the two trailhead trails meet it can be hard to spot the trail heading down into the canyon- just remember, it switchbacks over the cliff… :)

In addition to Angel's Landing Hidden Canyon would make a good day. Overall that looks like an awesome plan. I'm not sure how much the CV tent cabins were 6 years ago, but my recollection is closer to 37 than 137 dollars. Yosemite doesn't really count as a national park anymore. Private vehicles (and the Curry Co.) should have been banned from the valley decades ago.

deleted – not really relevant to main purpose of the thread.

Grand Canyon permit is secured. :) The only thing left to reserve is Zion Narrows.