Shower in Yosemite?
Howdy! Right now my plan is to pick up a resupply box in Tuolumne Meadows. Anyone know if I can get a bus at TM to go to the showers near Half Dome? If it's an easy do, it might be nice.
Plan on being dirty
I's not real cheap round trip to Yosemite village, $28 or so, it takes 6hrs one way I think. Look up on Yosemite website. Yosemite-tuolumne hiker bus.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 03-01-2018 at 18:22.
Easy. Get on the YARTS Mammoth Lakes Yosemite Valley bus that stops at TM. FWIW, and many do recognize it as worthy, the same bus stops near a grove of mature giant redwoods, which are not encountered on the PCT. For a 500 mile PCTer it would be a roughly 3/4 day hike from the PCT to Curry Village via the JMT. One could grab a shower, enjoy the scenic YV beauty despite the crowds, buy grub on the fly at the well stocked YV grocery store
and be back at TM taking the same YARTS bus in reverse all in one day. If you really want to visit YV there is the YV USPO where a box can be mailed too.
Another option as a NOBO PCTer wanting to clean up yet not go into YV is to hike onto Glenn Aulin in YNP just north of TM where there are nearby places to soak in clean water under a waterfall or a slide. There's camping here too in a great TM setting.
There are showers at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge.
Unless things have changed since last year, the showers at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge are only for guests of the lodge. Many years ago, they allowed public use of the showers during very restrictive hours.
I was at Glen Aulin last year and second Dogwood's recommendation for possibly taking a dip in the river - there are many places that looked inviting between Tuolumne and Glen Aulin. I'm sure the water would be cold but that's just the way it is in the Sierra Nevada...
TM Lodge or White Wolf should not be relied on for showers desired out of showering convenience if you dont have a room reservation. If you want to clean up there are other ways to go about it.
Here's the horse's mouth
https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm
Showers are only available in Yosemite Valley at Half Dome Village (formerly Curry Village) and Housekeeping Camp. Showers are not available elsewhere.
When I hiked the JMT in 2014, the backpackers camp at TM was in the middle of the RV campground. As I recall, there were flush toilets just a short walk down the hill. I'm pretty sure there were pay showers to be had as well in the same building.
Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt, and the forest and field in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul.--Fred Bear
www.misadventuregear.com
Showers at CG's, if they exist, are typically reserved for those paying to stay at the CG. Sometimes, these showers come at an additional cost but that should not be assumed is an open invitation for anyone to use these showers.
YARTS bus sounds good. And if I can pick up some snacks, that's cool too. My understanding is that there is a USPO at TM also.
Yup, seasonal though. Full resupply can almost always be bought at the TM small grocery store. Hiker box usually has goodies in it. Small cafe with limited menu available also. Depends on how deeply "on the run" you always think you need and how "this is the trail and I can't deviate off it or for long" you approach your hikes. Do your own hikes, HYOH by all means, but consider it's a really really nice NP and why that may be. Maybe, it's worth it in Y NP to allow more of it in on a PCT thru?
Might even get a shower out of it.
I thought it was easier and more rewarding to zero in Mammoth Lakes ($6 bus from Red's Meadow) which had a real supermarket, many resturants, and hotels then do anything in TM except for the Store and Grill there. I cleaned up in Mammoth and just hiked to Lake Tahoe without bathing where I repeated the process. TM is only 1.5 days of hiking after Red's meadow which also has showers if you don't want to go into Mammoth. You shouldn't be stinking enough at TM to really need one yet.
The YARTS bus stops at Crane Flat a short walk from the Giant Redwood grove.
ML from Reds Meadow is a very good trail town. Forgot. This us significant since you're talking showers.
At RM a bus stops to go to ML. Along the bus route is a stop location nearby that allows free super hot piped in wild mountain water from the thermal activity in the area. This is a great place to clean up wit a hot shower if you have soap. RM sells soap. There are no other services or goods sold here. Get back on the bus to either RM or ML. Or, hitch. It's an easy hitch. It's not that super busy of a paved road but it dead ends at RM meaning everyone that passes in a car is going to or near RM or ML.
Although i met pct hikers in yosemite, worth noting that your pct permit isnt a backcountry permit that allows you to go and camp anywhere.
In particular, it limits you to resupply 15 miles off trail, via the most direct trail only.
Technically, yosemite valley is off limits.....it violates your pct permit. Even if you dayhike there without a yosemite permit.
Yes, im aware most permit holders abuse the permit stipulations multiple times in a hike. As do backcountry permit holders that take a zero off trail when resupplying, when they are allowed 24 hrs.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 03-03-2018 at 09:55.
There are showers, a campground and a cafe at Reds Meadows as well as the store.Originally Posted by Dogwood
Apologize for the potential ambiguity.
Yeah, my phrasing was ambiguous. Thx Gwschenk.
You can pay to take a shower at the RM CG, get a bite, and do some resupply.
If you are willing to go down the road a bit with a hitch or short bus ride alternatively are the free hot showers too.
Never have I seen the resupply condition enforced nor do I surmise it being aN overwhelming issue for NP Rangers.
What if resupply involves needed medical assistance for example? What if zeros involve a medical condition? In spirit of the PCT 500 mile permit I really don't see hitching or hiking off the PCT more than 15 miles a great issue.
Not sayint its enforced.
But consider Sierra backcountry permits. If you leave the wilderness for ANY REASON except to resupply, less than 24 hrs at that, your permit is technically invalid and you need a new one to reenter. Difficult to enforce, yes. Otherwise whats to keep someone from getting one permit, and using it all summer? Say they were out there the whole time?
Your permit for PCT is a grace item, with stipulations for the same reason. Its to prevent you from having to get a cumbersome amount of individual permits. You arent allowed to leave trail and go home, or go sightseeing, and come back. You arent even allowed to leave trail to seek medical attention . Once you leave trail, at least in Sierra, your permit is invalid. (but yesI understand many do. That doesnt make it right, or OK. ). Its a permit to hike PCT, ONLY. Not a permit to do whatever you want, however you want, which is how some treat it.The real question is, who cares? Usually No one until abuse of some kind reaches a tipping point. And that obviously isnt the case. But as competition for permits increases, there could be more scrutiny of those that recieve them in future.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 03-03-2018 at 18:27.
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