by Phil » Thu Jul 20, 2017 4:15 pm
I made a reservation......once. I've always gotten to where I wanted to go...usually easy peasy, sometimes having to run to beat nightfall, sometimes waiting a day to get my trailhead opening. Always have a Plan B though. So, yes, I'm an old hand at strategizing with walk-ups. You definitely don't want to come into the park at night. First of all, you won't find a campsite unless you're incredibly lucky (in which case you should stay home, win the lottery, send your dad on a cruise for his birthday), can't sleep in the car, and you don't even have the right to stay at one of the backpackers' camps without that permit in hand (all permit offices close at 5 pm, period). Secondly, the day before is when the smart people are going to line up for permits, ie: they get it for the next day, then they do get to stay the night at one of the camps, then hit it first thing the next morning. For anything out of Tuolumne (including Sunrise), you want to be at that TM permit office no later than 11 am the day before (09/27), that's when the walk-up permits become available for the 28th. Also, heading into weekends are bad times, so if you can schedule mid-week, better chances. Our highest success rates are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, sometimes Thursdays if the season isn't in full-swing.