I made my first visit to Yosemite 25 years ago, but it certainly wasn't my last. Next month I am finally fulfilling a desire to camp in Yosemite. As we are going in late October, that narrowed down the choices. Originally we were only going to spend one night in Yosemite, so we had booked a reservation in Upper Pines. When I went to add a second night, later, the same camp spot was not available on the night before (nor any reservable spot), so we ended up with our first night being one of the Curry Village unheated tent cabins, and one night for a regular tent reservation. Our plan is after our 2 nights camping to head east over the Tioga Pass and head up to Tahoe, but we realize the pass is a 50/50 possibility that late into the autumn.
A couple questions that I have not been able to find answers for:
1. Bear lockers - I'm assuming they're lockable? If they are lockable, how small/large a lock do they take? Not that we'd really have much food-wise to worry about, but since all the sites say put ANYTHING that a bear MIGHT think = food (lotions, etc) into them, I'd prefer being able to lock it. I have a variety of padlocks around the house but obviously don't want to carry any heavier than necessary items with me.
2. How much do the Curry Village showers currently cost (I've read anywhere from $1-5)?
3. How much do the Curry Villages buffets cost? Our Curry Village tent apparently includes breakfast, but we'll need to pay for it on our second morning so we just want to be prepared. Is the dinner buffet any good? (Breakfast being "great" is less of a concern... really hard to screw up scrambled eggs and pancakes).
4. What should we expect for weather conditions in late October on the valley floor? (In other words, should we be prepared for 20 degrees and snow as possibility?)
5. You would think they would have this info somewhere on the camping info pages for Yosemite - for camping sites, how late in the morning are you allowed to vacate them? (How late can we sleep in, ha ha). What's the earliest you can check in for reserved spots?
6. I know there's a ranger stationed at the entrance to the Upper Pines camp area, but how late is he/she there to be able to check in? (ie. if we cannot move directly from Curry to our camping spot in the morning)
Thank you very much for any information, it's much appreciated.