Yosemite Trip Part I: Dispersed Camping

We've been planning to go up to Yosemite and hike half-dome for the last month or so. It takes 4 hours to drive there and 10-12 hours to do the hike, so we were trying to figure out logistics - we're too old and lazy to drive for 8 hours and hike for 12 hours without sleep, so I put Ed in charge of finding us lodging.

When I asked him what the plan was the day before our trip, he announced that we would be doing 'dispersed camping'. In the Stanislaus Forest, you are allowed to camp anywhere - if you pull over to the side of the road, walk into the forest, and pitch your tent somewhere, this is called dispersed camping.

I reminded him that we don't have a tent. Also, that I don't want to do my business on a bush in the middle of the night. So he found a couple of campgrounds just outside of Yosemite that looked like they would work. When we got there, however, they were all closed for the season (contrary to what the Forest website indicated.) It was late and we were really tired and Ed was refusing to go back to the nearest little town and pay $100 for a crummy hotel (at that point, I would have been happy to pay $100 for a roof and a toilet) - so we drove down a little dirt road, parked our car, and headed into the forest to find a spot.

We found a little clearing, blew up our air mattress, and slept under the stars. There was a full moon, so we had good visibility - which helped to allay my fear that a bear or murderer was lurking nearby. Just to be safe, I slept with mace under my pillow.

It ended up being really great. It was a warm night, the moon was shining, and the air smelled clean and foresty. Here I am, snug as a bug in the woods: