Anyone interested?

[CBass]

So i have been thinking that maybe in May or June of taking a trip to Yosemite to capture my own Ansel Adams inspired shots. I thought i would see if anyone else might be interested in making the trip? I'm also planning next Dec to go to YellowStone to try and capture some Wild Wolves shots. I was just sitting around thinking about this stuff this weekend so i don't have much info. I plan to go for a week and spend the time hiking and camping all over Yosemite. If anyone is interested then post up here we can work on details and things of that nature.

[guitarbug]

I have been there and its truely Gods country! There is hardly another place on earth that compares besides they Grand Canyon or the Vatican! It woud be a great trip, but I do believe there is a very long waiting list for camping. I could be wrong though. I would love to go but I only have one weekend in May not booked with a wedding or something else so far! Good luck, you will not regret it!

[lilgriff78]

are you planning on camping out there?

[CBass]

thats the plan .. i tried to get in touch with someone there but they were out till after the holidays. I have been to busy this week to get back in touch with someone there for more info. I'm not sure what they allow you to do so i hope to have more info on it next week and once i do i will post up what i find out. Thanks for your interest.

[lilgriff78]

i'd be interested but i'd like to know more about cost, and the lenght of the trip...i'm going to costa rica in august, so i have to budget my vacation time and my $$ :)

[David_Janaskie]

I've been camping and backpacking in both Yosemite and Yellowstone/Grand Tetons NP. It was 'Fun' carrying a 20D, 10-22, 24-70 2.8, 50-500 Bigma, monopod, batteries, etc and enough gear for a week in the backcounty at 11,000ft (and snow!).

Both are fabulous places and you won't go wrong in either park. Spring in Yosemite - you may want to try to go before school lets out and reserve as soon as you know your dates. The Valley campsites can fill up quickly. Although they do keep a certain percentage of sites available on a 1st come, 1st basis.

[jonqb]

This sounds great. Please post further details to organize and prepare? I trip to Big Bend might be nice.

jonqb

[CBass]

Yeah monday i will get on the phone with Yosemite to talk to them about something in lest say mid may? Yellowstone i plan to go there in Dec i want some shots of the wolves in the snow. I will try and have some info posted monday after i get out of training.

Glad to see some interest in this for a second i was thinking no one would want to go. Depending on the number of people that want to do this we got a few options. We could rent a RV so we have something to sleep in and drive there and back. Its a 24hr drive each way, which isn't bad at all really. Or we could Fly there and just drive in to the park from the airport. If we drive we leave on a fri (say around noon or a little after) and spend sat and sun driving. That way we can spend mon-thur doing whatever, then leave say mid to late day fri and get back in sometime on sunday.

Another option is we drive there but fly back so that we can have a few extra days on the road to stop and see the site and get some photo ops in. Then fly back sat night or sunday morning in time for the work week lmao. Or just fly there and back so to spend more time in Yosemite but personaly i think it would suck to miss out on a nice drive there. Let me know what you guys think i will check on pricing stuff maybe sunday night as far as the flights go and RV rental cost. I would like to keep this an all adult trip but depending on how much interest we get might open it up to teenagers and children. Nothing personal to those with kids im sure their great and wonderful.

[wondershots]

I don't know about Dallas but Austin to San Jose or San Francisco has some great flying deals. I've been to Yosemite twice since August and it's well worth the trip. Both times I was on business but was able to fly my wife out on the weekends for around $200 round-trip.

[David_Janaskie]

Also, I believe Yellowstone basically 'shuts down' in the winter. The only open entrance is the North entrance and I don't think you can drive thru the park in the winter. And I think they recently changed (or were thinking about changing) their snowmobile policies.

The wolves are normally seen in Hayden and Lamar valleys. You'll definitely need very long glass or have alot of luck. Last time I was there I was lucky and was within 20ft of a wolf for about 5 minutes one predawn morning in Hayden Valley. I also saw a mother and cubs on another day...but my 50-500 bigma was too short to do more than just tell what that dot in the distance was. It's actually easier to see them near the road because they are used to traffic than it is to see them in the true wild. Almost impossible to get within 100's of yards of one in the wild.

[Peruna]

The road between Gardiner and Cooke City, which includes the Lamar Valley, is open year round because the northern side of the park receives much less snow than the rest of the park and because the road is plowed because kids from Cooke City go to school in Gardiner. This road is prime wolf viewing area with three or four packs occupying various areas along it, however as mentioned seeing wolves is not difficult but getting close enough to photograph them requires a combination of luck, persistence, and knowledge. But it can be done and your chances are better in the off-season months. I took the photo below a few days before the Grand Loop was closed in early November. But there are still coyote, bison, elk, and fox galore to photograph so it would be a nice trip regardless. I plan to move to Bozeman sometime between May and November and would love to join TPFers in the park. Access to the park is a major reason why I'm moving up there.