Black Bears and Tent Cabins: My Yosemite Experience

Yosemite Valley. Merced River

El Capitan, meandering rivers, black bears, deep valleys and vast meadows can only describe one place: Yosemite National Park.

Iconic mountains, rock formations, majestic waterfalls and giant sequoias set it apart from most other places in the world. This inspiring nature makes it one of America’s most well-loved and popular National Parks.

Although climbers flock to the park so they can tackle the likes of El Capitan, a vertical rock that rises 3,000 feet from the ground, Yosemite is not just for the active. It’s also a place to relax and simply be.

No matter how fit you are, almost everyone can enjoy an exploration of the valley which brings an abundance of wildlife to enjoy at your own pace.

A few years ago, along with my friend Harriet, I gathered my rucksack and headed out of San Francisco on the Amtrak to Yosemite National Park.  We’d briefly read about the place and thought it looked pretty enough to spend a couple days. But I soon discovered that describing it as pretty is a huge understatement. It’s paradise.

As soon we caught a glimpse of it, we knew we wanted to spend longer there.

Inside Yosemite Park

Singing “The hills are alive with the sound music” a la Julie Andrews style!

The Merced River, Yosemite

The landscape of Yosemite

To look at Yosemite’s landcape is to see the result of glacial erosions of granitic bedrock. Deep valleys, soaring cliffs and domes that bring to life a land before human time. Such a unique landscape has been the subject of much geological interest and conservation.

Yosemite National Park

Many people and institutions work hard to make Yosemite thrive, but there are two people who deserve recognition above all others: Galen Clark and Amstel Adams.

Clark made the preservation of Yosemite his mission in later life and prompted the legislation that protects Yosemite Valley and the Mairposa Grove of Big Trees (which he discovered).

Since then the park has been inducted into the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Adams, the other guy we need to thank was a photographer in the early-mid 20th Century whose images of Yosemite set alight the imagination of all those who saw them, and brought attention to Yosemite from around the world. Together these two people made the park a place of recreation and world-wide interest, whilst protesting against the growth of commercial development.

Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space

Ansel Adams Half Dome

Photograph of Half Dome by Ansel Adams.

Yosemite beach

Sitting inside Yosemite Valley

Sleeping in tent cabins

Whilst staying at Yosemite you can pick from a variety of five different accommodations. First are the hotels but these were a big no, no, on our tiny daily budget; second are the cosy wooden cabins which are gorgeous but were still too expensive for us; third are the heated tent cabins followed by non-heated cabins, and finally, there’s the option to camp.

Since we didn’t have a tent we opted for a modest non-heated tent cabin. They’re great, I would definitely recommend a tent cabin to enhance the feeling of being in the wilderness.

Sure, it’s nice to stay in a hotel, but the tent cabins are more unique. And we found it exciting to think that a bear might swing by to say hello…

Yosemite tent

You’re required to pack all your food and toiletries in a metal cabin located outside each tent to avoid any unwanted furry fiends making a meal out of you. Needless to say this advice is not to be taken too lightly as black bears in Yosemite are not uncommon, as well as other animals including possums, coyotes and the less threatening (but much more annoying) mice that have a penchant for stealing food!

Bear sighting

The next morning, and after all the talk of bears, what did we see? You guessed it – a bear! We were stopped in our tracks at the sight of a big, black bear about 20metres in front of us. The quality of the photo is indeed poor, but I wasn’t going to get any closer for the sake of more megapixels!

Black bear in Yosemite National Park

Have you been to Yosemite? What wildlife did you see?

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Hi, I'm Shing

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5 Responses

  1. How lucky for you to have spotted a bear! All these years of visiting Yosemite and we’ve never seen one except in nearby Sequoia Nat’l Park. Yosemite was one of the reasons I fell in-love with the US National Parks. It’s so beautiful! Glad you enjoyed your stay.

    1. I would LOVE to go to Sequoia National Park, and Yellowstone – in fact my itinerary is already planned for my next trip to the USA hah! Yes, Yosemite is such a majestic place – if you’ve been many times, and have yet see a bear there, I must be lucky then!

  2. that looks like the perfect place to sing the hills are alive! I love it! and I can’t believe you spotted a bear! I loved looking at these pictures! They are all so beautiful it looks like it was a great time!
    you are very beautiful ladies as well.
    I like your blog and will definitely be back to see some more posts form you in the future =)
    Have a great rest of your night!
    ~Morgan
    p.s. I hope you feel free to join me as I continue my beauty series on my blog about what truly makes a woman beautiful! There is a post everyday until 24th, and then a giveaway at the end =)

    1. Hello Morgan! I’m happy you could envisage singing ‘the hills are alive’! I hope you do come back, and feel free to leave any travel tips etc! Have a lovely week 😀 X

  3. Hailey and I stopped through Yosemite twice last year, the second time we ambitiously climbed Half-dome (oh our poor legs). We stayed in Housekeeping Camp and were awoken in the middle of the night by a racoon searching through our bags, just a few feet from our heads. I think he was more surprised then us when we flipped on the light! Sure glad we didn’t leave any food out to attract an even larger visitor.

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