Yosemite Service Project and Camping Trip (now with less snow!)

Come join your fellow RPCVs in the breathtaking Yosemite Valley! We are taking part in a Yosemite Beautification Service Project on Saturday, and also camping together Friday and Saturday nights. The weather should be nice, and the waterfalls will still be going.

DETAILS:

• Group Name: Northern California Peace Corps Association (yeay!)
• Work Schedule: Saturday, 9 am to 3 pm
• Max number of participants: 30
• Campground Assigned: Yellow Pine
• Campsite Check-In Date: Friday, 7/20 12PM
• Campsite Departure Date: Sunday, 7/22 12PM
• Work Project: Yosemite Beautification with volunteer staff! 

Yosemite may not seem like it needs any help in the beauty department, but 4 million people visit each year and that leaves an impact. We'll be helping Yosemite keep its natural pristine splendor. The workday is Saturday from 9am to 3pm, and the rest of the weekend is free for hiking and gawking at big rocks.

Many thanks to RPCVs Sally Kintner Martinez and Sandy Hernandez at the Yosemite Volunteer Program for setting up this unique volunteer event!

RSVP:

There is a 2-step process to reserve your spot! Just RSVP'ing on this page does not guarantee you a spot!

1. RSVP here on this NorCal PCA Events page
   1. But you're not done yet...
   2. You'll get an e-mail with a link to the Google Sheet
   3. If you don't receive this e-mail, check the email that your NorCal PCA account is associated with. Contact me if you have any issues
2. Follow the link to the Google Sheet and add your name on the "Roll Call" tab.
   1. This is what guarantees you a spot!

Sorry for the confusing process, but I had to do this because we have a hard cap on # of campers, and I don't know how to limit the # of RSVPs on this site, or how to allow people to add +1's (partner/kids).

Partner/kids are welcome (unless your media pseudonym is Octomom - then you may need to leave 3/4's of your brood at home). You can add them in the Google Doc.

UPDATE (July 18): There is currently room on the trip roster. However, the Ferguson Fire is active and may affect our Service Trip with smoky conditions, or possibly canceling the project altogether. We are monitoring the situation and will update the attendees when we have more information from the service project staff.

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5927/

https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/nature/aqmonitoring.htm

CAMPSITE:

Yellow Pine campground is the only group campground in Yosemite Valley, and only people on official Service Trips are allowed to use it. We will even receive park entry passes for the carpool drivers. Yellow Pine is much more secluded and tranquil (when not occupied by RPCVs) than the tent cities elsewhere in the Valley. It's a semi-secret and highly sought after campground, so we are very fortunate to have this opportunity. This will be car camping (as opposed to backpacking) - we will sleep in tents, but our cars are nearby.

CARPOOL:

We can have up to 30 people, but the amount of parking is limited, so carpooling is highly encouraged. There is a self-organizing carpool list on a Google doc for those that register. For each person that doesn't carpool, an Al Gore loses its wings.

GEAR:

Bring your own camping gear (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, headlamp, etc). Please dress in layers, and be ready for hot days and/or cold nights. The Google doc has a section for people to list extra gear they could loan out, or whether they need gear. Feel free to contact me if you need more info about what to bring.

FOOD:

We're taking care of our own food. We can organize communal dining on the Google Doc (Meals tab). There are also a grocery store and restaurants elsewhere in the Valley.

GOOGLE DOC:

Have you seen the words Google Doc a lot? I don't work for Google, but these sharable online documents are a convenient way to organize group trips like this. After you register for the trip here, I'll send you an invite to edit the Doc/Sheet. You can add your name to the official roster, and organize carpool and food details there.

Wow, are you still reading this? Congratulations! You get to hear about how awesome the Leprechaun movie franchise is. Each film is a cinematic treasure, including Leprechaun 4: In Space. If there was a National Park system for movies, Leprechaun 4 would undoubtably be its Yosemite.
Do you still have questions about camping? Please contact Dave Chang (Mali '04-'06) at bananamano at yahoo dot com