comments:
At Crane Flat you may get one bar of Verizon 4G LTE coverage, enough to make calls and send SMS, but not enough for internet. You will not have any AT&T or T-Mobile coverage. This was the case for me earlier this month at the Hodgdon Meadow campground. There is no place to charge a phone at the campground. Bring a battery pack and a solar charger, i.e. amazon.com/dp/B0DSBGDT4K . There is likely an outlet in the restroom but you're not supposed to use it for phone charging. Since there is no coverage you won't be using your phone much anyway. There is a gas station store at Crane Flat with some limited food. Yosemite Valley has a big market. To use the YARTs bus to go back and forth to the Valley you need to reserve in advance for pickup from Crane Flat and you can't do that without internet access. See https://www.yarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2026_HWY120-8.5x11-Website.pdf There is some free Wi-Fi by the El Portal entrance station but that's far from Crane Flat. Tuolumne Grove is a nice hike near Crane Flat. We made the mistake of hiking from Hodgdon Meadow campground on the "trail" which is the old road which is blocked by a lot of downed trees and overgrowth and it took about 2x the time we expected. There is the "hiker's bus" if you want to go to Tuolumne Meadows. https://www.travelyosemite.com/things-to-do/guided-bus-tours Don't miss the bus back or you'll be hitchhiking! It's pretty safe in terms of personal safety, but don't leave any valuables in your tent or in the bear locker. It's possible to lock the bear box when you have a campsite with its own bear locker, but you need a 10' long, cinching cable lock to do so (Master Lock 8413CBL10), and you're unlikely to be carrying that. At Camp 4 you'll have cellular coverage. Be more careful about your belongings at Camp 4. The Valley will be very crowded. Fortunately, buses usually have their own lane during peak times. There was a bear at Hodgdon Meadow campground two weeks ago and he got into someone's food.