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Posted by Jay (70.109.21.67) on 08:38:59 06/23/06
In Reply to: ever get there this time of year? posted by Sagebrusher
More on the subject of the campgrounds, finding the right campsite is the real key of summer camping in JTNP. I can't give you the nunmber of the site, but there is one on the east branch of Hidden Valley Campground that is a real secret jem. Look for these features....it may take a bit of exploring to realize just what campsite I'm talking about. Its maybe 5 campsites back from the very end of the road. Back behind where you would pitch your tent, right behind the bushes that are the back border of the cleared-for-tens area, is a wonderful rock overhang, big enough to sleep under and hang out in the coolness of the huge boulders. Even better though, is the more hidden, although actually closer to the road, rock shelter, actually IN BETWEEN that campsite and the next campsite to the south.....shaped like a good sized tee-pee inside, with just a crawl space for getting into it....the boulders that make up the shelter really keep it cool, and also protect perfectly from the wind (OK, in the summer there is not wind, but its kewl in the winter, when you can build a fire in there). I acutally met a guy once that hitch-hiked in and out of the park, and camped in that shelter inbetween sites for a couple months! And no one at the sites he was smack inbetween ever bothered him.
There's a couple other campsites in Hidden Valley campground with rock shelters also .... more obviously seen from the roads.
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