• About us
  • Books
  • Home
NULL
Sierra Splendor
Sierra Splendor
  • Featured
  • Adventures
    • Hiking
    • Climbing
    • Skiing
    • Cycling
  • Destinations
    • Yosemite Area
    • Mother Lode
    • Lake Tahoe area
  • News and Reviews
    • Events
    • Media
  • Musings
Sierra Splendor
  • Featured
  • Adventures
    • Hiking
    • Climbing
    • Skiing
    • Cycling
  • Destinations
    • Yosemite Area
    • Mother Lode
    • Lake Tahoe area
  • News and Reviews
    • Events
    • Media
  • Musings
  • Musings, Top Stories, Yosemite Area
  • How the other half lives in Yosemite

How the other half lives in Yosemite

by Matt Johanson August 23, 2015 Musings, Top Stories, Yosemite Area 0 1589

When my wife and I carried our bags down the red carpet into a plush lobby, I could still hardly believe it. In all the years we had visited Yosemite, we had never stayed at the lavish hotel that houses royalty, presidents and the well-to-do. I figured we never would, yet there we were.

ā€œWelcome to the Ahwahnee,ā€ a smiling registration clerk greeted us.

Camp 4, home to climbing royalty, the perpetually broke and the little-to-do, was our usual abode. I figured it always would be. But after many years of writing about Yosemite experiences led to an invitation to visit the historic hotel, Karen and I jumped at the chance. Our enjoyable visit showed us a fascinating contrast between the two communities just a few miles distant yet worlds apart.

At the Ahwahnee, guests reserve their rooms months in advance. At Camp 4, which has no reservations, campers line up hours before dawn outside the registration booth.

The Ahwahnee has six floors of rooms and suites like ours start at $600. Camp 4 crams six campers into each site and charges them $6 apiece.

At Camp 4, each site has a small fire ring. The Ahwahnee’s grand lounge has a giant fireplace nearly as big as Camp 4 sites.

Guests at the Ahwahnee sleep on comfortable feather beds. Campers at Camp 4 get by with sleeping bags and air mattresses (and sometimes bouldering pads).

Each morning at the Ahwahnee, the staff delivers complimentary newspapers to the doorsteps and guests enjoy free gourmet coffee. Every morning at Camp 4, a ranger checks tent tags to make sure everyone paid and campers drink instant joe.

Ahwahnee rooms have private bathrooms with hot water and showers. Camp 4 has a community bathroom with cold water and no showers, which is too bad because lots of campers could really use one.

The Ahwahnee has Steinway pianos, ornate chandeliers and a pricy bar. Camp 4 has guitars, headlamps and bear lockers full of cheap booze. Revelry at both venues lasts late into the night.

In the Ahwahnee dining room, guests enjoy world-class meals for a pretty penny and a dress code requires collared shirts for men. At Camp 4 picnic tables, neighbors enjoy world-class company while cooking their own meals for pennies and no one owns collared shirts.

Ahwahnee guest rooms boast views of Half Dome, the Royal Arches and Glacier Point. Camp 4 folks get to look at climbers attempting Midnight Lightning, a world-renown bouldering challenge.

Ahwahnee guests drive expensive, shiny cars. Camp 4 campers drive cheap used vans and pick-ups full of expensive, shiny climbing gear.

Ahwahnee types, mostly 30 and older, have discretionary income. Camp 4 folks, mostly twenty-somethings, have discretionary leisure time.

But for all the differences between them, people from the two destinations have more in common than we expected. Members of both groups are friendly and outgoing. Both crowds come from varied, interesting backgrounds. And while Ahwahnee types often fly in from distant states or countries while Camp 4 folks more likely just rappeled down from El Capitan, they all love Yosemite.

Our fun foray into high society taught us something about how the other half lives, and I think Ahwahnee guests would also learn something from spending a little time at Camp 4.


Was This Post Helpful:

0 votes, 0 avg. rating

Tags: AhwahneeCamp 4Matt JohansonYosemite
Share:
PREVIOUS POST

Musings of a Mono Lake kayaker

NEXT POST

Happy hiking with kids, the “no nightmare” approach

Matt Johanson

You Might Also Like

Yosemite climbing movies reach new heights

Yosemite climbing movies reach new heights

- on October 27, 2018
Skiing the Yosemite Border from June Lake to Badger Pass

Skiing the Yosemite Border from June Lake to Badger Pass

- on February 19, 2017
ā€œOn the Noseā€ recounts airy adventures

ā€œOn the Noseā€ recounts airy adventures

- on January 03, 2017

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • 2020’s good news happened outdoors
  • Bring on the map makeover
  • Hike to San Antonio Falls
  • California cyclists complete cross-country excursion
  • “Love the park you’re near”

Recent Comments

  • Randall Dunn on Favorite five Tahoe backpacking trips
  • William J. Gracie, Jr. on Like father, like sons on Dad’s High Sierra hike

Archives

  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • May 2020
  • March 2020
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • December 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • June 2018
  • March 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • July 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015

Categories

  • Adventures
  • Cycling
  • Destinations
  • Events
  • Featured
  • Hiking
  • Lake Tahoe area
  • Media
  • Mother Lode
  • Musings
  • News and Reviews
  • Skiing
  • Top Stories
  • Yosemite Area

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

About

Sierra Splendor brings you travel news and views from those who know the mountains best! We advocate low-impact, high-enjoyment recreation andĀ aim to become the best travel magazine about the Sierra Nevada. Check back often to read our dispatches from the Range of Light.

sierraspslendor@gmail.com

Popular Tags

Ahwahnee Alex Honnold Alone on the Wall Andy Padlo Bob Leung Brice Station Vineyards Calaveras Big Trees Camp 4 Chefs' Holidays Coz Drawn The Art of Ascent Ebbetts Pass Ebbetts Peak El Capitan giant sequoias Hamlet Hans Florine Highway 4 Hiking with kids Inga Aksamit the hungry spork Inspiration Point Jayme Moye Jeremy Collins John Muir John Muir Trail Kinney Lake Lee Stetson Matt Johanson Measureless Mountain Days Mia Babasyan Mono Lake Mount Whitney Neo Diesta Noble Canyon On The Nose Our Heroes' Dreams Ron Erskine Royal Robbins Scott Cosgrove Sean Lewis Shakespeare sierra nevada The Nose Yosemite Yosemite Epics

Copyright 2016 Sierra Splendor. All Rights Reserved.