In my experience, the privies have been open, at least in Glen Aulin (even had a solar charged light in it, so when you opened the door, a light would come on for a reasonable amount of time.)Vidalia wrote: I noticed the High Sierra Camps are tentatively scheduled to close by Sept 6 so they will not be open when we hike. Are the privies still usable after they close? What about the bear boxes? We will be taking bear containers of course but I was wondering if anything was left after the camps closed?
Vogelsang has always had problems with their toilets, and in '08, we didn't try them.
Here's a pic of Vogelsang HSC below Fletcher. Note how dry it was in '06. Same in '08.
The bear boxes are all there, but... If you're anywhere near Vogelsang, that is not the place to camp. You'll probably end up at Ireland the first night (smallish fish.) If you make it to Evelyn, There's a big tree on the NE shore that is perfect to camp behind. Blocks the wind, and the fishing right off that bench is excellent. I've camped there about 9 times. Most go to the "delta" area, hence, i don't.
As I've always gone to that area in mid/late Sept, It has always been warm days with the occasional cold front. The rule of the day was cotton T's and shorts for hiking, but then carrying a full set of fleece and rain gear. It can and does drop into the teens in mid Sept, and lots of wind.
Given you're ticket is for Lyell, you won't run into the pack trains until you hit Vogelsang. After the HSC's close, there are daily mule trains, generally 3 at a time to go up and carry out stuff. You probably wont have a problem with that. As I like Rafferty that time of year to get to Evelyn, I find myself either following the droppings all the way up or helping corral a loose Mule who didn't want to cross the bridge.
Anyway, It'll be an epic adventure.