there is free camping by the lake just outside the park at tioga. first come first serve, otherwise, no car camping available outside of TM

Did that hike 38 years ago this month with two buddies. The 3 of us were in 10th grade. Drove up from L.A. Left our car in Mammouth and caught a ride with a backpacking camp bus heading into Yosemite and got dropped off at Tuolume Meadows. Back then we didn't have to hang our packs or food up, the bears left you alone. Along the Lyle Fork or anywhere you could squat and scoop a fresh clean cool drink with your sierra cup from the river, any stream or lake, no giardia. Was excellent. We had old school canvas packs, the kind with no hip pads, and those thick funky heavy flannel lined sleeping bags. All our gear came from army surplus stores. The first backpacking stores were just starting to open and we'd go and look with our eyes wide open, but the equipment was way to expensive for teenagers. We hiked in blue jeans, used school shoes called desert boots made of soft canvas with a rubber bottom and funky light weight tennis shoes and flannel jackets. When I'm in my high tech REI gear today with my Gregory pack I get such a chuckle thinking back to how we did it then, freezing and carrying 40-50lbs in those funky outfits. We were pretty inexperienced at 16, but full of adventure and having our 420 along helped. On that trip we got lost on Donohue Pass at dusk as a thunder storm came up from the west fast and decended on us, it started raining and we by luck found the trail and jogged down the back side and set up our plastic tube tents along the switch backs at the first trees, folding up the corners so the rivers of rain water could wash by and not in. I'll never forget that thunder and lightning that night. Cold, wet, freezing, nearly crapped in my pants it was so scary, lightning hitting trees around us. But next day was gorgeous at 1000 island lakes area. We hung and dried out, fished. Then the next day hike past Devils Postpile and into Mammouth Lakes was memorable. At 16 it was an awesome experience I still remember. Nice pics!