Yosemite Park Bums, ca. 1980

Camp 4 and Yosemite Park Bums

From the late 1970s through the mid 1980s I lived in Yosemite Valley as much as possible, often for months at a time. I guess that qualified me as a Yosemite Park Bum.

Although the climbing scene centered around Camp 4, sometimes even that place was too expensive for us. So we slummed around where ever we could, sometimes sleeping up in the boulder field, sometimes in the back of a car out at Curry Village.

We dove the dumpsters every morning to gather cans for the nickle deposit, and to gather up any discarded food that still looked good. I was an expert at scarfing in the Lodge Cafeteria, as warm leftovers was my cuisine of choice.

And, of course, we climbed all day, every day. Here is a collection of portraits of Yosemite Park Bums circa 1980.

Images

View Yosemite Park Bums, ca. 1980 Image Gallery - 18 Images