[quote=Birdkiller
Can a trip to Yosemite be done avoiding a lot of the tourism? At least once you've started the trip that is.
[/quote]

The big national parks all have their magnet attractions, which attract huge crowds, often for good reason. Yosemite Valley really is an exceptional place, but it is, and has been for a long time, rather crowded. The NPS has just released for public discussion a revised plan for improvements in the valley. The end result will be no caps on visitor numbers.

In any park, get away from the developed areas, and you will leave "touristy" behind, often very quickly. Throughout our country, there are scores of little known gems that are not big tourist attractions.