I wanted to camp at least one night in the park this trip. Last year I was unable to do so, as everything was full, in part due to going at the time of the Coachella Music Festival plus spring break. So I waited a little longer this time and went during the week to better my chances. I drove through the park on my way to my motel Tuesday to check things out. More campers than I expected, but not bad. By the time I got around to camping Thursday, there were even more people. Initially I wanted to camp at Hidden Valley or Ryan, since they are near to the drive to Keys View that I hoped to visit before leaving the park Friday. But they were full (acceptable spots anyway), so I headed to the next one, Jumbo Rocks, which has the most units in the park (125). Figured I would do alright there. Wrong! It was a fully-packed madhouse. So now I was getting concerned as I headed over to Belle. Fortunately I was able to secure a decent spot there. But it filled up too, as campers kept coming in until dark. I was pretty far from the Keys View Road at Belle, so changed my plans for Friday morning and hiked Mastodon Peak by Cottonwood before leaving the park and heading for Salton Sea and home.