German climber looking for general Valley advise

I am planning to spent October in the Valley and am hoping to climb El Cap, Half Dome, etc. Having climbed for around 20 years i can say with confidence that i know trad and sport climbing. However aid and or big wall climbing will be new to me. I have climbed 400m routes but that is just one day and not a multiday adventure.
Until October i will train some of the techniques i would need for a multi-day route with aid pitches.
And for October my general plan is to just show up in Camp4 and hopefully find climbing partners there.

At this point i am looking for general advise and have a few basic questions for you guys.
1. How hard will it be to find partners? Not just for sport climbing but especially for the big walls
2. Is October indeed good timing? I guess i could come a little earlier.
3. Will i be allowed to camp for a whole month? I read that especially camp4 can be crowded and there might be a maximum stay.
4. Should i rent a car for the whole month? I guess that question is a combination of a lot of questions. Shopping in walking distance, distances in the Valley. Public transport from whichever airport i arrive at. My experience tells me that in the US distances are always long and public transport almost non existant. But on the other hand i would not like to rent a car for a month and just use it to get into the valley and back.

So i guess that covers the basics for now. If any of you will be in the Valley at that time and feel like introducing me to the local climbing i would be happy to meet you!

Henning

Try to come earlier, the weather will be more stable and warmer. There is a one week maximum stay until Sept. 15, then I'm not sure what the limit is. Check the NPS website for Yosemite to find out the exact rules.
Fly into Oakland or San Francisco, then take BART ( S-Bahn) & Greyhound to Merced, then take the YARTS bus to Yosemite Valley. It might be worth doing a one way car rental to save on time and hotel costs,and maybe help you bring some food into the Valley, if you can find a one way car rental that doesn't cost too much. A one way car rental probably won't be cheap if you can find one, but it won't cost you anything to do a web search for one.

Plenty of food and gear shopping in the Valley, pretty easy to reach from Camp 4. Food and beer are not cheap, but it's cheaper than a one month car rental.

Partners to start up a wall with are easy to find, partners who can finish a wall with you are a different story. Put a note on the partner finder on this forum and have people PM or e-mail you through this site, or have them text you if your phone works in the US. Cell phone coverage in the Valley is lousy, so texts work better than voice.

It might be wise to ask your question here as well:

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/forum.php

"There is a 30-night camping limit within Yosemite National Park in a calendar year; however, May 1 - September 15, the camping limit in Yosemite is 14 nights, and only seven of those nights can be in Yosemite Valley or Wawona." from the NPS yosemite camping site.

No need to have a car in the valley, the shuttle system is good (but crowded with tourons) and really everything is within walking distance. If you can get a bike it will make your stay much more enjoyable (a beater, nothing fancy) as you'll be less inhibited by the shuttles. If you are flying in to Santa barbara or the bay area public transport to yosemite is fairly easily acquired, though it'll take you the majority of a day in transit to get there probably. Once in the valley you can probably find someone headed back out that you could ride with and split gas if you want/need to go somewhere.

While shopping is close, it wont be cheap. You'll pay a steep premium for groceries and the selection may be slimmer than you desire (depending on your food expectations).

As mark said, if you can come a bit earlier (last two weeks of september?) you might have more good weather days.