Yosemite

Summer 2024

We hiked Half Dome in August 2024. In total the trip was 16 miles, with 7,000 ft elevation gain. We hiked the trail in 3 days 2 nights for a relaxed pace, staying in Little Yosemite Valley campground both nights.

Day 1

On the first day we drove in from the Bay Area, and reached Yosemite around 3pm. We were looking where to check in, but instead went to the visitor center and looked around. This was a good thing, since we weren't expecting it to be as hot as it was, so we each got some hats for the trip. We eventually found where to check in, and then drove to the parking lot near to the start of the Mist Trailhead, which was still 0.2 miles walk away.

We ended up starting the hike around 4:30pm, and enjoyed the climb up. We went on the Mist trail towards the campground. It was pretty steep, with quite a few people on the trail. As we continued further past the waterfalls there were less people. We eventually made it to Little Yosemite Valley campground just a the sun was setting. We found a spot within the radius of the campground, and set up and had some dinner. We looked at the stars for a bit, and then went to bed.

Day 2

The next morning we woke up around 6am, and had some breakfast of ramen and oatmeal. Our goal was to get to Half Dome reasonably early so there weren't so many people on the poles. We emptied out some of our packs for just water and snacks, and then started the hike to Half Dome. Along the way was quite pretty, especially as we got higher and saw some of the expansive views.

At the base of subdome, we had to show our permits to the ranger. There were a couple people waiting by the entrance who asked us if we had extra permits, which unfortunately we didn't. Then we started our ascent of subdome. It was quite steep, and we took our time. Unfortunately one of my friends spilled half his Nalgene while trying to fill up, which was unfortunate.

We made it to the top of subdome, and there were a lot of people who were just hanging out. The ropes seemed not too busy, so we sat down and ate a quick snack. Its discouraged to leave packs and water at the base, so we just left our jackets and poles and started the poles. It was slightly unnerving at first, as it appears to be almost vertical. But as soon as you get on the ropes it doesn't feel that bad.

We made it up in about 15 minutesviews. The top was a lot larger than I realized, and we sprawled out and just relaxed as the heat started to come. The day was clear with little clouds, so we just soaked in the expansive views. After about 30 minutes and some photos, we decided to go back down. By this time it the ropes were much busier, and so it took us almost 30 minutes to get down. A lot of it was just coordinating with the other side on who is moving when.

We made it down and then relaxed more on the top of subdome. We chatted with some other groups about how it seemed intimidating, but that they've already done the harder part of subdome. Some other hiker who heard that the group was nervous gave them his harness, which was a really nice thing to do. We then started to go back to the campground. It went much quicker, but we were all extremely thirsty since we brought less water.

We got back to the campground at around 2pm and had a late lunch. We then relaxed in the backpacking chairs I recently got until the night came, and we went to bed.

Day 3

In the morning, we ate some breakfast and then filled up our water. We decided to take the John Muir Trail down rather than the Mist Trail. It was another clear day, and the views were beautiful. This was definitely one of the more beautiful parts of the hike. We hung out at the top of Vernal Falls for a bit, enjoying the view of the valley. And then as we continued down, we were stopping to take photos almost every 5 minutes. It was amazing, since we were able to see Half Dome, Liberty Cap, and Nevada Falls all at once.

We made it back to the car before lunch, and we drove back to the Bay.