May 24th, 2018

I have had this hike on my radar for as long as I can remember.  I had heard so many things about it…how hard it was…how scary it was, but I had not been able to experience this for myself until now.  Despite living in California for over 10 years and living in Fresno for that matter (a short 2 hour drive to the park)… I had only been to Yosemite twice and both times NOT to do Half Dome.  So I was determined to get this bucket list hike checked off.

I found a willing victim to endure this with me by luring a wonderful fellow travel nurse named Ida along with me.  She said she was up for the challenge so we planned it during her last 2 weeks in Oxnard.  Luckily for us the scheduled date for the cables going up and the permits being lotteried was moved up from the original May 25th date.

Inorder to do the cables at the end of half dome you must apply for a permit.  The early lottery is done in March for the start of the season which is usually May, weather permitting of course.  If you don’t get the chance to do the early lottery, there are daily lotteries when the season officially opens.  They have limited the number of hikers doing Half dome to 300 hikers per day, with the daily lottery being limited to 50 permits per day.  You can apply for the daily permit lottery at www.recreation.gov two days before your requested date and you find out the next day if you get the permit.  You need to make an account with them online and then there is a $10 non-refundable fee to apply for the lottery.  If you win the lottery then your card is charged another $10 for each hiker in your group.

Note: It does state to bring your printed permit on you and that the group leader or alternate have their photo ID.  (Side note: we did not encounter anyone checking IDs or permits on the trail)

So our adventure began with the 3.5h drive back to Fresno from Oxnard.  Ida had to work a 12h day shift then go home to grab her stuff so we didn’t hit the road until about 9:30pm.  This put us into Fresno at 12:30am (with me driving, I shaved off a few minutes, by a few I mean like 30).  After a quick tour of my house in Clovis, we hit the hay and made plans for a 4:30am wake up with a 5:00am departure for the park.

From Clovis, Yosemite is a short 2h drive, once we hit the gate at 6:45am (which was unattended-you pay the park fee upon exiting…sorry no free bees here no matter how early you start – also I think we should support the national parks so pay your park fees people) we weaved our way through the park, through the tunnel and stopped at the tunnel view point to take a classic sunrise Yosemite panoramic.

From there we proceeded to drive through the Valley towards the trailhead parking lot.  We parked the cars and locked up the extra snacks in the anti-bear lockers and made our way a short walk past the Happy Isles bathrooms (last chance to relieve yourself) and shuttle stop 16 and crossed the bridge towards the start of the John Muir/Mist Trail.

Our 16 mile journey would begin here.   The John Muir Trail takes you up to Half Dome, we were told to take the Mist Trail which is an offshoot off of the John Muir and then meets back up with it later on.

The initial start of the trail is a concrete incline taking you up to Vernal Falls.  The Mist trail is appropriately named as the rushing waters of Vernal Falls into the Merced River create a non-stop mist onto the trail making the trek slightly precarious up the rock stair steps.  We were warned to bring a light rain jacket, but of course I forgot mine.  So I ended up slightly drenched.

In my opinion the first few miles of this trek are breathtaking. The hike past Vernal and Nevada Falls is picturesque.  If you are lucky, you will get a rainbow greeting and the sound of the rushing water is a great backdrop to the hike.

After we completed the Mist Trail we met up with the John Muir and noted the 4.5 mile hike remaining to half dome.

The dome…The cables are only up depending on the weather and require a permit.  Although, the day we went was a less busy day, this part of the trek can become very dangerous when busy, with long waits to get up the cables and impatient hikers taking risks to get around people.

The Cables

My personal opinion regarding these cables is that they are NO JOKE!!.  The angle with which you climb up makes arm strength and leg strength pretty vital, which after hiking almost 8 miles to get there can be a daunting task.  I highly suggest a rest and snack break prior to attempting the cables both going up and down.

In my opinion going down was more scarier than the upward climb.  Traction on your shoes (no keds, please) and glove traction are super important.  Several climbers leave their gloves by the base for others to use, if you come unprepared and forget a pair of gloves, definitely worth picking through to find a good pair.  Also, several climbers were smart and clipped in with rope and carabiners.  In hindsight, I totally would have opted for this extra safety measure.   Everyone on the climb was super encouraging and said the Summit would be worth it, which helped me power through to the top.

The total trek was 8 miles out and back, so 16 miles of variable terrain with an elevation gain of 4,800 ft (on 4 hours of sleep) took us 11.5 hours (not too shabby).   This was by far the most challenging hike I’ve ever done.  Yosemite is always beautiful and it was a great feeling to knock this one off the ol’ bucket list.

Must Haves: 

• plenty of WATER, nps.gov says at least 4 Gallons depending on the heat, this is definitely a must.
• SUSTENANCE – protein bars, electrolytes, trail mix – whatever you need to fuel you for 16 miles
• GLOVES with a grippy palm, if you plan to do the cables…it’s totally okay if you don’t. YOU DO YOU.
• HIKING POLES – optional for some but I like using them for the extra stability and because I like my knees (especially handy on the downhill).
• CAMERA – for the picturesque panoramic vistas and the beautiful waterfalls.
• HIKING SHOES – with traction (like I said earlier… NO KEDS)
• HEAD LAMP – for the just in case you don’t make it down before sunset.
• PERMIT – I’m biased on this one cause no one checked ours and our stress about getting one was needless

HAPPY TREKKING #GETOUTSIDE