| Report Type | Full |
| Peak(s) |
Half Dome |
| Date Posted | 10/07/2014 |
| Date Climbed | 09/25/2014 |
| Author | anthony156 |
| Yosemite 4 Mile Trail, Panorama Trail, Mist Trail |
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I first visited Yosemite in June 2014. I hiked up the Mist Trail to Little Yosemite Valley, camped, hiked up to the top of Half Dome the next morning, and back to the Valley floor. This was an incredible, awe inspiring 2 day trip. I had never seen the sheer granite faces of Yosemite. To say the least I wanted to go back.... I had been thinking about another cannonball trip, even debating going without a permit. I was sitting on a barstool in Summit County, Colorado(if you haven't been to this part of the country, it should be on your bucket list) when my friend sent me this picture:  I couldn't believe the sight of Half Dome on fire. I figured when the fires cleared, and the trails were opened would be the perfect time to go. Thursday September 25, 2014 My buddy and I left at 12:30am to drive from San Diego to Yosemite Valley. Thursday was going to be a long day, we left San Diego with the intent on arriving in Yosemite in the morning, somehow tracking down a permit, hiking all day, camping and waking up early Friday morning, only to climb Half Dome, hike back to the car. and drive back to San Diego. With all the hoops to jump this had the potential to get ugly. But my buddy who I've hiked all over the place with including the "Massive Mountain Fail" left San Diego on a wing and a prayer. We made it to Oakhurst, just outside of Yosemite about 6am. From here we needed breakfast. In this sleepy town nothing opened until 7am. We got supplies at one of the grocery stores in town to kill time. We managed to stumble into the Yosemite Gateway Inn at 6:30am. They were open and served a great chicken fried steak. About 7:30 we left for the final drive to Yosemite. We made it into the Yosemite Village about 10am. From here we went to the rangers station, to get a Wilderness Permit so we could camp overnight in the park. Since they were all booked online we walked in with little hope. We talked to the least helpful ranger/human being I've ever met. To protect his identity his name began with C and rhymed with Ameron. My favorite was after asking about the trails he rolled his eyes and said "I don't memorize trails". Finally we gave up on questions and asked for the permits. He had five available. "The mountains are calling I must go" We parked the car right in the middle of the village. This wasn't long term parking like Curry Village, but one of the workers assured us they wouldn't ticket if it were there for one night. We remembered to pull out all foods and scents, (this is bear country Ralph). We jumped on the bus to Camp 4. From here we would walk to the Four Mile trailhead We were starting at 11am, this seemed horribly late to be starting an eleven mile hike. Four Mile Trail When we got off the bus we had trouble finding the TH. Upon getting off the bus, go left, through the lodging and across the river, you should go across a bridge. From the trail walk right and in about one quarter mile you will see the TH sign. This trail is one switchback after another, it never seemed too steep even carrying backpacking gear. This trail is also paved in asphalt for most of the way, kinda odd and not very forest-y but just go with it you're in Yosemite. Everything here is paved in gold. Then you start getting incredible views of El Capitan. Next you will have these views of some famous rock.  About 40 minutes after those first sights of Half Dome you'll run into the giant forests before topping out at Glacier Point.  Four Mile TH to Glacier Point 2.5 hours Glacier Point The views here are out of this world. This is one of those places where even though you lugged that giant pack up the trail, tourists can drive up, always my favorite (especially when they say "The air doesn't seem too thin up here"). From here we stopped and grabbed a summit sandwich and pictures.  From here we could see our destination for the night, Little Yosemite Valley, it looked far. We would leave these sweeping Half Dome pictures for greener pastures on the Panorama Trail.  Glacier Point To Little Yosemite Valley(LYV) via the Panorama Trail We left at 1:30pm and headed downhill through a forest. Quite a bit of this was burned, but the views of circling Half Dome were incredible. We could see where we would be walking down and back up the ridge toward LYV. About 1.5 hours in, after stopping along the way to take tons of pictures we hit a river crossing.   It had been almost 24 hours since we had last touched the water so this seemed like a good spot to jump in.  After jumping in Illilouette Creek we continued up the hill toward the ridge overlooking Half Dome. From here you walk along the ridge, then start to head downhill through a nice forested section to Nevada Falls.  Glacier Point to Nevada Falls 3.5 hours This section was scenic and we moved very slow through it. We could've rushed to camp, or just taken it all in and strolled. There is no way to describe walking in a circle around Half Dome and soaking up views from the various angles. Nevada Falls to Little Yosemite Valley(LYV) 20 minutes From here it is about 1 mile to LYV. It is completely flat and along the river. If you want to fill up water before you get to camp fill up when you first see the river, otherwise don't worry because the camp is less than five minutes from the Merced River. We surveyed all the sites and found a spot close to the bathrooms, community fire pit and half dome trail. We would be leaving at dark the next morning and the last thing I wanted was to be wandering through the darkness asking fellow campers if they knew how to find Half Dome. Setting up camp in the daylight was nice, we started this hike expecting to arrive after dark.  Camp We setup camp and started the fire. It didn't take long to find dry branches and well girthed logs. Amongst all the fallen pine cones I thought of a great game, toss the pine cone while lit on fire(oh the possibilities for the night). We cooked the Kraft Mac N Cheese and got the community fire pit roaring. It didn't take long before campers wandered out of the woodwork, if you build it they will come. Before we knew it we were bombarded by everyones adventures and stories. When they finally asked how we got to LYV, we told them up to Glacier Point and to the camp, the response "that's just silly". We gained quite a bit of elevation and lost it, only to gain again, then go down once again. I kind of wanted to say hey don't judge only the 14ers crowd can do that. Very soon talks turned to hiking Half Dome in the morning. I knew from the previous time climbing Half Dome that there were two important things: 1) Don't listen to anyone's horror story of the steep cables 2) Avoid the crowds at all costs. For these reasons I lasted a few short minutes of hearing war stories before heading to bed, and forgot to mention what time we would be starting our hike. The Assault on Half Dome I woke up at 4:15, got ready and went to find water. I made the mistake of not filling up the night before, and knew there would be no water between LYV and Half Dome. It was pitch black, my buddy was asleep, I didn't know where the river was, so I blasted some country music to warn any bears I was coming. I found the river, filled the bottle and threw in iodine. I was worried about the water quality due to the recent fires and the fire retardant being dropped, but was assured by the rangers it would be fine. I headed back to camp and we got on the trail by 5. I really wanted to see sunrise on Half Dome. We charged up the trail with light packs having left everything else at camp. I would recommend taking at least 2L of water. You will not have access to water until back in LYV. The trail goes through a forest. This never got too steep but I did have to watch my footing since we didn't have a full moon and my headlight forgot to work. Finally out of the forest you will see the sub-dome. This is a steep route right up a rocky flight of stairs. Clouds were moving in fast. But a crazy miracle happened. they were making a U-turn like a boomerang as soon as they hit the sub-dome. We took this in for a moment. From here we charged up to the top of this mini dome. At this point we got the first look of the cables. At this point, it would be a good idea to take a picture.   We didn't take a long break, neither of us wanted to spend time looking and not hiking. The last time I hiked this I took biking gloves for the cables. These were slick and I learned my lesson, this time I purchased on my Ace Hardware $3.99 gardening gloves. Without anyone in front of us, we flew up the cables. Every 10 feet are wooden planks. I couldn't believe how much easier it was with rubber gardening gloves, do yourself a favor and splurge on the $3.99 gloves, they will make a world of difference. 8 minutes later we were on top of this world renowned landmark.  Little Yosemite Valley to Half Dome 1.5 hours We spent an hour on the summit. The clouds surrounding Half Dome gave the valleys a legendary depth. Just don't look down! We spent time on the summit, just taking the views in. I couldn't believe we made it. After the previous days adventure of driving through the night, swooping a last second permit, hiking the entire day, risking the chance of thunderstorms and then bypassing the fires. We were here, just don't look down.   From the top of Half Dome we moved back toward our camp in LYV. We passed tons of people along the way. Tons, even our fellow campfire crew. They were all asking about the cables, we provided positive encouragement, except when I started joking to the hikers that a moose was blocking Half Dome, they weren't impressed. Many had come up from the valley floor to do this in one day. I felt lucky having had the chance to camp overnight and do the Panorama Trail. How many people get to circle Half Dome, then hike it the next day. We cooked breakfast burritos, not my idea I'm cool with PB sandwiches, a victory burrito is always good. After we cleaned up, and threw pinecones at squirrels. Finally we headed off the mountain. We would be taking LYV to the Mist Trail since it was short and sweet to the bottom. I couldn't believe the amount of people we kept seeing hiking up, I was glad we wouldn't be jockeying around the cables with these folks. Here we saw some of the charred area, thank you firefighters for containing it.   The falls weren't roaring so we didn't get much mist going down the trail section by Nevada Falls. At the base of Nevada Falls is a great spot to go swimming, the emerald pool. Tons of signs warning of lethal currents made it all the more intriguing. With limited water movement we felt comfortable heeding the warnings. This was a refreshing spot to soak the body.  We only had more fall to get down. Vernal Falls has a steep stair section, very steep use caution but it is very short and sweet. We got to the bottom of the falls and took a few pictures, not much water but hey this is California. From here it got extremely crowded. After another mile of paved asphalt, crowds of people that probably shouldn't be hiking, a lass in high heels complemented by a first date dress, yes seriously, a guy in shiny, purple Air Jordans and enough screaming kids to make a clown cry we were at the end of this trail.  Little Yosemite Valley to Yosemite Valley via Mist Trail 2.5 hours From here it would be about two miles to the car, for the first time in my life, I willingly opted for the bus, and was asleep before it left the stop. We got to the car, no bears ripped the Subaru apart and drove toward the Visitors Center. I bought a postcard at the Ansel Adams Gallery, celebrated with a victory beer and got out of dodge. Looking back nothing in the trip could have gone better. We saw Half Dome from almost every angle, had two great days of backpacking and had unbelievable weather. The trails we went on the first day were not crowded at all, it often felt like we had Half Dome by itself and without the crazy tourists. Next time we do Yosemite I want to go through Tuolomene Meadows, which was closed this trip due to still being on fire, but until then if anyone has an extra permits and needs a partner... Onward Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow): 
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