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⛰ My blog also contains numerous Trip Reports from adventures I've had.
Start Time: 10:38am
End Time: 3:20pm
Trailhead Elevation: 8850 ft.
Summit Elevation: 10,850 ft.
Hike Elevation: 2329 ft.
Hike Mileage: 6.03 mi.
The turn-off for May Lake Road is pretty well marked on the Tioga Road so we had little trouble finding it. The road is then about 4 miles of rough and bumpy 2WD dirt road up to a nice paved trailhead area. It is said that some years May Lake Road doesn't open at the same time as the Tioga Road and so you may need to verify this before making any great plans.
Start Time: 7:17am Glacier Point Time: 11:03am 4-Mile Trail Start Time: 12:00pm End Time: 1:55pm LYV Start Elevation: 6128 ft. Glacier Point high Elevation: 7279 ft. Valley End Elevation: 3979 ft. Panorama Trail Hike Elevation: +2882 ft, -1579 ft. Panorama Trail Hike Mileage: 6.72 mi. 4-Mile Trail Hike Elevation: -3200 ft. 4-Mile Trail Hike Mileage: 4.54 mi. Day 4 of our full week of hiking in Yosemite was the first day we weren't making up way up to a high summit. That is, unless you count Glacier Point at 7,279. This would be our third day in a row of moving with our full backpacks, but also our last. As usual we were up before 6am today, but at least it was a warmer morning than yesterday when we woke up 1000+ feet higher in the open.
Start Time: 6:56am End Time: 11:20am Camp Start Elevation: 7142 ft. Summit Elevation: 8860 ft. Hike Elevation: 1800 ft. Hike Mileage: 5.35 mi. Today's hike was a matter of unfinished business. When we had made our hiking trip plans in 2011 we had set the hike of Half Dome as one of our big goals. In the months leading up to that trip we were following very closely the snowpack reports hoping things would be open by the time we arrived. As it turned out, the cables would not be put up until about a week after we left. While it was a disappointment for us to miss out on an attempt of Half Dome then, we did salvage an epic week of hiking nonetheless.
Trail: Sunrise Lakes Trailhead > Clouds Rest Start Time: 10:28am End Time: 5:45pm Trailhead Elevation: 8209 ft. Summit Elevation: 9926 ft. Camp Elevation 7155 ft. Hike Elevation: +2449 ft., -3503 ft. Hike Mileage: 9.47 mi. This hike began a 3-day backpacking trek for us with Clouds Rest not really even being the main objective. We actually conceived of this hike back in 2011 on our previous trip. We would have attempted it then except the Tioga Road was still closed to everyone when we were visiting. That left us scrambling for new plans in 2011. This year, the snowpack and the roads would work in our favor. In planning this year's attempt we were left with one hurdle: how do we get to the trailhead?
Start Time: 8:27am End Time: 2:21pm Start Elevation: 9949 ft. Summit Elevation: 13,057 ft. Hike Elevation: 3229 ft. Hike Mileage: 5.29 miles A hike of Mt. Dana was to be the great springboard of another amazing week out in Yosemite National Park. I was joined by two good friends of mine, Ken and Matt, with whom I also made the 2011 hiking trip. This time around we had 5 full days of hiking to work with and the way things fell into place we had our highest elevation climb on day 1.
Because Yosemite is so very popular, planning ahead is a necessity. This is particularly true if you wish to spend the night in the park. During the main summer months of June through September it can be very crowded there. Most of the main campgrounds in the park require reservations well in advance. Even for people, like myself, who wish to sleep in the backcountry reservations are still a necessity. Yosemite requires all backpackers to have permits for overnight stays. They limit how many hikers can depart from and camp from each of the major trailheads. In the busy summer months and from the popular trailheads these permits can go quickly. Ambitious hikers wishing to go up Half Dome will, surprise, surprise, also need a permit for that. Though, this last one probably exemplifies the necessity of all these permits in the first place. With a simple web search you can find pictures and videos of what the cables route on Half Dome looks like when it becomes overcrowded. In short, it gets downright dangerous. Though the whole reservation thing does complicate the process, it is in the end a necessity and a good thing for the preservation of these natural beauties.
The classic view of Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View
This is one of the most exciting things an outdoors-lover can do. I can’t speak enough about how enjoyable I have found it in researching all the possibilities an avid hiker and backpacker can find when looking at Yosemite National Park. I’ve also learned that without doing some of the homework ahead of time, endless possibilities can easily be missed. I am presently working on my 3rd trip to Yosemite and loving every minute of it. My wife and I took a trip there in 2008 for just a day. We had travelled down the Pacific coast from Seattle and Yosemite was one of our last day-trips. We hadn’t really done any homework ahead of time and so we just showed up. It was late-May and we were lucky that the Tioga Road was just opening so we drove up to Tuolumne Meadows. We also enjoyed the short hike to Lower Yosemite Falls back in the valley. Time and lack of knowledge of the Park, however, left us unsure what else to do.
Half Dome as viewed from Glacier Point
In 2011 my friends Matt, Ken, and I made a very well-planned out hiking and camping trip to Yosemite for a week. I’ll be sharing much of what we learned from that later on to explain itineraries. We learned a lot from this trip both in the planning stages and in the implementation of those plans during our week out there. For 2014 my same friends and I are back at it again. The 178% above normal snowpack of 2011 left us without a summit of Half Dome and so some unfinished business. We have our sights set on more exciting possibilities in Yosemite this year and plan to enjoy the now 33% below normal snowpack of 2014.
Trail: Pohono Trail + Sentinel Dome Trail
Trailhead Begin: Glacier Point Trailhead
Trailhead Elevation: 7,180 ft.
Sentinel Dome Elevation: 8,122 ft.
Hike Elevation Total: 942 ft.
Hike Mileage Total: 2.71 miles
Panorama Point Hike
Trail: Panorama Trail
Trailhead Begin: Glacier Point Trailhead
Trailhead Elevation: 7,180 ft.
Ilillouette Falls Elevation: 5,884 ft.
Panorama Point Elevation: 6,218 ft.
Hike Elevation Total: 1,630 ft.
Hike Mileage Total: 6.00 miles
Inspiration Point Hike
Trail: Pohono Trail
Trailhead Begin: Wawona Tunnel Trailhead
Trailhead Elevation: 4,389 ft.
Inspiration Point Elevation: 5,408 ft.
Hike Elevation Total: 1,019 ft.
Hike Mileage Total: 2.60 miles
TRIP REPORT:
We arrived at Glacier Point around noon and the lots were already filling up and we were lucky to find a good spot in the row by the bathrooms. We hopped out and went for photos right away. The legs were still pretty tight and downhills on steps was painful still. There was a bride and wedding party also heading up towards Glacier Point as we arrived. We got some amazing shots out at the Point and then headed to the car to situate our gear for hiking. We had originally contemplated doing the GP > Sentinel Dome > Taft Point loop today but I wasn't too keen anymore on more snow hiking and navigation. So we decided to start with Sentinel Dome and see what we felt like. There was good signage from the parking lots for the main trailhead that serves the Pohono Trail and Panorama Trail. We started on the Pohono towards Sentinel Dome.
The first bit of the Pohono actually crosses the road twice as it climbs and then heads for the west. There were patches of snow to cross but a good 80-90% of the trail was drying out. We made quick work of the trail towards the Sentinel Dome junction and my legs were starting to feel much better. I realized my head just wasn't into it all morning but as we got out hiking everything came around. The junction for Sentinel Dome was somewhat clear as we could also see the radio tower at this point.
From this point on it was all snow on the Sentinel Dome trail. I put on microspikes though I would find these weren't necessary. The snow was already getting soft and slushy on the top. There were a ton of foot trails in the snow and as we neared the summit of Sentinel Dome it looked like a sledding hill with foot prints everywhere. We had about 20 people on top with us and the views were some of the best of the trip next to those from Clouds Rest. There were a few gentleman on top trying to debate whether Half Dome or Sentinel Dome was higher. They were trying to eye-ball this and one was trying to text Google 411 for the answer. I pulled out the topo map and settled that question.
We opted on the Sentinel Dome summit not to purse Taft Point in the snow and rather to hit the Panorama Trail and at least hike down to Illilouette Falls. We knew that was snow free and the views would likely be better as well. The hike down Sentinel Dome back to Glacier Point went quickly. We actually had a great run step-sliding down the snow off Sentinel Dome. A little harder and it would have made an awesome glissade. We made it back to the parking lot and spent 10 minutes changing some gear out for the next hike.
To start on the Panorama Trail we went back to the same trailhead we had just started at, only this time, we made the left turn from Glacier Point. The sign said 2 miles to Illilouette Falls and that was our destination. I had also done some research on the topo and concluded that to continue to Panorama Point was only another half mile and if time allowed we would shoot for that as well.
The Panorama Trail begins with a switchback or two to drop the trail from Glacier Point. The forest was beautiful at this point as it consisted of some very large pines (with a great smell) and very little underbrush keeping the views somewhat open. After the initial descent the trail becomes one big panoramic traverse heading down towards Illilouette Creek. Along the way we saw Half Dome turning before our eyes and the view went from seeing the vertical sheer north face to the more rounded south side. As we neared Illilouette Creek the trail began several switchbacks to help us on the descent to the creek. We figured we had gone at least a mile at this point though the sign said 1.3 miles to go to the creek. We concluded that the mileage on their signs isn't always 100% accurate.
At Illilouette Creek we hit the footbridge taking you over the rushing waters. The trail never actually took us to the top of the falls and our best view of the falls happened along the switchbacks previously. We moved on to Panorama Point and then involved several more climbing switchbacks which easily took us another half mile past the creek. At one bend in the switchback there was an obvious trail breaking off through the willows and we took this out to the point. As required at Panorama Point, we took some great panoramic photos. Good views of Glacier Point, North Dome, and Half Dome as well as part of the valley altogether.
We decided to really push it on the ascent back up to Glacier Point. The thought of catching the snack shop open still was enticing to get some more drinks. We pushed it as quick an ascent speed as we could keep up with. Had only one stop to handle some drinks and otherwise made a fantastic pace back up to Glacier Point. We made it with time to spare and headed into the snack shop for Gatorade and an ice cream sandwich. We let the legs cool some and headed out to the end of Glacier Point one more time. We figured we still had some good time before we had to hit Inspiration Point. It was nice to have 15 minutes to cool down and chug the Gatorade.
The drive out from Glacier Point went smoothly and before we knew it we were at the end of the Wawona Tunnel. We allowed for some short debate as to whether we had the energy left for this hike and whether the legs would tighten up too much after Glacier Point, but when we hit the Tunnel View parking there was no debate, we were juiced to go. Matt noted that it took him about 45 minutes to get to Inspiration Point the other day so we counted the minutes we had before dark and felt pretty good about this.
We hit the trail cruising. There were a few great views of Yosemite Valley from the lower parts of the trail. It was otherwise an ascent through thick trees with the earlier parts of the trail being relatively steep. As we hit Inspiration Point we were surprised at the lack of view. There was an open flat area with trees blocking any decent view of Yosemite Valley. As I read later on, I hear there may have been a great viewpoint on a short walk out of the trees in this area but we never saw it. We hit the descent hard and by now I was completely out of liquids. It took us 29 minutes on the ascent and we moved so quickly on the descent we did the 1.3 miles in 21 minutes and our hiking was done.
Panoramas from Today
From Glacier Point
From Sentinel Dome
From Panorama Point
TRACK:
The track and a handful of waypoints from these three hikes are available for download in the following KML file:
Trail: Upper Yosemite Falls trail, North Dome trail, Snow Creek Falls trail, Mirror Lake Loop trail
Trailhead Begin: Upper Yosemite Falls Trailhead
Trailhead Elevation: 3,994 ft.
Yosemite Falls Overlook Elevation: 6,540 ft.
Yosemite Point Elevation: 6,980 ft.
North Dome Elevation: 7,542 ft.
High Point: 8,129 ft. (Indian Ridge)
Trailhead End: Mirror Lake Shuttle Stop
Trailhead End Elevation: 4,004 ft.
We left camp at Hodgdon Meadows around 5:45 for the Valley. We parked at the Yosemite Lodge public parking that is right next to the main north drive. During night hours it is closed to public parking unless you're a guest there, but during the day it was open to us. We gathered our gear up and were on the trail at 6:28am. We were slightly apprehensive about making sure we found the Upper Yosemite Falls trail but as we crossed the north drive we encountered a sign that cleared up those worries for us.
The hike to the Upper Yose Falls trail hugged the rim of the valley not too far from the road for like half a mile until it met the clearly marked trailhead. Past the trailhead it starts climbing steeply with short and numerous switchbacks. The grade of the trail itself was never too great but the switchbacks just keep going back and forth. At one point we spotted this beautiful bluebird who would pose on a rock before us.
As we would approach with the camera for a shot he would hop on further ahead of us. It was almost as if he was leading us along.
At the top of the switchbacks we'd gained about 700 feet of elevation and were sitting at 4700. The trail from here runs smoother for awhile as it begins a great traverse along the valley wall. We climbed up to 5200 feet along the trail. In this section is a stop called Columbia Rock. It isn't marked but there is a railing at the overlook and the views were pretty decent. Forawhile the trail then descended back to 4900 as it continued to traverse around the north rim wall. At this lowpoint is where the trail starts curling north "around the corner" and at this point you also begin to get the first of many fantastic views of the Upper Yosemite Falls. It was a beautiful sight and we could see a ton of mist coming up from the falls and were curious if we too would get wet ahead.
From there the trail begins to curl northwest into a gully that runs up the west side of the falls. Here again are a great many switchbacks and several steeper rock staircases that relatively easily take you up above the falls. Up until about elevation 5700 you'd wonder if you were in a rainforest as the mist was hitting the trees all about us and gently dripping on everything. We did not really get wet ourselves but everything else about us was. We were also impressed in here at looking to the west at the massive rock faces that towered above us. We followed the zig-zagging trail ever further and into thickening trees once more until around elevation 6600 where the trail junction finally arrived. From there we could have headed west on the trail towards Eagle Peak and on to El Capitan. That trail section also would have led out to Tioga Rd. Or we could have headed east towards the Falls Overlook and Yosemite Point, which we did. It's a short walk from that trail junction to another signed junction for the Falls Overlook. This was a short hike to a rock staircase that descends to the east above the falls, and then curls back around west on a very narrow and exposed staircase with just a single rail to descend to the overlook. The best views from the overlook were ironically not of the Falls, but rather of the Valley itself. I had to take video of our walk back up this narrow staircase as it was quite an impressive sight.
Back on the trail above we descended down to Yosemite Creek and across the footbridge which crossed over a dangerous and roaring creek below. From there we curled around to the north to gain some easy elevation back up to Yosemite Point which sits at roughly 6,950 feet. We had lunch here and Matt worked on drying out his camera which had taken on some moisture. The views were also spectacular here and we were intrigued by the aging railing at the Point which didn't look like it was hanging on to much anymore. Needless to say, we didn't really lean over it to look down to the valley floor.
From Yosemite Point we were surprised to find how difficult it was to actually narrow down what the trail was leading northeast from the Point. We used the GPS to spot check that we were relatively close but the terrain was so open and rocky that it was hard to nail down a definitive trail. The "trail" we followed crested out on a ridge at 7300 and from there descended slightly east into thicker tree cover. It was about 10am at this time and we were feeling great about making it all the way to North Dome. As the trees grew thicker we also found the snow cover to be growing stronger. About this time we ran into about 8 hikers who worked for a Search And Rescue outfit. It did not appear they were actively searching for anyone but they were helpful in giving us some trail beta. They said we'd lose the trail after Indian Creek and there was a lot of snow before and after North Dome. Indeed, they were right. After we met them we used their tracks in the snow to continue on as no actual trail was evident anymore. We were able to follow their tracks, sometimes off and on, all the way to near Indian Creek where we lost them for good.
At Indian Creek we realized what others had been saying in that it was difficult to find a stream crossing. There was drifts of snow on each side of the creek and the creek itself was several feet deep. We ended up hiking just over a tenth of a mile north til we found some downed logs that were positioned just right for us to cross. It was also helpful that the snow drift on the other side was relatively flattened out and we did not have a steep slope to ascend. This crossing went by without a hitch and we began to bushwhack south thinking maybe we'd find a trail. From this point on we were truly on our own and did not find the actual trail again til near North Dome. I used my GPS to spot check us from time to time and to get headings on where to go which we then used compass to make sure we were on track. We tried to find the path of least resistance as we encountered thin areas through trees and snow drifts to go over. We learned to watch out for the drifts over fallen logs as we postholed a few times several feet into the melted out openings around the logs. As the true trail towards North Dome remained elusively south of us and began to curl east we decided we might as well take advantage of being off trail and cut down the distance. We made a straight beeline east towards Lehemite Creek and at some point must have passed over the real trail and we crossed Lehemite Creek without much trouble.
From there we worked east moving a few hundred feet south of the true trail and at points we thought we had met up with it. The third creek crossing was small and easy once more when a suitable and safe crossing point was found. It was about a quarter mile west of Indian Ridge that we finally found the trail and the snow lessened for awhile. It was also there we found a nice small stream to filter some more water and reload. The ascent up Indian Ridge was a quick set of switchbacks and we soon found ourselves at the North Dome trail junction. It was about 12:15pm at this time and I was starting to get a little nervous about time and the snow cover still to come. It was a surprising mental exhaustion having encountered far more snow than we had anticipated and having to constantly route-find through the woods with little ability to see anything beyond the trees.
We made the descent down the east side of Indian Ridge and then the easy walk up the slope of North Dome. Out on North Dome we had another "lunch" and took in the amazing views of Clouds Rest and Half Dome and the rest. As amazing as North Dome was it was a little hard for me to enjoy for very long as it was nearing 1pm when we finally left. We knew we had at least another 8-9 miles out with lots of snow covering it.
We retraced our steps from North Dome back up to Indian Ridge and then began to follow the North Dome trail north along Indian Ridge. When we gained the Ridge proper at around 8,050 ft we hit thick snow. It was melting heavily up there and we were sinking in as much as 6 inches on our steps there. The trail-runners were taking on water quickly and we were starting to get wet. Once again, it was about this point that we had to start navigating by GPS and compass once more. We were able to stay pretty close to the true trail though it was unseen. We caught the junction for the trail to Indian Rock and we saw the natural arch and snapped some shots. I debated hiking the couple hundred feet northeast to the arch for a closer look but with the uncertainty of time and snow decided not.
From North Dome
Just past that point we began the descent and made our way down a slope and found a hint of the trail. From there it traversed the side of the ridge gradually descending and we did well following close to the true trail. We followed this to the junction with the Snow Creek Falls trail. We were looking for the sign in this area but many of the snow drifts were 5+ feet deep and we never actually saw the sign. So we used compass to simply start bearing east for the hike around the north end of Indian Ridge. The snow was quite deep in here but firm enough to travel on.
We gave up once more at actually finding the true trail and just took bearings on the compass to continue east. We were tracking south of the actual route for most of the way. Eventually we realized that if we continued to track east and eventually even bear southeast we could once again shortcut the actual route. The true route had headed north to take an easy switchback to lose elevation towards Snow Creek. We curled around Indian Ridge and at elevation roughly 7200 on the east side of the ridge we lost the snow and found a moderately steep slope to descend. We worked our way progressively south as we descend down the slope. It was about 3pm when we rejoined the true trail (which was buried under 3 feet of snow below us) and we were on track to follow Snow Creek all the way out.
It was about 20 minutes later after having bushwhacked our way through the terrain along Snow Creek that we were overjoyed to find the snow had cleared and we had trail before us. The elevation was about 7000 feet at this point. We took a stop on a big log and had some celebratory snacks and drinks as well as taking a moment to make a change of socks. It was a great feeling to know the snow was behind us and we had plenty of daylight to complete our epic dayhike.
We had another mile til the switchbacks started and this was a very pleasant and enjoyable portion of the hike and one of the few flat sections we had. We noted the footbridge that went over Snow Creek towards one of the High Sierra camps and beyond. The switchbacks began at elevation 6632 and they were very reminiscent of what we started the day on with the Upper Yosemite Falls trail. It was just before 4pm when we started the descent here and we mostly put it on autopilot following the back and forth.
From the Snow Creek Falls Trai
It was 5pm when we hit the bottom of the descent and we were looking forward to a quick and easy (and short?) walk out on the Mirror Lake trail. If nothing else, it was graet to be back on level ground. The views from the Snow Creek Falls descent were memorable as we got to see just how amazing this side of Half Dome and Tenaya Canyon were, but we were also glad to be down. It was also at this time that the magnitude of the day's distance and elevation were finally being felt in our legs as we were up to about 16 miles at this point.
The hike out on the Mirror Lake trail would feel like the longest 2 miles ever. There wasn't much for views until we actually passed by Mirror Lake and were treated to a nice reflective "mirror" view there in the lake. It was disappointing when shortly thereafter we hit the parking lot for Mirror Lake and we were hoping we were almost out, only to realize we had to walk the extent of the road out to the shuttle stop. This was a real test on the legs which weren't ready for the walk on the hardened pavement. But it was a treat when the shuttle stop came into view and a surprise when we realized that a shuttle was actually sitting there loading people. We ended our epic hike with a near all-out sprint for the last 40 yards to catch that shuttle. And oh, what a feeling when the A/C of the shuttle hit us and relief was there.
TRACK:
My track for this hike was taken with my Nokia N800 tablet using a Nokia bluetooth GPS. The GPS did not pick up well at the start as we were
on the edge of the north rim of the valley. It also lost signal at some point as we were ascending west of Yosemite Falls. At Yosemite Point I got all
of this corrected and the track from there on was perfect.
Trail: John Muir Trail and Clouds Rest Trail
Trailhead Begin: Little Yosemite Valley
Trailhead Elevation: 6,119 ft.
Clouds Rest Elevation: 9,929 ft.
Trailhead Parking Elevation: 4,130 ft.
Hike Elevation Total: 3,810 feet ascent, 5,799 feet descent
Hike Mileage Total: 14.37 miles
TRIP REPORT:
We were up pretty early this morning for the hike and pleased to see the weather was good and the skies clear. We made it up around 5am and got the stove going to boil water. Had a nice breakfast of oatmeal and hot chocolate. After getting our gear together we were on the trail at 5:48am. It was relatively easy to trek out of the campground in Little Yosemite Valley and to pick up the John Muir Trail heading north. The first several hundred feet on the trail were fairly wet and muddy still with the water draining right on the trail instead of off it. We headed up about a mile and a good 800 feet until we hit the junction with the Half Dome trail. At this junction its basically a left turn to Half Dome and a right turn to stay on the John Muir Trail and head for the Clouds Rest Trail.
It was another quarter mile walk, much less wooded, to the junction with the Clouds Rest Trail where we headed up. Thus far, we hadn't seen anyone on the trail and we were pretty sure to be the first out this morning. The Clouds Rest trail ascended pretty rapidly for the first 800 feet of elevation. Past 8000 feet it starts switchbacking up to the base of a 9400 foot point that marks the southern tip of Clouds Rests summit ridge. Along the way we started to see small patches of snow, a few even we'd take a step or two to get through on the trail. When the trail hit the base of the point at 8700 feet, it makes one long traverse to gain the bowl marking the southern approach to Clouds Rest.
As we were about to clear to the east side of the 9400 ft point, we were at elevation 8900 now, the snow finally kicked in full force. We were stopped at a section where the snow completely covered trail for all the foreseeable future. It was also on a pretty good slope and, being quite early still, it was hard and icy. I started to traverse about 50 feet on just my trail-runners until I got to a point where it didn't feel comfortable anymore. I had a dirt landing about 10 feet below me on the slope so I tried to do a slow, controlled slide. Well that was nearly a mistake as I slid fast and almost out of control, luckily I caught enough of the willow bush that was on the dirt landing and stopped myself. It was here that we decided we needed traction. I put on my microspikes for the first time and Matt went for his yaktrax. I hopped on the icy snow again with the microspikes and I was instantly in love. I felt perfect comfortable traction suddenly and began to work my way up and across the snowy slope.
The track we were on flattened out in an open area where we could start to take in the views. It was here was also got the confirmation that we were in snow the rest of the way. We picked up the sun here and the snow above us was already softening some. We were pleased to find out though that only the top 2-3 inches was softening and whatever was below it remained firm.
Past this point there was no longer any trail, it was just us and the snow heading ever upwards. I started checking my GPS for a spot locations and then pulled out the compass to make sure we kept bearing towards the summit. It was actually difficult to spot the summit and when we looked up we were only seeing portions of the southern summit ridge. We were tracking just above where the actual trail was supposed to be located. The snow conditions proved to be great for hiking through. It was never so steep we were unsafe and the traction was good enough to keep us moving. And there was no postholing to be had. We eventually topped out at the summit ridge about 600 feet from the true summit. It was here there was a notch in the rocks on the ridge that when we walked up to it provided amazing views of Tenaya Canyon. We were also shocked to look to the northeast and see what the snowy high-country looked like.
From that view we hiked another 200 feet or so to the base of the steps leading up to the summit. The first 20 steps or so were clear of snow, but then a large snow patch covered the next section of steps as they rounded the corner. We hugged the bushes on the side of the trail in an attempt to make it around the snow. This got us up another 20 feet. We were then able to cut across the top of the snow patch to get to the remaining steps which were snow-free. This led us to the summit which was snow free for the most part. There was a large snow patch at the actual highest elevation but plenty of rocks below it to drop packs on and sit. The views ... were just incredible. Jaw-dropping! So many great pictures to be had we didn't even know where to begin. We took summit panoramas and used a mini-tripod to shoot some of ourselves. After we'd been up there 20 minutes another guy joined us up there. He had been backpacking somewhere near the Clouds Rest-John Muir Trail junction. We enjoyed a good 30 mins up top and even a phone conversation back home before beginning the trek down.
From the summit of Clouds Rest
From the summit of Clouds Rest
As we descended the steps from Clouds Rest I decided to try the microspikes again on the snow that covered the mid-section of the steps. Once again, I was in love, I used the spikes and some support from my trekking poles to walk straight down the snowfield to the flatter snow below. Once we reached the snow at the summit ridge and below it was smooth sailing. We were kick-sliding and almost jogging at points down sections of the snow. We were making great time and were navigating a straight bee-line to the corner we had to turn around 8900 feet to get us to the south side of the 9400 ft. Point. We did indeed end up shortcutting some of the final traverse on the descent and ended up dropping in right where the icy snow had started this morning. We stashed our snowgear and were on trail the rest of the way down. We were treated to occasional views on the switchbacks of Half Dome and the other peaks in the area such as Mt. Starr King and Clark Peak. At about 8700 feet we were at a switchback and decided to follow it out onto the rocks to the west. If we followed this out it would lead to the Quarter Domes on the connecting ridge to Half Dome. We only explored a hundred feet out or so and then continued on the descent. We were taking a look at time to see if we'd have minutes left in the day to complete the full agenda, and so far we were doing good.
The descent down the Clouds Rest Trail went smoothly and after we hit the John Muir Trail we started seeing other hikers. We ran into a group of guys on the JMT that were heading for Clouds Rest. We had them quite surprised to be already on our way down and it was only about 11:15am. We gave them updates on the snow conditions and a little encouragement. After passing the Half Dome junction we ran into a lot more hikers on their way up. We knew many of them were heading to Half Dome even with the cables down. This had been a contemplation of ours as there was reason to think it was reasonably safe with cables down.
We made it back to Little Yosemite valley right around noon with sunny skies and hopefully a dry tent. We spent 45 minutes tearing down the tent and re-packing our gear for the hike out. It was also a good time for a little snack to re-fuel with. We bid our farewell to Little Yosemite at 12:45pm and headed back down the John Muir Trail. We made quick work to Nevada Falls where we found quite a large number of people this time. And from that point on we would be constantly surrounded by day-hikers and tourists and the like. Just before the JMT junction with the Panorama Trail we crossed over a small stream and as we did so we spotted a deer no more than 15 feet away also standing in the stream watching us. He gave us enough time to snap a few shots and then finally scampered off.
The John Muir Trail past the Panorama junction is quite exciting for the first several hundred feet. It is like a shelf on the side of the mountain with a nice rock railing on the side to make you feel safe. It was also like a shower walking through parts of this as water was streaming off the side of the mountain above us and on us for 50 feet or so. We were able to hug the face of the rock and avoid most of the falling water.
Past this initial shelf section the JMT continues with many many switchbacks as it descends and the views remained quite good. The JMT offered the best views of Nevada Falls that we had seen as of yet. We were intrigued by all the groups of kids we past on the descent which were being led by rangers. At 2:20pm we finally hit the rest area by the bridge below Vernal Falls. This is where the John Muir Trail meets up with the Mist Trail and they have some toilets as well as water fountains to enjoy there. We re-filled all our water here as planned and then continued on. As we hiked out on the paved sections of the Mist Trail we were starting to miss the softer dirt trail. It was a pleasant sight when we finally hit the Happy Isles Bridge and we knew it wasn't much further to the car. We hit the Trailhead Parking lot at 3pm, right on schedule.
We both started to rest there at the car and fiddled with our gear some. Because of a few blisters starting and the long hikes both past us and ahead of us we opted not to head to the Snow Creek Falls trail this evening. It would mean losing a night in the backcountry but would also mean doing all the mileage tomorrow with much lighter packs on (a decision we would be praising tomorrow!).
TRACK:
My track for this hike was taken with my Nokia N800 tablet using a Nokia bluetooth GPS. The GPS tracked well the entire hike this day. You can see the variations near Clouds Rest summit of our ascent and descent routes. My downloadable KML contains our Ascent of Clouds Rest, Descent of Clouds Rest, and the descent of the John Muir Trail to Nevada Falls and then Yosemite Valley.
Trail: Mist Trail + John Muir Trail to Little Yosemite Valley
Trailhead Begin: Trailhead Parking Lot -> Happy Isles TH
Trailhead Elevation: 4,035 ft.
Nevada Falls Elevation: 5,920 ft.
Little Yosemite Valley Elevation: 6,120 ft.
Hike Elevation Total: 2,085 feet
Hike Mileage Total: 4.72 miles
TRIP REPORT:
My hiking trek for Yosemite began from This was the viewpoint I remembered from last time that gives you a great look at Bridalveil Falls and beyond. The drive into the valley was fantastic and I was trying to lean out the window for the looks at El Capitan and other sights.
Hodgdon Meadows which was "basecamp" for the week. I had just made it in to camp from a flight into Oakland and worked quickly to get my gear ready for the hike. We headed out just after 3p for the valley and I was stoked for my first views of Yosemite in 3 years. Matt offered to drive so I could take in all the views and so when we hit the first viewpoint near the tunnels on CA-120 we made a stop for photos and driver swap.
We made it to Curry Village and then on to the turn-off for the overnight hiker's parking lot. This area is somewhat confusing in that it says no entry on this road which is true as there is no thru driving to Happy Isles and beyond in this loop. However, cars heading for the hiker's parking lot can proceed on to that which we did.
Sarah and I did this short loop trail during our great Pacific coast trip of 2008. We day-tripped to Yosemite on May 26 from San Francisco. Of course it would have been great to have a whole week at Yosemite, but we crammed a lot into this short trip we had.
It was fairly cool still at Yosemite, even in late May. During our morning drive up to the Tuolumne Meadows we actually encountered some fresh snow on the road. It was also quite foggy with a very low cloud cover. Later in the afternoon it cleared some, but sadly we never got a good view of Half dome because of the clouds.
The Lower Yosemite Falls trail was quite easy to reach from shuttle stop #6 in the Yosemite Valley. It is an easy loop trail rated at 1 mile in length. It takes you up to near the base of the Lower Yosemite Falls where the views are quite spectacular. Of course as I looked upon the falls more I wish the time had been available to take the much longer trail which takes you up to the top of the Upper Yosemite Falls.
Sarah and I enjoyed the time together though on this little hike. We got some fine pictures at the falls themselves and at least got one great hike in during our short time at Yosemite.
Photos
Here are some of the photos we took from this hike. They are all from my Yosemite album on Picasa. Clicking any of these photos will take you to the full-size photo and the full Yosemite album:
Trip Report
