The trailhead to Half Dome
After hiking up to Glacier Point, we wanted to take it easy and do a short hike, but due to the crazy campsite reservation system we only had our campsite for two nights and then had to move to another site for the next night. Since tomorrow would be tied up with changing campsites, we decided to hike up Half Dome today.
We got up early and hit the trail before 7:00. There were a lot of other hikers out early, also aiming at Half Dome.
Vernal Fall, with not a whole lot of water
We took the Mist Trail past Vernal Fall, which is not nearly as impressive this time of year.
This is one of the most popular hikes in Yosemite Valley. Most people hike the 1.5 miles to the top of Vernal and go no further.
Lots and lots of rock steps.
There’s about 700 steps carved into the granite as the trail climbs past the waterfalls.
The rock steps continue up to Nevada Fall.
Another mile or so takes you up to Nevada Fall. We were on a mission, so we didn’t spend any time hanging out by the water. We wanted to get up and down before dark.
Half Dome, with the sub-dome on the right, and the saddle between the domes where the cables start.
Once you get above Nevada Fall you enter Little Yosemite Valley and begin to get views of Half Dome. This is a couple of miles of fairly flat hiking in sandy, decomposed granite.
In a recent burn area.
There’s a short burned section as you start ascending again through the trees.
Cuidado!
Almost all of the accidents on Half Dome have occurred during lightning storms or in wet weather. There’s a sign at the base of the sub-dome advising you not to be stupid.
More steps hacked into the rock.
The trail up the sub-dome is mostly steps cut into the rock, with some scrambling on granite slabs when the steps occasionally disappear.
Gaining a view of Tenaya Canyon while trudging up the sub-dome.
The sub-dome has some exposure and is a little spooky in places, but for the most part a fall won’t kill you.
Awesome views, with Clouds Rest on the right.
The scenery from the top of the sub-dome are amazing, with views of Tenaya Canyon, Yosemite Valley and Little Yosemite Valley.
A panorama of Half Dome from the top of the sub-dome.
Getting unnerved by the cables.
From the sub-dome, you cross a narrow saddle and start up the infamous cables.
Nancy is not at all afraid of heights, but something about all the people on the cables made her nervous. We ate our lunch and spent too much time thinking about it.
It’s a lot safer than it looks, but when you start up the cables it seems almost vertical. We went up about fifty feet, but Nancy did not feel comfortable with it, so we headed back down.
Coming back down the sub-dome.
I felt safer on the cables than the sub-dome, as there’s a few places where the trail rolls away, with nothing to grab onto.
The top of Nevada Fall
We took a different route back down, avoiding the crowds on the Mist Trail by taking the John Muir trail at the top of Nevada Fall.
This gives you a nice perspective of Nevada Fall with Liberty Cap standing over it.
A panorama of Liberty Cap and Nevada Fall from the John Muir Trail
Tired but semi-successful.
The last section of hiking is uneventful, just switch-backing down through the trees until you rejoin the Mist Trail.
Here we are at the end of the trail, after about 16 miles and 4,500 vertical feet of hiking.
Now we just have another half-mile to the campsite. Ugh.
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