Planned out a 5-day/4-night path that looks awesome. We got a wilderness permit that leaves from the Sunrise Lakes Trailhead and includes the half dome option. What we would like to do is:
Day 1: Hike from the Sunrise Lakes trailhead to May Lake, and do a trip up Mt. Hoffmann. Then continue along the trail BEYOND May Lake and camp at Raisin Lake (between May Lake and Polly Lakes). This is beyond the minimal distance to camp from the May Lakes trailhead. However, I am not sure if we are allowed to hike toward May Lake with a Sunrise Lakes Trailhead permit. If needed, we could "cross" Tioga Road instead of walking along it if that makes a difference.
Day 2: Hike up by Polly Lakes and then down Murphy Creek back to Tenaya Lake and the Sunrise Lakes Trailhead. Then continue on to Sunrise Lakes and camp there.
Day 3: Hike over Clouds Rest and camp along Sunrise Creek.
Day 4: Hike Half Dome, then return and camp along Sunrise Creek again
Day 5: Hike down the Mist Trail and exit the Happy Isles Trailhead.
My only questions about the legality of our plan has to do with the first couple of days. Specifically, are we allowed to hike past May Lake and camp at Raisin Lake on the first night with a Sunrise Lakes Trailhead permit? The permit we got does not indicate that we have to spend our first night at Sunrise Lakes. Second, when we return to Tenaya Lake and start again on the Sunrise Lakes Trailhead and continue on to Sunrise Lake, can we still do that under the same permit or are we technically supposed to have a second permit since we basically return to the parking lot and trailhead again? Thanks for any help you can provide. I'd like to be confident we are abiding by the rules if a ranger checks our permits.