jwa5 wrote:So far I have a rough outline of:
Starting at Tunnel View, and spending the first night between Dewey/Taft preferably closer to Taft
Heading to Clouds Rest and spending the night at a campsite near the summit
Heading towards up half dome the following morning, before going to Glacier point that same day
Hitchhiking or Bussing from Glacier Point to Tunnel View
However, I'm struggling with finding a legal spot between Taft/Dewey for the first night. I've read some other posts regarding camping along the Pohono and seen mixed things. Can anyone shed some light on that for me?
I would suggest not doing this, because you have huge elevation gains and losses, all at lower elevations -- in summer that will mean the middle of the day is HOT.
These locations are all on the south side of Yosemite Valley, but they are on different sides of the Ilillouette drainage. You are correct that there are restrictions on camping along the Pohono trail. The rule is, more than a mile from the road, and more than two miles from a trailhead. That will throw a kink in a lot of the potential spots. You will also find throngs of day hikers showing up everywhere since there are good day hikes from trailheads along Glacier Point Road that intersect the Pohono. My friends and I have hiked all the way through to Glacier Point and down the Four Mile in one day before.
The climb up from Tunnel View will be long and arduous for a first day. There may not be a good spot between Dewey and Taft -- Bridalveil Creek will be reliable water, but I don't recall seeing good flat spots without underbrush in that area. I would suggest the following instead:
Pick up your permit, and stay the night in the backpacker camp. Leave your car at Curry trailhead parking. While you're in the valley, get tickets for the Glacier Point tour bus for the first trip up from the valley in the morning. They will drop you off at the McGurk trailhead if you ask (they used to anyway -- it would be worthwhile to call ahead and verify -- the concessionaire is changing so this also may change).
Hike in to Dewey Point, and with any daylight left in the day, hike around to the west to visit the lesser viewpoints like Stanford. Avoid the long climb up from the tunnel. You can lug in enough water for the day plus dinner and breakfast, and then get water at Bridalveil Creek on the way northeast.
Hike to Taft, Sentinel Dome, and eat lunch at the snack bar at Glacier Point, avoiding the need to pack a lunch for that day. Descend to Ilillouette Creek and hike up two miles from the crossing at the bridge, to find a legal campsite there. There is no camping on Panorama trail or on the Mist/JMT trails until you reach Little Yosemite Valley.
Third day, hike on over to Little Yosemite Valley. You can set up camp and day hike up to Half Dome provided you have a permit, or if you decide to believe those of us who think Clouds Rest is a better view, you can hike on through and camp at Sunrise Creek, and day hike up to Clouds instead. Hike out to Happy Isles and if the final flat walk to trailhead parking is not your cup of tea, wait for a few minutes at the shuttle stop and ride back to the car.
Hiking from Taft to Clouds Rest in one day sounds like h-e-double-hockey-sticks to me. UGH.