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Half Dome Hike - Wilderness Permit Questions....

PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:55 pm
by Choop
Hello All,

I'm not able to get through on the NPS reservation phone line and I thought you all would be able to help me. This seems to be the best and only good Yosemite message board.

Now the question. Our group will be hiking Half Dome this summer. We have a group of 6 that currently have reservations for Glacier Point --> Little Yosemite Valley. We have added two more to our party now and need to get them reservations as well. It appears that the Glacier Point and Happy Isles trail heads are full. How can I get these last two people a permit to stay with us in LYV without sneeking them in?? I read on the official Yosemite site that some trail heads allow you to stay in LYV on your second night but it doesn't say which trail heads will allow me to do that. I don't want to get into trouble with the rangers for having 2 of us with reservations for the wrong trail head. Any suggestions from the experts here??

Thank you,
-- Chris Housepian

ps: I just got through on the reservation line and the ranger said that reservations on any trail head will allow them to stay in LYV on their second night. My follow up question to him was how are you going to know that it's their second night? He said that the rangers will know. :roll: What the heck should I do?

pps: Also, picking up 2 first come first serve passes on the day of won't work either since we're all coming up from LA and I don't want to chance having 2 guys not be able to hike with us!!

Again,
Thanks for any help you all can provide!!

Re: Half Dome Hike - Wilderness Permit Questions....

PostPosted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:33 am
by dan
First off, I'm not a Wilderness Permit "lawyer" and don't know all the fine points of the wilderness reservation rules.

It seems that LYV campground is close enough to the trailhead to be considered a "backpackers campground" where you can stay an extra night before or after your wilderness permit. I'm not sure about this and anyone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Second, they know when your "second night" because of the dates on your wilderness permit.

Third, don't take the trailheads and zones on your permit too seriously. They are for data collection purposes. Once you're on the trail, you can change your mind and go anywhere you want as long as you stay in the wilderness. Of course, rules and regulations always apply, such as not camping next to a creek or trail.

HTH. Sorry, I can't answer the other questions.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 2:50 pm
by adrianhoff
You can’t sleep on top of Half Dome anymore. Nor can you can stop between Happy Isles and Little Yosemite Valley. But once you get a certain distance beyond Little Yosemite Valley (one mile?) you can camp anywhere you want. There are plenty of places between Little Yosemite Valley and the Half Dome cables where your extra people could pitch a tent. They’ll need a bear canister, and extra water.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 3:57 pm
by dan
If you're camping overnight beyond LYV, I recommend camping at the junction of the Cloud's Rest Trail and John Muir Trail. It's just north of Sunrise Creek and a tributary of Sunrise Creek flows right by the junction. Camp away from the creek (to avoid mosquitos) and away from the trail.

This campsite is 1/2 - 1 mile east of the main trail to Half Dome.

PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:45 am
by alicat39
The wilderness permit office also releases permits each day for the next day...that you can only get in person.

I have always had good luck with being at the wilderness permit office about an hour before they open to wait in line to get the extra permits we need.

Good luck!