If you're curious, here's a bit about our latest trip from 7/26 - 7/30
tl;dr - bugs weren't a big issue, no smoke issues, and had a great time. If you want to do HD cables with no crowds, camp nearby and do it early. We basically had it to ourselves. Used a nice bear canister from Berikade and loved it.
Wednesday 7/26
Arrived in Valley, got previously reserved permit, setup camp in Backpacker's Campground
We were prepared for long lines and crowds, but apparently if you get in around 2:30pm on a Wednesday it's not that big of a deal. No line at Big Oak Flats for either entrance or permit pickup. Ranger reminded us about the closure at the top of the Snow Creek switchbacks, and recommended either Indian Rock or past the split with the May lake trail for camping to avoid the bear. Driving into the Valley wasn't bad at all, and there were plenty of spots in the Backpacker's campground. Trailhead parking was supposedly full at Half Dome Village, but found some parking on the side of the road. A walk into the Village store finally showed us the crowds that evening, as the lines in the general store were incredibly long. Got some food at the grill and called it a night.
Thursday 7/27
Mirror Lake -> Snow Creek -> Just past the split with May Lake trail
Going up Snow Creek out of the Valley is as bad as they say it is, especially with a pack full of water and food for 4 nights. Bugs were never horrible, but did use the head-net a few times. Upside was that we saw very few people and no crowds at all. We got an early start to beat the heat, but the reality is that it's hot and steep and long. The views of Half Dome and North Dome were really spectacular, and at the end of the day you eventually make it to the top. After the switchbacks the hike to the footbridge was cake, but wasn't expecting the additional uphill to the split with the May Lake trail. About 100 yards after the split there is a nice established camp on the left side with a fire ring and easy access to the creek for water. Pitched the tent, started a fire for fun (weather was warm), and rested our tired feet. One note - we were a little sloppy with food, and came back from filling our water bladders to find bite marks from a rodent or bird in a summer sausage that was left out. After that, our first order of business when we made camp was to take any food we had used during the day and get it in the bear canister.
Friday 7/28
Snow Creek -> Tenaya -> Just short (North) of Cloud's Rest
This section of hike was really wonderful, even if you start to get road noise from 120. The vault toilet at Tenaya was quite welcome, as well as a chance to dump trash, etc. We had originally planned to camp at Sunrise Lakes, but given some bug reports we got while on trail, decided to skip it. We had lunch at the trail junction and then headed up to Cloud's Rest. From a previous post I had the location of a nice camping spot on the canyon rim. Those coordinates were off, but while fumbling around we managed to find something nice. While we probably could have gone up and over, it was nice to take it easy and enjoy the backcountry. I was glad we were aware of the last water on the route and filled ourselves up to handle that evening into the next day. On this day we started seeing more people, and ran into some large groups that were camping closer to the last water source.
Saturday 7/29
Cloud's Rest -> Just north of the JMT
I had been to CR this past November, but it was my wife's first time, so we spent about an hour hanging out after summiting. Then it was down down down to camp just before the JMT split. Here we encountered the expected day hikers, including those people who think playing music out of a speaker on the trail in somehow acceptable. I wasn't sure where exactly we'd camp, and we ended up at literally the first camp before the JMT/CR split, on the left when coming down from CR. It wasn't the most secluded spot, but we were able to set the tent up behind a rock and leave the fly off. Water was down a steep hill but easy to manage. With the short day we spent most of the time after making camp trying to avoid the sun and rest for our hike up HD.
Sunday 7/30
JMT -> HD -> Mist Trail -> Happy Isles
Leaving camp at 5:30am, we headed towards HD. We dropped our bags at the split, making sure to be bear aware. Given the two mile uphill hike, it was well worth it to go against the NPS recommendation on leaving bags there. When we got to the base of HD, we ran into some folks coming down who had been there for sunrise. We headed up the cables and for the most part we were the only ones on them for the whole assent. Upon summiting we found one other party there but otherwise had the place to ourselves. Looked around, hung out, and then headed back down after about an hour. Again, on the way down we pretty much had the cables to ourselves, other than one other party a little bit ahead of us. After getting down we hiked out, running into streams of people headed for the base. When we got back to the split the Ranger was finally there checking permits. I was so disappointed she wasn't at the post when we went up, I asked her to check my permit even though we were done. A few notes here - some people approached who didn't have permits, and within 5 minutes of them sitting there, another party arrived that had extra space. For some other folks, they had gotten the walk-up permit. All of this is to say, if you don't have a permit, but will be in Yosemite anyways, it may be worth it to roll the dice. Especially if you've travelled far and won't have another chance again. Yes, Cloud's Rest is a better view. But there is something special about going up the cables and being at the top of Half Dome.
After that, it was the basic scramble down to the Valley via the Mist trail. Tons of people there, and honestly I was forced to be pretty aggressive to protect space for me and my wife while going down the steps. Made it back to the car, changed, and then back to Berkeley.
Track is here - https://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/ ... -2017-trip
Photos here - https://goo.gl/photos/1pPriWFVx67Fz3XJ6
This group was great in getting me prepared, so happy to give back if I can.
Thank you!
David
PS - Suggestions for what to do next?