by AlmostThere » Tue May 04, 2010 9:33 pm
You can't go on a weekday?
The other way to get a permit is to go backpacking - they don't have a quota for backpackers.
I don't know when they will be monitoring - they will probably be stationing a ranger at the subdome to check permits. If you come down and get caught without a permit it would probably depend on the ranger's decision - not sure what they would do with someone who started up the previous day, night hiking.
Anyway, not such a huge loss if you can't get a permit - North Dome is a great view, you can do that in 8 miles instead of 16 with no cables, lines, or permit hassles. Sentinel Dome is an easy hike and almost the same elevation. Clouds Rest is awesome. Upper Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, Taft Point, Dewey Point, Glacier Point -- no lack of excellent places to look down on the valley. Half Dome may be neato, but it's Yosemite, plenty of other things to do and other rocks to stand on top of.