Hiking El Capitan

[Alex]

Hi, guys, I am planning to hike to the summit of El Capitan from Camp 4 via Upper Yosemite Falls trail this upcoming Labor Day Weekend and I was just wondering if it's possible to do a round trip day hike from the valley to the summit and back. Has anybody done that? I know the round trip would be about 17 miles. Is there a better trail to the summit of El Capitan? I can find very little information online regarding this hike so any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[dan]

No worse than hiking Half Dome, less crowded, and it's a better view--you can see Half Dome from El Cap. I never hiked it as a standalone day hike, just as part of a backpack on the North Rim.

If you go to El Cap, take the time and look over the edge. Last time I did it, two woman climbers came up and over the rim. Be very careful though, people have fallen from the rim.

Also consider starting your hike to El Capitan from Tamarack Flat Campground, see this thread:
viewtopic/t=279

Another possibility is starting from Yosemite Creek Campground and heading back.

Any way you do it, it's a long day--I would start around sunrise, if not before and bring plenty of water. Good luck.

[Alex]

Hey, dan, thanks for your reply. I was also wondering where I can find the topographic map of Upper Yosemite Falls trail where I could see elevation changes along the trail. Again, I can find some topo maps of other parts of the park but none of Upper Yosemite Falls trail. If you come across something like that, could you please post a link here? Thank you again.

[FloridaTrekker]

May want to try the USGS site, I got some for our hike from Tuolumne to the valley. Here is a link not sure if its the one you need though. I used their map locator feature and had to pick up a few to cover our trip...

http://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/catalog/ ... ea=%24ROOT)/.do?lastVisited=areaDetails&query=*Yosemite

[FloridaTrekker]

Sorry that link did not work

google USGS Maps..

[dan]

Here's a map showing the Yosemite Falls Trail superimposed on a topo map:
http://www.thebackcountry.org/map/yosem ... ls-00.html

The NPS has it's Yosemite Valley Hiking Map. It has distances and some elevations, but no contour lines:
http://www.yosemite.ca.us/maps/yosemite ... p_2006.pdf