HI -> HD -> CR -> HI - which order?

[bunnyboy]

If you were doing a one day hike starting and ending in the valley, which order would you hit both Half Dome and Clouds Rest?

Clouds Rest first might make it easier mentally to see the Half Dome as only a ~4 mile side trip, instead of ~8 for CR. But HD first should avoid most of the crowds on the cables. Maybe less of an issue with the permits?

Was also wondering if taking the JMT instead of Mist Trail on the way up would make the hike any easier. I have always done Mist up but the extra mileage on JMT might be worth the easier grade. I will have a separate trip to see the falls anyways

[AlmostThere]

Asking what I would do is useless since you'd have to pay me a whole bunch of money to go anywhere near HD again.

If you are considering HD's crowds as a factor, I have found that to be unpredictable - hitting the dome at sunrise and finding 30 people in sleeping bags watching the sun come up sort of makes the point that it doesn't matter what time of day, there's people up there. Others I've spoken to swear they've gotten there in the evening to hardly anyone there. And the permit system has rendered concerns of crowding immaterial. There's not going to be hideous lines down the subdome switchbacks any more.

The JMT is the packer route, so in season you need to weigh out presence of mule apples and pee puddles, versus open granite switchbacks and steps. The top of the trail has great views back toward Nevada Falls and is more shaded, so I usually prefer that in mid to late afternoon when it's hot - I sunburn really easily and am sensitive to heat.

[bill-e-g]

I'd go up Clouds first... then down both 1/4... then up 1/2... no question up The Mist.
If 1/2 is your main goal... then go up that first... unless you know you can do them all
w/o question...
Since it will be late... I'd go down Mist too...

I've done Clouds+1/4+1/4+1/2+Liberty... but cheated and did from Tenaya Lake to HI.

Have fun

[bunnyboy]

Ended up doing this on July 5th: http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/4EEEQNHQZAILZUYCWG25KZBLNQ

Didn't have a Half Dome permit so I did Clouds Rest first, up the JMT. Surprised at how little horse crap was on the trail. Was still feeling fine so I went up HD. Permit ranger couldn't be bribed with cookies but he said it usually doesn't take long for someone to get to that point and not continue, so I could use their permit. No crowds on the sub dome but still took ~40 mins up cables because it was "rush hour" at ~1:30PM.

Doing Half Dome second didn't add much to the hike except distance so I probably wouldn't do both again. Probably would have been in much better shape at the end without that extra 2 miles of downhill.