Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite Valley

[potatopants88]

Hello, forum! Looks like my husband and I are coming back to Yosemite for our FIFTH year in a row--hurray!

I know that similar questions have been asked on the forum about this route, but I'm mainly wondering about elevation/strenuousness because I stink at reading topo maps.

So here's the siutation: We scored Half Dome permits for 9/2 and a reservation at Sunrise High Sierra Camp on 9/1.

The plan is to drop the car to the Valley the morning of 9/1 and take the Hiker's Shuttle to Tuolumne, arriving around 10:30am. Hike to Sunrise HSC (reservation secured) via Cathedral Lakes.

9/2: Hike to Half Dome and continue on to the Valley. Stay at the Lodge (reservation secured).

I estimate this to be about 20 or 22 miles, at the elevation to be about +2,200 and -6,700. We'd cover about 7 miles the first day and about 15 the next. In terms of strenuousness, where would you rank this on a scale of 1 to 10?

For comparison, we day hiked Gunsight Pass to Sperry Chalet (14.5 miles, +2,200ft) and Highline to Swiftcurrent (16 miles, mostly descending, with two passes) two years ago in Glacier National Park. We've day hiked Clouds Rest. Last year we did 20 miles up and back to Thousand Island Lakes from Red's Meadow in two days with packs. So is this itinerary any crazier than those hikes?

Is it really any crazier than hiking round trip from Happy Isles?

Thanks, as always, for your valuable input.

[balzaccom]

It's not imposslble. If you want to add a little fun to the hike, take in Cloud's Rest on the way...and get even better views.

You won't be carrying too much, since it's a short trip.

[Grzldvt]

It's not imposslble. If you want to add a little fun to the hike, take in Cloud's Rest on the way...and get even better views.

You won't be carrying too much, since it's a short trip.

This!!!! Forget the Half Dome nonsense and not only get better views bu a much cooler hike going over Cloud's Rest. Get a little precarious when yo start teh Cloud's Rest climb, but careful steps and taking your time will be a huge reward.

[AlmostThere]

How strenuous a hike is depends upon the fitness and the endurance levels of the hikers in question. Things you've done two years ago are beside the point - it's what you do in the months leading up to the trip that matter, not to mention medical issues or stuff that may have kept you from keeping up a fitness regimen that include hiking at elevation. In other words, we don't know how strenuous it is for you.

The downhill is deceptive - going down the Mist Trail means some granite steps that can be an issue for folks prone to knee issues. Plus, if it's afternoon, it'll be elbow to elbow tourists.

You can always take Half Dome off the table if that second day proves to feel too long. Get to the junction, make the decision, shorten it by four miles and a ridiculous number of tourists doing stupid tricks on the cables.

[potatopants88]

We did Clouds Rest two years ago and loved it! I think we mainly want to to Half Dome because, well, you gotta do it sometime, right? Seems like a good time to check it off the list. We've also done the Mist Trail to Nevada Falls in years past, a few times, so we know what to expect with the stairs and the descent.

We definitely understand what it takes to get prepared physically for our hiking trips, and we do train specifically for them in the months leading up to the trip. It just makes the experience so much more enjoyable when you don't have to pay too much attention to how much you're hurting.

I feel like we have the knowledge, experience, and stamina. We'd have more options if my husband wasn't averse to backpacking. So I guess it's just a matter of decided what works best for us on this trip. I think this is an option, based on your very helpful feedback, so thank you!

[AlmostThere]

It's never too late to boycott Half Dome... If they take down the cables tomorrow, I won't cry. Nearly 90 people have died trying to get there, falling off the thing, or being electrocuted by lightning at the top. Before the permits the average number of rescues/medical events on the trail to HD was 12 - that dropped radically to about half when the permits went into place.

I've rescued more people with my water filter and an extra trail bar more times than I can count as I come up the trail heading for other more worthy destinations.

Frankly, any place more populated than my home town on a daily basis gets my down vote. The wilderness experience isn't supposed to include 200 yahoos whipping the cables around or peeing off the edge - or throwing their trash off it. When I participated in a search around the base of the dome for someone who was supposedly going to jump off, we found 50 year old beer cans, firecracker wrappers, food wrappers, cans, broken bottles - and no one climbs up into those avalanche chutes into the manzanita.

Sure, I'm sounding jaded - my experience of Half Dome has been very, very different. I suppose Search and Rescue gives you a whole new spin on it. But y'know, something that takes millions of dollars of tax money to keep it "safe" and treat the people who injure or make themselves ill trying to do it in flip flops with no water? That money could help fund so many other things, like outreach to underprivileged kids getting to see the park for the first time, or fire fighters, or the crew who does nothing all summer but tear apart illegal fire rings.

Everyone I know who's done Half Dome says it was fantastic. Some of them I know do not want to mention that part where they were hands and knees up the subdome because they could no longer walk on the blood blisters they accumulated. It really just is not worth that much adulation and devotion - it's a rock. Clouds, North Dome, Moraine Dome, Sentinel Dome - the views are equal or better in so many places. Mt Dana and Mt Hoffman are shorter, no crowds, and higher elevation - frankly, the experience of so many other peaks has been so much more fantastic that I just don't get Half Dome at all. One of my favorite places is next to it and I'll never go to the top of it again.