4 nights in Yosemite

[Hans]

Hi all,

I'm planning to backpack 4 nights (first week of October) and was hoping to get some insights here.
Looking at maps and reading available information online I came up with the following:
Day 1 - Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley 3.3 miles
Day 2 - Half Dome 7.2 miles
Day 3 - Little Yosemite Valley to Merced Lake 7.8 miles
Day 4 - Merced Lake to Clouds Rest 9.2 miles
Day 5 - Clouds Rest to Happy Isles 8.4 miles

If the weather doesn't cooperate on the second day I will do this in the opposite direction.
On the map (Topo 24k US West) this looks very doable with my (mountain) backpacking and hiking background.

My (initial) questions are:
- Are there enough spots for water along this route (day 3, 4 and 5)?
- I would love to find a camp site with a view close to Clouds rest. Is there something like that?
- Is there a better trip (better vistas, nicer trails etc) that I could try instead of the one above?

Thanks in advance,

Hans.

[AlmostThere]

The hardest thing about your trip will be getting the permit, and packing your food in the bear can.

You'll need a wilderness permit with a Half Dome permit on it. You can read about getting this permit on the Yosemite website, nps.gov/yose. They'll rent you the bear canister when you pick up the permit.

[Hans]

Sorry,

Forgot to mention that I do have both Half Dome and wilderness permits for this trip.
I also have an over-sized bear canister so stuffing 5 days worth of food sounds doable.
(just might be a bit heavy )

I'm a bit more concerned about water along this trip.
Where can I find more information about available water along the trail for days 3, 4 and 5?

Hans.

[AlmostThere]

Well, there's the Merced River, which never dries up. There's Merced Lake. The creeks might be down to nothing but the rivers and lakes don't die.

[Hans]

Does that mean I need to take water for 2 days when I leave Merced Lake?
There is no reliable water source between Merced lake, Cloud's rest and Little Yosemite Valley?

[balzaccom]

First of all, you need to look at a map. You can't camp between Vernal and Nevada Falls, you need to continue past Nevada Falls...and that is more like six miles, not 3.3.

From Merced Lake to Clouds Rest the trails go by way along the Merced river part of the way, then limbs up through Sunrise Creek to get to Clouds Rest. The river will have water. The creek will also probably have some water in it.

From Clouds Rest (and you probably don't want to camp there~ there is no water and it's all rock) you will have to go back to Happy Isles via Nevada and Vernal Falls..and there is plenty of water in the RIver.

[AlmostThere]

Yes, your mileages are way off. Clouds to Happy Isles is 11 miles.

[Hans]

ok, looks like I had a few typos in there.
After doing some additional checking here is the latest version of my plan:
Day 1 - Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley campground 4.3 miles
Day 2 - From the Little Yosemite Valley campground: Half Dome 7.2 miles
Day 3 - Little Yosemite Valley to Merced Lake 8.3 miles
Day 4 - Merced Lake to Clouds Rest 9.5 miles
Day 5 - Clouds Rest to Happy Isles 9.6 miles

Now back to my open questions.
1. Is there a reliable water source between Merced lake and Clouds Rest and for the next day between Clouds Rest and Happy Ilses?
2. Are there camp sites close to Clouds rest summit with a view?

Thanks,

Hans.

[AlmostThere]

clouds rest to happy isles is 11 miles.

your water source is still the river.

no.

[balzaccom]

Your mileages are still off.

Happy Isles to LYV is at least five miles..if you take the Mist Trail, which can be an issue for a full pack, it's still about 5.2 as I recall.

LYV to Merced Lake is over ten miles.

Again, I think you need to find a better map. There is nothing fun about getting to what you think is the end of the day, only to find out that you have another 2.5 miles to hike...