Story:
Though I had been to the top of Half Dome in a backpacking trip (http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=256178) last year, this was actually my first attemp to day hike Half Dome from the valley floor. For most people hiking Half Dome, they start from the JMT (John Muir Trail) trailhead near the gaging station at Happy Isles, take Mist Trail later, pass Vernal Falls and Neveda Falls, go back to JMT, pass Little Yosemite Valley and finally take Half Dome Trail to the top of Half Dome. The milage for this hike is 14 miles. I took the same route to Half Dome.
I camped at the Upper Pine campground at the night before the trip, got up at around 4:30 the next morning and was on the way at 5:15. It took me a while to walk from the campground to the JMT trailhead. Officialy I started the hike at 5:35. It was a nice day to start the hike with the temperature around 50s in the early morning. After 10 minutes into the hike, I noticed Illilouette Falls with good amount of water in the distance on my left. Pretty soon I arrived at the footbridge below Vernal Falls where it was the first time in the trip I had a good view at it. There was a drinking fountain next to the bridge for people to re-supply water if necessary. Another 5 minutes of hike from the bridge on JMT, I turned into Mist Trail at the gate. Vernal Falls and Neveva Falls were at their peak power and no supprised that I was all wet while approaching Venal Falls on the stairway. At the end of the stairway, I arrived at the top of Vernal Falls and took a short break there.
I started hiking again after the break and soon encoutered the T junction where I made the right turn for the footbridge in the front. After passing the bridge below Neveda Falls, I hiked into the woods with Mt. Broderick on the left. When out of the woods, I began to climb the stairs right below Liberty Cap with Neveda Falls on the right. At the end of the stairs, it was the T junction with JMT where I made the right turn for Little Yosemite Valley. This section of trail along Merced River for Little Yosemite Valley was mostly coverd by sand which made the hike more interesting and I could see Half Dome and the saddle before its cable on my right side while hiking on it. Before arriving at Little Yosemite Valley, I encountered a Y junction where I beared left to continue hiking on JMT for Half Dome. It was about half hour of hike from the JMT junction with Mist Trail to Little Yosemite Valley where I took a short break there.
Leaving Little Yosemite Valley, I continued hiking up on JMT until I arrived at the T junction with Half Dome Trail. It was another 2 more miles to go from the Half Dome trailhead. At this point, the elevation was 7,000 feet and another 1,840 feet to climb to get to the top of Half Dome. Not long after hiking on the trail, Half Dome and its subdome started showing up in front of me and I knew I was getting really close to it now. After almost one hour of hike from the trailhead, I arrived at the base of the subdome where I took a short break before climbing the stairs on it. It was very strenuous to climb the stairs but the big show was still ahead and I continued pushing on. Finally I arrived at the saddle before the Half Dome calbe and decided to take another good break before climbing the calbe. It was also a good time for me to build up my strength mentally to climbe the calbe later. There was no traffic on the calbe yet when I started the climb after 10 minutres of break. Climbing on the cable I thought of nothing but to get to the top of Half Dome. Step by step and bar by bar, I finally arrived at the top of Half Dome after 25 minutes of climb.
On the top of Half Dome, I enjoyed the great views around Yosemite Valley and some of its residents, marmots, chipmunks and ground squirrels. After 45 minutes of break, I started the descent on the calbe and unfortunately ran into the famous jam. Slowly I descende on the calbe with the face-down position and safely arrived at the bottom of it 35 minutes later. On the way down from the sub-dome, I noticed Clouds Rest and Pinnacles were in front of me on the left side. I took the same way back and arrived at Happy Isles at 15:55.
I was glad I finally completed the Half Dome day hike successfully without incidents, especially after months of preparations for the trip. Definitely I will visit it again in the future.
Below is the time log for the trip:
05:35 Departed from the trailhead at Happy Isles.
05:51 Arrived at the footbridge below Vernal Falls.
05:57 Arrived at the gate for Mist Trail.
06:17 Arrived at the top of Vernal Falls.
06:37 Arrived at the footbridge below Nevada Falls.
07:15 Arrived at the T juction with JMT.
07:45 Arrived at Little Yosemite Valley.
08:42 Arrived at the Half Dome trailhead.
09:40 Arrived at the base of subdome.
09:50 Began the ascent on the stairway of the subdome.
10:20 Arrived at the base of the Half Dome cable.
10:35 Began to ascend the cable.
11:00 Arrived at the top of Half Dome.
11:45 Statrd to descend the Half Dome cable.
12:20 Arrived at the base of the cable.
15:55 Returned back to the trailhead.
Half Dome Hike via Mist Trail
Type: Out-and-back roundtrip hike
Length: 14 miles (via Mist Trail)
Elevation Gain: 5,100 feet
Difficuly Level: Very streneous
Start / End: JMT (John Muir Trail) trailhead at Happy Isles
Route:
Trailhead at Happy Isles (4,000 ft.) --(JMT)--> Footbridge below Vernal Fall (4,400 ft.) --(JMT)--> Gate (4,450 ft.) --(Mist Trail)--> Vernal Fall (5,000 ft.) --(Mist Trail)--> T Junction (5,100 ft.) --(Mist Trail)--> Footbridge below Neveda Fall (5,150 ft.) --(Mist Trail)--> T Junction (6,000 ft.) --(JMT)--> Y Junction (6,120 ft.) --(JMT)--> Little Yosemite Valley (6,150 ft.) --(JMT)--> T Junction (7,000 ft.) --(Half Dome Trail)--> Subdome stairway (7,960 ft.) -> Half Dome cable (8,420 ft.) -> Half Dome (8,842 ft.) --(take the same way back)--> Trailhead at Happy Isles
Landscape features to visit / watch:
Merced River
Illilouette Falls
Vernal Falls
Emerald Pool
Silver Apron
Neveda Falls
Mt. Broderick
Liberty Cap
Half Dome
Moraine Dome
Setinel Dome
Quarter Dome
Clouds Rest
Pinnacles
Snow Creek Fall
GPS track recorded by Garmain Oregon 200 (FW: 3.82 beta / GPS: 4.46).
Photos and videos taken by Panasoic DMC-ZS7.
Elevation gain measured by Suunto Observer watch
** Part of the gps track was lost due to out of power.
Though I had been to the top of Half Dome in a backpacking trip (http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=256178) last year, this was actually my first attemp to day hike Half Dome from the valley floor. For most people hiking Half Dome, they start from the JMT (John Muir Trail) trailhead near the gaging station at Happy Isles, take Mist Trail later, pass Vernal Falls and Neveda Falls, go back to JMT, pass Little Yosemite Valley and finally take Half Dome Trail to the top of Half Dome. The milage for this hike is 14 miles. I took the same route to Half Dome.
I camped at the Upper Pine campground at the night before the trip, got up at around 4:30 the next morning and was on the way at 5:15. It took me a while to walk from the campground to the JMT trailhead. Officialy I started the hike at 5:35. It was a nice day to start the hike with the temperature around 50s in the early morning. After 10 minutes into the hike, I noticed Illilouette Falls with good amount of water in the distance on my left. Pretty soon I arrived at the footbridge below Vernal Falls where it was the first time in the trip I had a good view at it. There was a drinking fountain next to the bridge for people to re-supply water if necessary. Another 5 minutes of hike from the bridge on JMT, I turned into Mist Trail at the gate. Vernal Falls and Neveva Falls were at their peak power and no supprised that I was all wet while approaching Venal Falls on the stairway. At the end of the stairway, I arrived at the top of Vernal Falls and took a short break there.
I started hiking again after the break and soon encoutered the T junction where I made the right turn for the footbridge in the front. After passing the bridge below Neveda Falls, I hiked into the woods with Mt. Broderick on the left. When out of the woods, I began to climb the stairs right below Liberty Cap with Neveda Falls on the right. At the end of the stairs, it was the T junction with JMT where I made the right turn for Little Yosemite Valley. This section of trail along Merced River for Little Yosemite Valley was mostly coverd by sand which made the hike more interesting and I could see Half Dome and the saddle before its cable on my right side while hiking on it. Before arriving at Little Yosemite Valley, I encountered a Y junction where I beared left to continue hiking on JMT for Half Dome. It was about half hour of hike from the JMT junction with Mist Trail to Little Yosemite Valley where I took a short break there.
Leaving Little Yosemite Valley, I continued hiking up on JMT until I arrived at the T junction with Half Dome Trail. It was another 2 more miles to go from the Half Dome trailhead. At this point, the elevation was 7,000 feet and another 1,840 feet to climb to get to the top of Half Dome. Not long after hiking on the trail, Half Dome and its subdome started showing up in front of me and I knew I was getting really close to it now. After almost one hour of hike from the trailhead, I arrived at the base of the subdome where I took a short break before climbing the stairs on it. It was very strenuous to climb the stairs but the big show was still ahead and I continued pushing on. Finally I arrived at the saddle before the Half Dome calbe and decided to take another good break before climbing the calbe. It was also a good time for me to build up my strength mentally to climbe the calbe later. There was no traffic on the calbe yet when I started the climb after 10 minutres of break. Climbing on the cable I thought of nothing but to get to the top of Half Dome. Step by step and bar by bar, I finally arrived at the top of Half Dome after 25 minutes of climb.
On the top of Half Dome, I enjoyed the great views around Yosemite Valley and some of its residents, marmots, chipmunks and ground squirrels. After 45 minutes of break, I started the descent on the calbe and unfortunately ran into the famous jam. Slowly I descende on the calbe with the face-down position and safely arrived at the bottom of it 35 minutes later. On the way down from the sub-dome, I noticed Clouds Rest and Pinnacles were in front of me on the left side. I took the same way back and arrived at Happy Isles at 15:55.
I was glad I finally completed the Half Dome day hike successfully without incidents, especially after months of preparations for the trip. Definitely I will visit it again in the future.
Below is the time log for the trip:
05:35 Departed from the trailhead at Happy Isles.
05:51 Arrived at the footbridge below Vernal Falls.
05:57 Arrived at the gate for Mist Trail.
06:17 Arrived at the top of Vernal Falls.
06:37 Arrived at the footbridge below Nevada Falls.
07:15 Arrived at the T juction with JMT.
07:45 Arrived at Little Yosemite Valley.
08:42 Arrived at the Half Dome trailhead.
09:40 Arrived at the base of subdome.
09:50 Began the ascent on the stairway of the subdome.
10:20 Arrived at the base of the Half Dome cable.
10:35 Began to ascend the cable.
11:00 Arrived at the top of Half Dome.
11:45 Statrd to descend the Half Dome cable.
12:20 Arrived at the base of the cable.
15:55 Returned back to the trailhead.
Half Dome Hike via Mist Trail
Type: Out-and-back roundtrip hike
Length: 14 miles (via Mist Trail)
Elevation Gain: 5,100 feet
Difficuly Level: Very streneous
Start / End: JMT (John Muir Trail) trailhead at Happy Isles
Route:
Trailhead at Happy Isles (4,000 ft.) --(JMT)--> Footbridge below Vernal Fall (4,400 ft.) --(JMT)--> Gate (4,450 ft.) --(Mist Trail)--> Vernal Fall (5,000 ft.) --(Mist Trail)--> T Junction (5,100 ft.) --(Mist Trail)--> Footbridge below Neveda Fall (5,150 ft.) --(Mist Trail)--> T Junction (6,000 ft.) --(JMT)--> Y Junction (6,120 ft.) --(JMT)--> Little Yosemite Valley (6,150 ft.) --(JMT)--> T Junction (7,000 ft.) --(Half Dome Trail)--> Subdome stairway (7,960 ft.) -> Half Dome cable (8,420 ft.) -> Half Dome (8,842 ft.) --(take the same way back)--> Trailhead at Happy Isles
Landscape features to visit / watch:
Merced River
Illilouette Falls
Vernal Falls
Emerald Pool
Silver Apron
Neveda Falls
Mt. Broderick
Liberty Cap
Half Dome
Moraine Dome
Setinel Dome
Quarter Dome
Clouds Rest
Pinnacles
Snow Creek Fall
GPS track recorded by Garmain Oregon 200 (FW: 3.82 beta / GPS: 4.46).
Photos and videos taken by Panasoic DMC-ZS7.
Elevation gain measured by Suunto Observer watch
** Part of the gps track was lost due to out of power.
Tips:
1. Before the Half Dome hike, please be sure to watch the video provided by the park which offers great information for the Half Dome hike: http://www.nps.gov/yose/photosmultimedia/hikinghalfdome.htm .
2. At the trailhead, you can stand in the front of the rail on the platform next to the gaging station for a while so the webcam on the roof of a small cabin (USGS weather station) across the river can record your appearance as a free log. The video is archived for one week and can be accessed via http://ca.water.usgs.gov/webcams/happyisles/ .
3. Be sure to wear shoes / boots with good cushion for long distance hike and good traction to safely climb on the Half Dome cable. Personally, I prefer the trail running shoe for its good grip on the tough terrain but also need extra caution on ankles.
4. Water filter is recommended so you can always re-supply water while hiking along Merced River.
5. Always carry headlamp / flashlight and whistle for the emergency use.
6. To prevent encountering the jam on the Half Dome cable, you should arrive at the saddle before noon if possible.
1. Before the Half Dome hike, please be sure to watch the video provided by the park which offers great information for the Half Dome hike: http://www.nps.gov/yose/photosmultimedia/hikinghalfdome.htm .
2. At the trailhead, you can stand in the front of the rail on the platform next to the gaging station for a while so the webcam on the roof of a small cabin (USGS weather station) across the river can record your appearance as a free log. The video is archived for one week and can be accessed via http://ca.water.usgs.gov/webcams/happyisles/ .
3. Be sure to wear shoes / boots with good cushion for long distance hike and good traction to safely climb on the Half Dome cable. Personally, I prefer the trail running shoe for its good grip on the tough terrain but also need extra caution on ankles.
4. Water filter is recommended so you can always re-supply water while hiking along Merced River.
5. Always carry headlamp / flashlight and whistle for the emergency use.
6. To prevent encountering the jam on the Half Dome cable, you should arrive at the saddle before noon if possible.
Tags:
Yosemite, half dome
Yosemite, half dome
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