Hiking Half Dome - Yosemite, CA

Thursday marked the day for our Half Dome hike up the popular cables route in Yosemite National Park. The cables were just installed the day before, as conditions were finally safe enough for hikers on the subdome. This 14-16 mile round-trip hike begins at the Happy Isles trailhead and gains roughly 4,800 feet of elevation to the summit of Half Dome. Currently only 400 hikers are permitted up the cables per day via a permit system (new in 2010). We were fortunate enough to be able to reserve permits months in advance. This was my third or forth time up to Half Dome as it is a favorite hike of mine. One year back in high school, I ran much of the way back and made it round-trip in under 6 hours. Normally the hike takes 10-12 hours, with the current record standing at just over 2 hours 28 minutes (set by runner Rickey Gates in 2010).

Download route in Keyhole Markup Language (KML) format for use with GPS units and mapping programs. Disclaimer.

In order to avoid the heat of the day and the multitudes of people on the trail system, we began our hike at 5:30AM. Unlike most of our other hikes, this trip started as a large family hike, with nine family members. This included Jason's 82 year-old grandfather, whose intent was not necessarily to summit Half Dome. There weren't any other hikers at the trail head when we arrived. A short distance up the trail, one can choose to take the Mist trail to the top of Vernal Falls, or the slightly longer John Muir trail (adding 1 mile each way to the hike). In an effort to save time during our ascent, most of us chose the Mist trail. This leg of our journey proved to be very wet due to the large amount of spray from the swollen waterfall. We arrived at the top of the falls soaking wet. As we continued on, we encountered many places where water was flowing over the trail. Luckily the trail was still passable.

   

   

Having left camp early, we were rewarded with the benefit of shade along most of the trail. Though most of the vegetation is trees, we found a patch of flowers and a few butterflies sunning themselves along the trail.

   

   

Continuing on, the trail proved varied. At times it was pavement, while in others it ranged from sandy, open soils to granite slab. After passing the trail to Little Yosemite Valley, we caught our first glimpses of the back side of Half Dome.

   

   

After about two hours, we reached the base of the sub dome. This marked the disappearance of any trace of shade, as the trail turned to granite slab with rudimentary steps carved into its side. Thankfully, the trail was dry, because the sub dome can be very slippery when wet.

   

Once we reached the top of the sub dome, we descended the dome slightly and arrived at the famed cables on the East side of the dome. Because it was only 8:45AM, there were few others on the cables. Kenny ascended first and was treated to a solo ascent. After Jason made it to the top, he turned his attention to my ascent and snapped a few pictures. As one nears the top of Half Dome, the terrain levels out and the last few paces on the cables are much easier than the rest of this ascent.

   

   

   

Jason, Kenny, and I were all on top of Half Dome by 9:00 AM, making our outbound trip 3 hours, 30 minutes. While on top, we took in the views of the valley and explored the top of Half Dome. Though it appears steep from below, the top of the dome is relatively flat and larger than a football field.

   

   

   

As we explored, we noticed that at this altitude, there was little vegetation growing. We did, however, find a few small flowers growing out of the cracked granite. There was also a small patch of snow remaining on the top of the dome, but it too was melting in the warm weather. Before turning back to descend the cables, we caught a glimpse of Yosemite Falls. Even from this altitude, we were still able to see the trail carved into the hillside.

   

   

   

Having spent approximately 45 minutes at the top, the cables had grown more crowded. During our descent, we had to negotiate passing other ascending hikers. In some spots, this proved precarious due to the slope of the dome. Just as we came off the cables, we met two other family members who had just arrived at the base of the cables.

   

   

As we made our return trip, we passed many more hikers, some aiming to summit Half Dome and others just out for a day hike to enjoy the scenery. Jason, Kenny, and I made it back to Happy Isles at 1:00PM. Though we set off together, our differing speeds had separated our group into smaller pairs and triplets by the end of the hike. After a long day, all nine of us returned safely, feeling accomplished at having completed the 14-16 mile hike. We are blessed to have an 82 year-old grandfather that can still make it up to Half Dome and back.