Yosemite Backpacking Trip and Half Dome Climb

Written by:  Jan Zarella

When:  August 14-16, 2024

Where: Yosemite National Park

Starting Point:  Glacier Point Trailhead

Ending Point:  Glacier Point Trailhead

Trip Time:  48 Hours, including camping

Road Conditions: Clear

Round Trip Distance:  
-Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley: 14.5 miles
-Little Yosemite Valley Camp to Half Dome: Approx. 7 miles
-Little Yosemite Valley to Cloud’s Rest: Approx. 15 miles
-Little Yosemite Valley to Half Dome, to Cloud’s Rest and Back: Approx. 17 miles

Permits:
A reservation is required to drive into or through Yosemite National Park on some days from April 13 through October 27, 2024, for those driving into the park between 5 am and 4 pm. See the National Park Service website for more info. (https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/reservations.htm) A National Parks Pass (America the Beautiful) or entrance fee is required to enter the park. A reserve ahead of time backpacking permit, as well as a separate Half Dome hiking permit are also required. There is an additional $20 fee for the Half Dome add on.**

**IMPORTANT NOTES!
Our specific backpacking permit was only good for allowing us to camp in Little Yosemite Valley at the Backpacker’s campground. This is separate from the permits that are required to hike the John Muir Trail that also runs through the area. Bear-resistant food canisters are required in all areas of Yosemite National Park, including Little Yosemite Valley. They are available for rent at the Visitor Center/Ranger Stations for $5/week with a $95 deposit. 


Trip Report

When your adventure buddy invites you to join for a Yosemite backpacking trip with an add-on hike of Half Dome, GO! I received a text from my longtime adventure buddy about 6 months ago saying she had scored a Yosemite backpacking permit, and the planned trip just happened to be over my birthday weekend, so how could I say no? 

We arrived at Yosemite on Weds morning just before 11:00 AM, with minutes to spare before the time limit on our permit expired and got turned back into the permit pool! We checked in at the Ranger Station, and obtained the physical permits for both the Backpacker Campground in Little Yosemite Valley, as well as Half Dome, then embarked on our 7.2 mile journey along the Panorama Trail. The trail starts at Glacier Point Trailhead, around 7,200 feet elevation, and descends approximately 1,300 feet over 2 miles to Illilouette Falls, giving way to expansive views of Half Dome, Vernal Falls, Liberty Cap and Nevada Falls, before winding back up via a series of switchbacks, where it eventually drops a bit back down to a bridge over Nevada Falls.  


View from Glacier Point Trailhead(Start Point)


Half Dome from the Panorama Trail


Half Dome, Vernal and Nevada Falls

After a quick break for snacks and waterfall and Liberty Cap viewing, we continued 2 miles uphill to the Little Yosemite Valley designated Backpacker Campground. We arrived at camp hot, tired, and hungry, but made sure to secure a campsite before taking a much needed break. The campsites in Little Yosemite Valley are communal and have bear boxes to share amongst campers, however, these boxes have no locks and run the risk of filling up. After dropping our packs and placing all food, drinks and toiletries in the communal bear box, we wandered to the nearby Merced River to filter water, take a snack break and rinse a significant layer of dirt off of our feet and legs! After cooking dinner back at camp, we retired early to bed so we could be well rested for our Half Dome climb in the morning. 


Liberty Cap at Nevada Falls


Merced River at Little Yosemite Valley

We got an early start up Half Dome which was a moderately steep 3.5 miles to the very top. The trail winds almost 3,000 feet up through the forest and eventually lands at the base of Half Dome, where it climbs the penultimate 600 feet over a short distance via a series of switchbacks and stone steps. Then there's the cables….The cables are not for the faint of heart, nor are they for those afraid of heights!


First up-close view of Half Dome


Checking out the route on Half Dome
 

Ascending the Half Dome cables

To ascend the final 400 vertical feet of Half Dome, one must have a pair of sturdy shoes with excellent traction, durable gloves with some level of grip, and the stability and strength to navigate the cables on a nearly vertical wall of rock.  Every 10 or so feet, there are wooden planks attached to the poles that hold up the cables, however a few of them are missing in VERY key places, making the steep ascent in those areas quite difficult!  I was wearing hiking boots that had great grip on all of the granite in the park, with the exception of the very smooth granite located between the cables on Half Dome. Even a sprinkle of rain makes the last 400 feet ascent or descent of Half Dome nearly impossible and rather dangerous! Lucky for us, it was a dry day with not a cloud in the sky.  

As we ascended Half Dome, I couldn’t help but be a bit concerned about how the descent was going to go!  With people coming and going in both directions on the cables, it became a test of human power and courtesy to ensure everyone made it safely to the top and back down. There are no other safety measures in place.  A few people had harnesses and clipped onto the cable between each set of rails, however, not knowing how far down into the rock the posts go, this could prove quite dangerous if someone actually fell! The last bit of the cable adventure mellowed a bit as we topped out, and from there it was essentially a flat walk over to the highest point on Half Dome. We took in the views, snapped some photos and ate some snacks. Then it was time for the descent.


Top of the Half Dome Cables


View from the top of Half Dome


View from the top of Half Dome


Epic viewpoint on Half Dome


View into Yosemite Valley from Half Dome


Descending Half Dome

Descending Half Dome was honestly not as scary as the ascent! The people coming down as we were climbing up assured me of this, but I didn’t truly believe them until experiencing it for myself. I did downclimb several of the steeper sections and had to use some level of balance to keep both hands on the cables, while slowly letting my feet move down the smooth rock, all while maintaining an upright position.  As there were people going down while we were going up, there were people going up as we were going down.  Most people were polite enough to move out of each other’s way, or wait for one to go up before the other went down. It was, at times, a tangle of humans maneuvering around each other to make it down to the safety of the next rung without losing grip or causing anyone else to lose grip.  An exercise in trust with a whole bunch of strangers! 

Since my adventure buddy and I only had 48 hours to pack all we could into Yosemite, ascending nearly 3000 feet from camp to top of Half Dome and back down wasn’t enough!  We chose to continue on another 4.2 miles and 3000 vertical feet to the top of Clouds Rest. The trail to Clouds Rest travels along the John Muir Trail before it splits off to wind up through the forest along a series of switchbacks that might possibly be the greatest number in a row that I have ever encountered! The final ascent is aided by a series of rock stairs that give way to a long ridge where the highest point reaches close to 10,000 feet. The view from Clouds Rest was sensational, and well worth the extra effort required to get there! 


Half Dome from the Clouds Rest trail


View from Clouds Rest

We eventually tore ourselves away from the beautiful views at Clouds Rest and made our way back to camp, which had become noticeably more crowded since our departure that morning. We relaxed once again by the river, made dinner and retired for the evening. Even though we got an early start the next morning, the hike out was, as expected, long, dusty and hot. However, the phenomenal views from the trail were frequent enough to make up for the arduous uphill travel with slightly lighter, yet still full packs! We arrived back at the Glacier Point Trailhead almost exactly 48 hours after we had departed 2 days before.  We celebrated the end of the trip with a visit to the gift shop and a couple of It’s-It Ice Cream Treats!


Gear

Backpack:  Cilo Gear W’s 30L GS Worksack
Hiking Pack:  Black Diamond Distance 4 Running Pack
Shoes:  Scarpa Terra GTX Hiking Boots
Socks:  Darn Tough W’s Prism Microcrew 
Shorts:  Territory Run Company W’s Long Haul Shorts
Shirt:  Showers Pass Apex Merino Tee
Hat:  Patagonia Fitz Roy Trucker
Bear Spray:  Counter Assault w/holster
Sleeping Pad:  Therm-a-Rest Neoair XTherm
Sleeping Bag:  Therm-a-Rest Parsec 20
Water Bladder:  Platypus Big Zip 3L
Water Filter:  Katadyn BeFree (0.6L)
Stove:  Soto Windmaster
Cookware:  Alpine Cooker 14
Sunscreen:  SPF 60 sunscreen and SPF 30 lip balm, sunglasses (Goodr Yosemite)
Snacks:  Trail Butter Lil’ Squeezes, Trail Butter Granola, Honey Stinger Waffles, Gu Salted Watermelon Gel, Gu Cola me Happy Gel

*Photos of me credited to my adventure buddy, photo of us credited to random stranger on top of Half Dome.