I’ve visited Yosemite and its surrounding areas twice, both times with the goal of hiking the iconic Half Dome. In this post, I’ll share my 2023 itinerary along with some ‘vintage’ photos from my 2010 trip, back when I was still using a non-iPhone camera—a 2009 Sony Cyber-Shot.
Steve at some point decided his goal was to accomplish the Half Dome hike even though I told him I really never wanted to do it again. He assured me the odds were slim that we’d win the lottery for a permit so I agreed (when I hiked it in 2010 permits were not required on weekdays). We applied for a permit March 22nd 2023 and April 11th received notice that we won the opportunity to hike August 11 2023 which is coincidentally the same exact date I hiked it in 2010!
2023 Trip
Day 1:
Flew into San Francisco (SFO) after work so arrived very late and drove to Merced for the night (3 hour drive).
Kings Canyon: Drove from Merced to Kings Canyon National Park (2 hours). We focused our time on Kings Canyon, but if we had more time I would have loved to check out nearby Sequoia National Park.
We did multiple short hikes, less than 2 miles each. I’ve shown the highlights and linked the AllTrails.
Panoramic Point ⬆️
Panoramic Point on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/panoramic-point?sh=sxlnu6
General Grant ⬆️
General Grant Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/general-grant-trail?sh=sxlnu6
North Grove and Sunset Loop on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/north-grove-and-sunset-loop?sh=sxlnu6
After our hikes we made the drive to Mariposa (2 hr 28 minutes) to get checked in and get some groceries.
We stayed in Mariposa both trips which is a little over an hour to Yosemite (or much longer depending on traffic and road work). You can stay closer to Yosemite by reserving the Lodge, but it’s much more expensive.
The accommodations in Mariposa are definitely not luxurious. I enjoyed staying at the River Rock Inn the most. It’s a cute motel with activities, fire pits, and a healthy deli. I remember they packed me with tons of food my half dome hike since we were leaving before scheduled breakfast time. Looks like it’s rated a whopping 1 stars but in my memory it was lovely.
https://www.riverrockinncafe.com
The most recent trip we stayed at the 5th Street Inn in Mariposa which was rated as 3 stars. I’ve linked below.
Day 2:
We left Mariposa at 4am to reach the iconic “tunnel view” in time for sunrise. Here is the progression of the sunrise.
From Tunnel View, we drove north to Glacier Point (45 minutes) where you have a beautiful view of Half Dome. We walked less than a mile of perimeter trails for views.
From Glacier Point our next stop was Bridalveil Falls. We did the short trail up to see the falls up close.
Bridalveil Fall Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/bridalveil-fall-trail?sh=sxlnu6
El Capitan from a pullout off the road⬆️
Next stop was Lower Yosemite Falls. Parking was terrible so we ended up parking near one of the restaurants and just walked a few miles, nearly around the whole park.
We scrambled up these rocks for the best views.
Lower Yosemite Falls Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/lower-yosemite-falls-trail?sh=sxlnu6
Next we did an easy 2 mile trail around the Yosemite Valley I’ve linked below.
Sentinel Meadow Cook’s Meadow Loop Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/sentinel-meadow-cooks-meadow-loop-trail?sh=sxlnu6
“Vintage” shots from 2010:
We then returned back to Mariposa to prepare for our big hike the next day.
Half Dome: Here is some general info I’ve gathered and the AllTrails links—
We did Half dome as a day hike via the Mist trail— 16 mile hike with 5672 feet in elevation gain. Once you reach the actual dome, you have to ascend vertically using cables for the last 400 feet. My first trip I had never been out of Georgia and had pretty terrible altitude sickness. This time I preemptively took aspirin and carried some on the trail just in case. I also grossly underestimated the amount of food and water I’d need the first trip, so this time I brought plenty.
For some reason AllTrails doesn’t have a route for this so I downloaded the John Muir Woods AllTrails map and but followed the signs for the Mist Trail. The Mist Trail is steeper but shorter than the JMT and they eventually connect en route to Half Dome so you can use the JMT route as a rough guide.
Half Dome via the John Muir Trail (JMT) on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/half-dome-via-the-john-muir-trail-jmt?sh=sxlnu6
From the National Park Website:
“The Half Dome hike is considered one of the most dangerous hikes in a U.S. national park. It’s not recommended for beginners, but it is safe for those who are properly trained. Gloves are essential for the last 400 feet of the hike, where you use steel cables to climb up the granite dome.” — We used Gorilla Gloves this trip and they were much better than the ski gloves I tried to use in 2010. Most people including myself, gave their gloves to those who didn’t come prepared. Here are the gloves I took.
Gorilla Grip Grey Slip Resistant… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B82V6L8J?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Day 3:
We left Mariposa at 2:26am but didn’t arrive to Yosemite until 4:19 due to road construction (they had the road closed due to a log truck passing for almost an hour).
Beautiful starry scenery ⬆️
We parked at Curry Village which added mileage to our hike, but along the route I noticed closer parking at the actual trailhead that was free and empty.
We cheerfully started the hike with our headlamps and after a little under a mile reached the Vernal Fall Footbridge and bathrooms. There’s a water refill station there, so we took the opportunity to top off our bottles before continuing.
Our next stop was Vernal Falls. This section of the trail earns its name, the “Mist Trail,” because the spray from the waterfall will drench you as you pass. We wore rain jackets (and our hiking shoes were waterproof), which kept us dry. Some hikers recommended ponchos, but I was fine with just my jacket. In fact, I ended up stashing it under a rock afterward to avoid carrying it in my pack.
Next came Nevada Fall Top, about a mile and a half from Vernal Fall. This part of the trail was tough and brought back some vivid memories from my 2010 hike—steep and challenging.
From Nevada Fall Top, the hike to Little Yosemite Valley was a bit easier, with a more gradual elevation gain.
The stretch from Little Yosemite Valley to Subdome was over two miles, and the final part involved climbing those unforgettable granite stair switchbacks—another distinct memory from my first hike in 2010.
(Including this one because you have to get a before pic in this spot).
We took a break at Subdome, watching others tackle the cables before starting our ascent. We left our packs behind to avoid carrying extra weight up the cables.
The cables were much harder and longer than I remembered. There are boards spaced every few yards that provide a brief resting point, especially when waiting in line to ascend. Standing on a near-vertical incline while waiting, along with managing the two-way traffic on the cables, was grueling. But once we made it to the top, the 360-degree views of Yosemite were worth the effort.
It took us 8 hours and 32 minutes to summit the dome. I’ve included our stats below.
We didn’t linger too long at the summit though because we saw a storm rolling in. After a few raindrops, I was anxious to get back down the cables before they became too slick or in case lightning struck.
We made it down just in time, getting soaked as the rain picked up—but I was grateful not to still be on the dome when the storm hit.
The storm⬆️
Despite being drenched, our spirits were high. We optimistically thought we’d be back in time to grab margaritas and Mexican food (because how hard could going downhill be, right?).
It turns out the downhill was just as bad. The adrenaline had worn off and it was a pretty rough 5 hours down. But here are some pretty pictures.
We completed the entire hike in 13 hours 23 minutes and I’ve included our stats below.
We then drove back to Mariposa and certainly did not go get margaritas.
“Vintage” Photos from Half Dome:
I’ve included a few comparisons!
Day 4:
We drove from Mariposa back to San Francisco (2 hours 45 minutes). I’ve shared a link to our hotel Park 55 below. It was very comfortable and centrally located.
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/sfosfhh-parc-55-san-francisco/
After hiking Half Dome the day prior we had planned to take it easy. But there’s really no way to avoid the hills of San Francisco while “urban hiking”. We hit all the tourist spots like Fisherman’s Wharf and the Full House houses.
But then I had the idea to do a *small* city hike so we got dropped off at Baker’s Beach and walked to the Golden Gate Bridge. There was supposed to be great sunset views along the way but of course, the fog.
They say, ‘The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco,’ and I can totally vouch for it! Despite knowing better, I was still caught off guard by the wind chill off the bay and ended up buying a souvenir hoodie, again.
John Muir Woods National Monument:
On my first trip in 2010, we drove from San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge to John Muir Woods (35 min drive). It was my favorite day in San Francisco. We picked up a map from the visitor center and just wandered the trails. I’ve included some information from Visit California and linked the NPS site. It looks like you have to reserve parking ahead of time and there is a link on the link below.
https://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm
Hope this itinerary has been helpful! Any questions about applying for permits or anything else, feel free to send a message!
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