Stats

Start: Clouds Rest (off trail) – Mile 942.5
End: Yosemite Valley (off trail) – Mile 942.5
Elevation Max: 9,865
Elevation Min: 4,484
Elevation Change: 2,180 up & 7,515 down
Average Heart Rate: 109
Walking Time: 4 hrs 54 minutes
Date: 6/8/2022

The Walk

I woke up on top of clouds rest. Last night was a weird sleep. There were critters all around. About 10:30 I thought I heard some scratching and saw a shadow but as I looked everything was quiet. A minute later a chickadee came stole a page out of Quest’s book!

He woke up and I threw a rock at the thing. It didn’t make it far with the paper. Quest got it back, but then the next few hours I laid there wondering which animals were coming next.

None of my stuff was attacked in the night! We had a quicker start to the morning to get to half dome. It was a 5ish mile walk to the trail then a 2 mile climb. The hiker we met last night gave me a homemade oatmeal packet with lots of good stuff in it. Seeds and dried raspberries.

I ate that and headed down the mountain. The trail went right over the mountain cliff, which was really cool to see. It was steeper than most of the PCT. We walked down and got a good look at half dome.

The trail went down switchbacks. It was a nice morning climb. We filled up a 2 liter with water. The only water we could carry and kept moving.

The half dome trail was steep most of the way. And once we got to the base of half dome our permits were checked. The ranger gave us gloves and we started climbing stone steps. 6-700 feet of climbing later we were up at the next part.

This part was really steep. Uncomfortably steep. But I enjoyed it. Some people used a tether to make sure they didn’t slip and fall. But quest and I cruised right up. At this point I am used to walking / climbing around and am comfortable with my steps.

We climbed up the last section and got to the top. The face of half dome is a sheer drop! Lots of tourists were up there which was a very different change of pace. But it was a fun climb and a cool view.

We descended and decided burgers were up next. 5 more miles into Yosemite Valley. There a public shuttle to take us to different areas. The trail down passed two huge waterfalls! I had seen a lot of smaller ones in the sierras, but these were powerful.

The water blasted off the mountainside and we must have seen hundreds of other hikers. This 2.5 mile loop is really popular. It had quite a bit of elevation, but it is worth the effort.

At the bottom we walked to backpackers camp, claimed a spot and found the shuttle to a burger. Quest and I met up with Detour, Mounty, and High Life. It was super random that we met up. They were waiting at a bus stop when we arrived on the bus. Then we all hang out and got dinner.

I got a burger, soup and salad. I ate it all and it was a mistake. I was way too full for an hour before the food digested.

After that we headed back to camp and relaxed. I’m not sure what tomorrow holds. Maybe a day hike up to Yosemite falls and Yosemite point. I’d like to relax a bit because I’ll start crushing mikes back in the PCT!