Half Dome Hike ?????

A friend and I are going to be hiking half dome on a week day... either Monday June 4th or Tuesday the 5th and was wondering if anyone had any idea what kind of trail traffic we might encounter especially when we get to the dreaded cables. I did the hike many years ago during the same time of year in the middle of the week and it wasn't too bad..... no line at the cables. But like I said it has been years and I'm sure the amount of traffic has changed.

Thanks for the info......

A week day shouldn't be too bad. Here's how it was last Friday on the Mist Trail:



http://yosemitephotos.net/main.php?g2_itemId=4329

I'm not familiar with the Mist Trail. Where can I find this?

Lisa wrote:

> I'm not familiar with the Mist Trail. Where can I find this?

Map: http://bitsy.spinics.net/98

Photos:

http://yosemitephotos.net/main.php?g2_itemId=4317
http://yosemitephotos.net/main.php?g2_itemId=4329
http://yosemitephotos.net/main.php?g2_itemId=4325
http://yosemitephotos.net/main.php?g2_itemId=4321

Nice pictures and Thanks. I'll see Mist Trail first hand on Friday.

It also depends what time of day. Since most people start the Half Dome dayhike early in the morning, everyone seems to be going up and coming down at the same time. If you're going on a weekday, see if you can get a permit to stay overnight at Little Yosemite Valley. Then you can head up early, spend as much time as you want at Half Dome during the least crowded part of the day and then head down. And you're not killing yourself in the process.
Just a suggestion.

Having done it twice, I recommend leaving a little later, if you don't mind setting foot at Happy Isles around dusk. You probably will have the top of Half Dome and the cables pretty much to yourself. For me the hike is about 12 hrs round trip including a half hour of roaming around the top. A couple years ago I left at 8 a.m. and was back in the valley grocery store before it was dark, and only had to deal with 3 or 4 people to go around on the cables.

I've always done Half Dome as part of a backpacking trip. Never had to deal with crowds that way.

Thanks for the responses .... this helps a lot. We are looking forward to make a life-time of memories in God's country.

What do people do with their fully-loaded packs while going up and down the cables?

You can hide them in some trees just on the north side of the trail before you start up the big hump prior to the cable ascent. Usually there are so many people there that bears are not a problem. Nobody will go through you pack again because there are so many people there and any thief would not know if the owner is about.

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Old Dude

Jmesenburg wrote:

> What do people do with their fully-loaded packs while going up
> and down the cables?

Maybe don't go up with a fully loaded pack.

This summer I plan on setting up a "base camp", with tent up maybe 3 miles away and bear canister stashed nearby. I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to be bringing a large daypack or a wilderness backpack for this trip. If it's the latter and I have space, I might also bring along a smallish daypack and leave the backpack where I camp. I figure 10-12 lbs hauled up Half Dome shouldn't be too bad if it's well secured. A daypack might shave 3-5 lbs compared to a large wilderness backpack.

For Half Dome, I'm just going up, then down for about 6 miles roundtrip and call it a day. Maybe Clouds Rest the next day.

Jmesenburg wrote:

> What do people do with their fully-loaded packs while going up
> and down the cables?

My groups left our big packs at our camp and brought our day packs up the cables.

I usually leave my backpack on the shoulder. If someone steals it all they'll get is half a sandwich and a little water. Everything else goes in my pockets and up the cables. There might be minor crimes from the shoulder on up but most of those would be committed by marmots.

Have fun! I couldn't help but smile hiking up the Mist Trail, it was such an exhilarating experience.

Oh, I will have fun. Looks like the weather is perfect!

Keep in mind, when you "summit" (i.e. walk there and climb cables for a few minutes) Half Dome, a hike, without cables (except for about 50 feet), is about 5,700 feet below the summit of Mt. Whitney. Gasp when you reach the top of Half Dome, and then gasp again when you imagine Mt. Whitney towering over a mile and a quarter above The Visor.

Might be an interesting photoshop adventure.

Vince

This is a picture of a guy that started up the cable on a wet day and then slipped and lost his grip on the cables. Apparently he slid quite a way and came to a stop as you see in the picture. He is about 60' to the north of the saddle and there was nothing the people standing around could do. Five hours later he was rescued by a ground crew as flying was not an option that day. No injuries but hypothermia. The news story also mentions he was awake and held the spread-eagle position until rescued.

Wet granite that has been polished either by glacier, water, or foot traffic is as if it has been oiled.

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Old Dude

That position was all that was keeping him from sliding. It would have been a good day to have a rope in one's back.