I'd like to hike from Tenaya Lake to Clouds Rest and back, as a day hike, the next time I go to Yosemite. I'm curious about how difficult this hike is and how much time I should plan on spending on the trail.

How would this compare to these other hikes:
Mist Trail - Panorama Trail - Glacier Point

Valley floor - Upper Yosemite Fall - Valley floor

Tioga Rd. - Cathedral Lakes - Tioga Rd.

Is this the sort of hike where I should be on the trail by 7am to avoid hiking back in the dark?

My Lonely Planet "Hiking in the Sierra Nevada" Book says the Tenaya Lake (Sunrise Lakes Trailhead) to Cloud's Rest is as follows:

Duration: 6-7 hours
Distance: 14.4 miles (RT)
Difficulty: Moderate-Hard
5270 feet of total elevation change 2205 ft. ascent plus 430 ft. descent on the way to the summit.

In comparison, the trail to the top of Yosemite Falls trail is 6.8 miles (RT) with a rating of moderate-hard and a duration of 5-6 hours.

I've never hiked to Cloud's rest, so I couldn't tell ya.

Half Dome is 17 miles, rated as "Hard" and suggested in 2 days.

It's a moderate hike that can easily done in a day.
Right at the start of the hike you will have to wade across a creek and will get your feet wet so bring a pair of dry socks or whatever.
Most of the elevation is on the way up to the Sunrise Lakes junction. Once you get there the trip to the last punch to the top of Clouds Rest is pretty easy. Once you get to the next junction at about 9100 feet the way to the crest is not too bad. The trip back is mostly down hill except for the middle part where the "flat" has some ups and downs of a couple hundred feet. There is one short stretch of trail at the very crest that may make you want to be on all fours. When you get near the crest the trail separates into a trail that goes to the south around the crest and the trail that goes over the crest.



Go back down the same way you went up as there isn't a good trail loop for a short day hike unless you want to go down to the John Muir trail and out past the Sunrise Lakes. This is doable in a day but it will be about a 20 mile day.

Take at lest two liters of water. There is water about one mile after the Sunrise Lakes junction.

If there is any weather brewing can the trip. Lightening likes the crest of Clouds Rest.

If it is a clear day you will want to spend some time up there so be ready to eat lunch there.

Do not forget a couple of cameras and a small tripod.



Post Edited (06-24-07 18:18)

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Old Dude

mrcondron wrote:

> Do not forget a couple of cameras and a small tripod.

A couple? I have enough trouble carrying my one:



http://yosemitephotos.net/main.php?g2_itemId=80

A couple Toyo-View 8X10s with sticks should raise the trip to strenuous and do the job.

eeek,
How does one get pics on a post?

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Old Dude

mrcondron wrote:

> How does one get pics on a post?

Use img and /img around the URL with [ and ] around the img tags.

This is an unsuccessful test of the image posting:

eeek,

I need instructions suitable for the simple minded.
I tried many combinations using [ img ] and [ /img ] (no spaces though ) with and without < and > to no avail. I was able to get a hot url but not get the image into the post.
Thanks



Post Edited (05-01-07 16:48)

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Old Dude

It's [ img ]http://your.domain/image.jpg[ /img ]

Without the spacs.

Thanks for the info on the Clouds Rest hike. It's good to know that there will be a water crossing involved. Extra footwear shall be on hand with that in mind.

Since I like to take lots of photos, I'll add 3 hours to the estimated hike time and will start out bright and early.