First time backpackers: Sunrise TH -> Cloud's Rest -> Half Dome (?) -> Yosemite Valley in 2/1 days/night a plausible/good idea?

I might sound like a amateur posting this here but I wanted to get some experienced opinions.

Me and a group of 4-6 first time backpackers want to plan a backpacking trip in Yosemite in late August/September. We are all in our 20's and are in great shape. We want to do a moderately difficult and rewarding trail involving the landmarks of Yosemite that is challenging but where we would still able to enjoy ourselves along the way.

After research, we are considering starting at Tenaya Lake, up to Cloud's Rest, camping near the summit then Half Dome (Maybe) and down the Mist Trail and out of the Valley. I've done my research and understand the necessities of backpacking (Bear canisters, lack of food/water, carrying only what you need) and that we will need wilderness passes which we did not reserve these ahead of time

Our tentative plan would be:
1. Arrive at Tuolomne Wilderness Center at 5 AM Friday morning to line up for FCFS passes for our group.
2. Explore the area and camp at the campgrounds,
3. Head up to CR early the next day, taking a detour to Sunrise Lakes on the way for a swim.
4. Set up camp near the summit of CR so we can enjoy the sunrise the next morning.
5. Next day head to Half Dome, and summit it if we manage to get passes or skip the summit if we don't.
6. Head down JMT/Mist Trail to Yosemite Valley and shuttle back to our cars, drive back to San Francisco.

My Questions are:
1. Does this sound too ambitious for first time backpackers?
2. Would you recommend skipping Half dome for this trip to make it more manageable?
3. Would you guys suggest a slightly less challenging but equally rewarding trail to take for first timers (like circling back to Tenaya instead of going down tho the valley)?
4. Is there another back country trail you would suggest for a 2/1 day/night?

Any suggestions for a first timer would be extremely helpful, thanks!



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 06/16/2017 01:41PM by tsarles.

1. No need to show up until 11 am to get your permit, since that is the earliest time they will issue a walk-up for the following day.
2. Make sure you have the permit before you camp at the backpacker's campground. Take a hike to the top of Lembert Dome as a warm-up hike. It's much easier than either CR or HD, but it will help you adjust to the higher altitude.
3-4. This is a very ambitious first day. I would never recommend something this hard for a first trip/first day, even if you are all in great shape. I always stop at Upper Sunrise Lake for the first night after a full day of hiking with a backpack from Tenaya Lake, even when I was in my 20s. If you went to CR as a day hike from Tenaya Lake, it would be a long day, but carrying a full backpack up to CR without any water near your camp, with no tree cover on a hot day, is not something I would recommend. I have dry camped twice, but only due to events beyond my control, and it was not fun to ration my water and deal with dehydration. Coming down from CR, especially on the south side, is very steep and hard braking on your legs/feet/knees if you have a heavy pack. If you want to catch the sunrise on CR, you can camp near the spring that starts near the trail junction for CR and Forsythe Trail and leave camp an hour before sunrise to walk up to CR (preferably with a day back). Note that the final ascent to the top of CR is very narrow, so having some sunlight is very helpful.
5. If you are one of the lucky 25 to get a HD permit, make sure you have a day pack so you can leave your backpacks near the trail junction to HD out of sight. This side trip onto HD might cost you catching the bus on the valley floor. With a day pack it takes me about 5 hours to go from the top of HD to the valley floor, and that includes a half hour on the cables. With the permit system for HD, you might be able to navigate the cables faster now, especially in the morning.

Hi. No problem asking anything.

Let's forget about ambitious at the moment.
The real problem is simply the permit issue. You are picking the trailhead
which is literally the most sought after permit in the park (off of Tioga Road).
Ok, maybe not most.. but.. it's up there.
Top 3 gotta be Lyell, Rafferty, and Sunrise.
Anywho... so... thing is.. you said you have 4-6 people not including you.
Um... the FCSF Quota for Sunrise is SIX.
For Cathedral it is TEN. For Rafferty it is EIGHT.
So ... if you have 6+you that's not gonna happen.

Here's another thing... people literally sleep IN LINE at the permit
station for permit for THE NEXT DAY. So getting there at 11 for next
day will get you pretty much a "full" answer. And definitely a full for
Sunrise.
I'm pretty sure you realize already that ALL reserved permits are
taken for ALL of August and September for Sunrise. (and others)

Anywho... what should you do?
Well... you obviously should limit your group size if possible. If not
then your options are limited. Take a look at the TH info for quotas:
https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/trailheads.htm

You need to have plan A, B, C, D, E, and F.

Personally if my group was that big... I'd plan for camping in TM
and dayhiking. Right not TM supposedly open Aug 1- Sept 25
(yes, Aug 1)

If EVERYONE in very good shape, can handle altitude, and can carry
a pack (you'd be surprised) ... then personally I don't think it's too
ambitious... it's not huge miles.
I've taken a noob over CR and camped at CR/JMT junction on day 1.
Day 2 we wend up HD, picked up our stuff... and hiked up JMT
passed Sunrise HSC and out... then drove home.
Of course I was a bit ahead of him climbing to Sunrise HSC so
he couldn't scream at me. Then it started snowing....

Honestly it's all good tho. Lots of stuff to see and do. Another fail
on Sunrise TH for myself was in Sept. We ended up going to
Tuolumne Peak...

Nowadays if we have a bigger group typically an advanced party
goes a day ahead and tries for permits and let's people know
if got what we wanted or not...

Wish you best of luck...

Sorry if didn't answer everything if I didn't ... ask again please if needed...

Best of luck

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I could not agree more with Chick-on about this. You have a large group trying to get a permit for an extremely popular trailhead. The only way to do this is to plan WAY in advance and get the reservation early.

But there's no reason you can't have great adventures in Yosemite with that group. Why not climb Mt. Dana or Mammoth Peak? Day hike to Clouds Rest? Lots of fun options that will give you stories to tell when you get back...

---

Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

Tsarles,

If you can go later, it looks like there are still permits available for early October. The weather is still usually good but would need to check closer to you trip. The reason they are available is the TM camp site will be closed and the shuttle bus won't be running so you would need to drive and leave cars at each trailhead. Oh and just to further complicate your trip, you can't park overnight at the Tioga Road trailheads after mid October just in case they need to plow the road.

If you are prepared to take a chance on a walk up permit your chances greatly improve after the Labor Day weekend, more so if you can do a mid week trip. Note that the group size limits will still apply.

This is the latest trail head report showing the days that are already fully booked.

Cathedral Lakes
June 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 29
July 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
August 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
September 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
October 1

It's hard to find a bad trail in Yosemite, at least in the eastern half of the park. Plans A, B, C, D, E and F isn't a bad idea. Or just grab whatever permit is available.

I agree with @Bilko about going in September. Kids will be back in school, so less crowding. And with the heavy snow this year, there should still be plenty of water in the creeks and green grass in the meadows.

Trying this again with new links!





M was feeling a bit under the weather this past weekend, so we tabled plans to go backpacking. Instead, we found a nice local trail in the Stanislaus Forest below Kennedy Meadows, and took off on a day hike. It was warm (it was hot everywhere else, but we were up about 7,000 feet, so it was a bit cooler) the sky was blue, and the scenery was a treat.

we hiked up a few miles, had lunch, and then wandered around in the forest a bit before we headed back to the car. On the way, we were accompanied by at least a score of swallowtail butterflies. We even got one to sit still enough to get a good photo:



And once back at the car, we couldn't resist going up to Sonora Pass to see exactly how much snow is up there.



A lot. This is about 9,000 feet, and you can see that snow covers just about everything but the most southerly facing slopes. People were snowboarding and snowmobiling along the road here. That should give you some idea of what kinds of conditions you'll find if you start hiking anytime soon...



And by the way, this is the Stanislaus River at full flood stage. Amazing. Yes, that is solid whitewater.

---

Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/19/2017 01:02PM by balzaccom.