Halfdome Day Hike

Halfdome Day Hike

or: "Who's stupid idea was this??"

I've been wanting to hike Yosemite Valley's Halfdome for many years. Check out this short video from the park service about it:


The Halfdome hike is the hardest day hike in Yosemite Valley. It starts at the valley floor, rises up to Vernal Fall, then to Nevada Fall, then through a long section of forest, then up the "Subdome", then up the cables to the top of Halfdome. It's a 16 mile round trip with 4,800 feet of elevation gain/loss.

I've been trying for years to win a permit in the lottery, and this year I finally did. I asked my sons Seth(21) and Ian(18) if they'd like to join me, and Seth said yes (Ian smartly knew better and declined).

Our Halfdome hike permit was for Wednesday June 6th 2018. We stayed at a hotel in Oakhurst, which is about a 90 minute drive from the trailhead in Yosemite Valley.

The night before the hike, we gathered all of our gear: water filter, headlamps, flashlights, food, 2 water bottles each, rain jacket, sweatshirt, first aid, etc. The plan was to leave at 4:30am, be on the trail by 6, get to Vernal Fall by 7:30, Nevada Fall by 9, Subdome by noon, and the top by 1pm. We set an absolute turnaround time as 2pm - wherever we are at 2pm, we turn around and head back down.

4:20am 

I dragged Seth out of bed at 4:20 and we headed out. We arrived at the parking lot at the trailhead around 5:40. The parking lot was only about 1/3rd full so we had no problem finding parking.

The trailhead is actually about 1/2 mile up a road from the parking lot. That may not seem like much, but when you're tired on the way back it seems like miles. In the morning though, we were all smiles. It was a cool morning and the weather forecast was for mid-70s and sunshine.

So far so good!

 

5:53am: Trailhead

We arrived at the trailhead at 5:53am, ready to go. We had one bottle of water each, with the second bottle empty - we planned to fill both at the water station about halfway up to Vernal Fall.

The trail up to the first bridge and water station is pretty steep. It's paved, so traction isn't an issue, but the steepness definitely wakes up your legs and heart. Plus the elevation is just above 4,000 feet, so if you're used to sea level (like I am) even this first section can get you a bit winded.

6:22am: Bridge / Water Station 

When we arrived at the first bridge, the water station was closed (ooops). "...due to a spring flood that damaged water infrastructure." I wish this info was on the Yodemite website somewhere. We'd have to go much further up with just one bottle of water each. Luckily it was very cool and we hadn't used much water yet (we drank a bunch at the car) so we were all good.

No water?? Doh!!

The river was running pretty fast.

6:41am: Mist Trail

We made it into the Mist Trail around 6:40. Towards the end of the summer this trail gets just a bit wet, with nice cool mist coming from the falls. Today though, it was like a solid rainstorm.

good thing I brought a rain jacket.

7:10am: Vernal Fall

We made it to the top of Vernal Fall around 7:10, ahead of our desired schedule. I decided to take a few minutes and just rest up.

The next section between Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall gets pretty steep and rocky, with lots of stairs. I'ts a pretty intense climb.

8:25am: Nevada Fall

Tired and pretty winded, we made it to the top of Nevada Fall. We were well ahead of our desired timeline so we took a nice long break. We filled our water bottles using the water filter, had some food, and sat and rested for a while.

The next part of the trail goes past Little Yosemite Valley and winds up through the woods towards the Subdome. I'd heard that this part was not a lot of fun. That's the understatement of the century.

The trail between Nevada Fall and the Subdome SUCKS. I'ts boring, tough, uphill, rooted, rocky, sandy, and relentless. It goes on FOR.EVER.

are we there yet??

we're going up THERE?

Still 2 more miles?? Ugh.

 When you get pretty close you can start to see the subdome area. At this point it's still a surprisingly long slog to the subdome.

Seth and I had to stop many times along this part. It's higher elevation, it climbs a lot, it was warming up, and it's just a very long part of the trail. If it weren't for the promise of doing the subdome and the cables, at this point I'd have said 'fuck this' and headed back. Seth wasn't feeling too good either; in a few places he said he just wasn't going to make it. We just took lots of breaks and went slow (at one point we were just trudging very slowly upwards).

When we were almost there, we stopped at one point and just stared at the subdome and cables. From this viewpoint they looked almost vertical and frankly quite insane.

11:50am: Subdome

After over a three hour slog, we made it to the subdome. At this point there's a ranger that checks permits and gives advice on the subdome and cables: leave your sticks at the base of the cables. don't leave your gloves for others. pack your food up to the top.

Frankly, I'm surprised more people don't die on the subdome. There are places where if you stepped 6 inches to the left or right, it's death. Not pain, not broken bones, just plain death.

But the view can't be beat.

About 2/3rds of the way up the subdome, Seth called it quits. The altitude was getting to him, he was tired, and the "oooooh shit"ness of the surroundings were all a bit too much. I respected that, and we agreed he'd go down to the base of the subdome and wait for me there. I was determined to try to go to the top.

12:30pm: The Cables

When I made it up the the base of the cables, I was pretty tired from the subdome but excited by the cables. From close up they didn't seem as bad as they did from further away.

The ascent of the cables was quite vertigo-inducing. I just kept looking at the granite and avoided looking out. It was pretty slow going becuase there were other people slowly ascending and people coming back down, and negotiations back and forth ("go ahead" .. "no, you first"... etc). It took a good amount of upper body strength, and gloves are a must to save your hands.

1:00pm: At The Top!

When I finally got to the top, the experience was completely overwhelming. The view was astounding. I was overcome with emotion and cried. After years of thinking about it, I actually made it to the top of Halfdome.

After a short rest I decided to try looking over the edge. OK, that's a no. I think I maybe got about 5 feet away. Close enough! I also had a fellow hiker take a few pictures of me going out onto an overhang... got about halfway and that was all I could take. Took more pictures and decided to start heading back.

2:08pm: Base of the Cables

I made it back down to the top of the subdome, took a few more pictures, then headed down the scary subdome steps.

Back Down: it's a blur

I met back up with Seth at the base of the Subdome and we started heading down. The next hours are a blur, I didn't take many pictures since I was so tired and the trail between the subdome and Nevada Fall SUCKS. Here's the only picture I took:

Around 5pm: Nevada Fall

We took a nice long break at Nevada Fall. By this time our legs were turning to mush and we were exhausted... and we still had a long way to go. But at least the next sections of the trail were more interesting. The falls are awesome to watch, and the mist trail was ... well, still really misty.

7:50pm: Back at the car

After 14 hours, we made it back to the car. We were both completely exhausted. Legs like jelly. Super tired, hungry, and just wanted to get back to the hotel. A long while back a friend of mine who had done this hike summed it up perfectly:

"When you start out, everyone is smiling, laughing, talking, having a great time. By the time you make it all the way back, no one is talking, no one is smiling, everyone is just looking at their feet."

Yep, like that.

I can honestly say I have no desire to ever do this hike again. Or any other hike like it. Been there, done that. I think I'll stick to easy to moderate hikes from now on.