Travel Diary: 4 Nights in Yosemite National Park -- including Half Dome!

I think this post may actually beat my New Zealand posts as my most photo-heavy post -- because Yosemite is one of the most stunning places I have ever visited. 

Travel has made me so much more aware of how incredible our planet is. After visiting New Zealand on my honeymoon in 2020 and marveling at the beauty of the country, I became determined to see more of my own country's beauty -- and Yosemite lived up to the hype.

I want to start this travel diary with a disclaimer that I haven't hiked very much -- I only started hiking within the past few years, and I think the longest hike I'd done before Yosemite was only 8 miles. So I'm certainly not an expert! That's why I'd emphasize that I call these travel diaries and not travel guides for a reason. But I have always been very active -- part of the reason I wasn't very interested in nature or hiking until the last few years was because I'd rather just run 6 miles than hike. So while I didn't train for Yosemite beyond walks, long runs, and some video exercises, I felt confident that I knew what I was capable of (and, perhaps more importantly, what I was not).

All that to say, while these were my experiences, you know your own body and limits, just as I knew mine. And if you have questions about Yosemite or hiking, I'll answer them based on my own experiences but would also recommend speaking to a true expert.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on a link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

tips and advice:

  • Yosemite National Park is huge -- at nearly 1200 square miles, it is roughly the size of the state of Rhode Island. It's one of America's 63 national parks, is operated by the National Park Service (NPS), and was designated a World Heritage Site in 1984.
  • I decided to plan a trip to Yosemite after one of my best friends went in fall 2020, and her trip looked incredible. What drew my attention in particular was the Half Dome hike -- which I could spend an entire blog post on all by itself, but I'll try to be brief (and will answer any questions in the comments!).
The hike to Half Dome is 16+ miles (NPS says it's 14-16 miles, but all the reviews I've read say, and our own experience backs up, that it's more like 18+ miles), and the final section (before heading back) is hiking 400 feet of cables up Half Dome on steep, slick rock that's been worn smooth by so many hikers before.

Before the cables were installed, Half Dome was considered "perfectly inaccessible" by geologist Josiah Whitney, but in 1920 the cables were installed from the bottom to the top. These cables are "up" (meaning poles are put in the ground and the cables looped through them, with wooden slats propped against most of the poles) from approximately Memorial Day to Columbus Day; the rest of the time, the poles are taken out of the ground and the cables lie flat against the rock. (So the poles will move if people tug too much on the cables, and the wooden slats are wobbly against the uneven ground! This HikingGuy guide has some close-up photos of the cables and poles.) 

In order to complete the ascent when the cables are up (NPS advises hikers not to attempt the ascent when the cables are down), you need to enter the March lottery for a permit. When my husband and I learned in April 2021 that we'd won a permit for Sunday, July 11, we decided to drive from our home in Virginia to Yosemite National Park in California, spend a few days in Yosemite, and drive back. And with our Half Dome permit on a Sunday, we chose to explore the park beforehand and end the trip with Half Dome, because we were afraid if we did Half Dome first we'd be too tired afterwards to hike anything.

The hike to Half Dome includes the Mist Trail (for Vernal and Nevada Falls), so we chose to do other hikes on our other days so we didn't repeat any trails.
  • I highly recommend staying within the park -- if you stay outside of it, you'll spend a significant amount of time just driving in (which also means even earlier wake-up times). 
  • It's easier to find parking earlier in the morning! After so many early morning (and long) drives, we chose to sleep in even though it meant getting relatively late starts (leaving our room around 9am) on Days 2 and 3, and the parking lots were definitely busy by then. (For Half Dome on Day 4, we left our room by 5:15am or so) 
  • I do wish we had better familiarized ourselves with the park before we arrived. It's so big that it felt overwhelming reading about it, but obviously it was even more overwhelming upon arrival, and I didn't feel I'd planned out our trip enough to make the most of our time.
  • Freeze your empty water bladder (and half-full water or Gatorade bottles), then fill them in the morning, to keep them cold!
  • I didn't wear or need insect repellent our first 2 days, but I did put it on before Half Dome on Day 3 and then left it in the room, in order to have more space in my pack for liquids. I ended up wishing I'd brought it just because there were definitely sections along the hike where I was constantly swatting at mosquitoes flying in my face. Note: Bear spray is not permitted in Yosemite.

itinerary:

My husband found this spot, and it was great for us. The location was really convenient (just 5-10 minutes from Glacier Point Road, maybe 30-35 minutes to Glacier Point, and approximately 20-25 minutes to the valley floor). It had a kitchen and a deck, although there was no AC, just a fan, but fortunately we were still mostly comfortable at night. We were surprised to learn that there was some Wifi, which the building doesn't advertise because it's satellite and very spotty, particularly depending on where your room is, but it was nice being able to connect at night if needed. (We had decent service on the valley floor.)
  • Day 1 (Thursday): We drove in from Las Vegas, so it was a long day! We got in just in time to drive around the park and take in the sights from the car, then parked at Glacier Point to watch the sun set. We were very lucky because initially Glacier Point Road was scheduled to be closed for construction in 2021, but they ended up pushing those plans back until 2022.

I'd seen some beautiful photos of Mirror Lake, but since it was July, the area was too dry and thus not as picturesque as I'd hoped. But it was still a good trail to start us off as we familiarized ourselves with the valley floor.

At Lower Yosemite Fall, we chose to climb through the boulders (I think they're technically called screes or talus?) in the water to get closer to the waterfall base. That portion reminded me a lot of the boulder field on Precipice Trail in Maine's Acadia National Park. (It was somewhat of an arm workout, so I’m glad we didn’t do this the day before Half Dome.)

Although we'd purchased lunch supplies at the grocery store, we ended up opting not to drive all the way back to our room and purchased sandwiches and chips from the Valley Store instead. (We were in line for the Village Grill Deck before we realized that the Store offered a huge selection of items!)

We spent sunset at Glacier Point again, thinking we'd do Taft Point or Sentinel Dome on Day 3. Unfortunately, this ended up not working out (because of a lengthy and tiring hike on Day 3) so I wish we'd done them this day instead!
I reallly wanted to hike Clouds Rest, but I read that it was a long, strenuous, and tiring hike, so we reluctantly decided against it because we had Half Dome the next day and wanted to conserve our energy. Instead, we decided to do Upper Yosemite Fall, to see the rest of the waterfall we'd been at the day before. We read that the trail was under 8 miles and thought that wasn't too long of a distance before Half Dome... but we should have kept reading! The trail was brutal, with very steep switchbacks and a significant portion in the sun. My legs were killing me on the hike up, to the point that I was so afraid I'd be sore the next day that I took an 8-minute ice bath when we got back to the room. 

But as someone who enjoys a challenge, I did feel very accomplished when we got to the top, and I love waterfalls. It was a surreal experience being at the top of the mountain and seeing people swimming in the water.
  • Day 4 (Sunday): Half Dome! The entire reason behind our Yosemite trip and our cross-country road trip. It took us just under 11 hours to hike.
Although this hike is more than twice the length of Upper Yosemite Fall, I'd say most of it is much easier -- my husband disliked the stairs near the waterfalls at the beginning and the switchbacks at Sub Dome, and I found the 400 feet of cables terrifying and exhausting. We were on the trail by 6am and back on the valley floor by 5pm, although we were definitely limping the last few miles because our feet were sore from stepping on the jagged stones.

There was a heat wave during our entire trip (the temperature was in the triple digits!), so we carried a lot of liquid with us. My husband bought a water purifier, and I carried 2.5 liters in my backpack bladder, 2 1-liter water bottles, 1 .5 water bottle, and 1 .5 Gatorade bottle. By Day 4, we had empty bottles, so we purchased water and Gatorade jugs to fill them up halfway, froze our backpack water bladders and the half-full bottles overnight, then used the jugs to fill the rest of the bottles in the morning, so our liquid would stay as cold as possible. The last treated water on the trail is a water fountain less than a mile in, so I drank from the .5 water bottle first so that I could easily refill it at the fountain. (I'm kind of picky about water so I didn't want to mix my bottled water with fountain water and knew I'd save the fountain water for last.)

I share more details on Half Dome below in the photo diary section, as it's probably easier to process some of the details (like the experience of climbing up and down the cables and the importance of gloves) when there are photos. If you're looking for an extensive dive into Half Dome (that includes photos with arrows for nifty directions!), I recommend this extensive guide by HikingGuy.

photo diary:

Had to get a photo, I was so excited :-)

At the park entrance


Driving through the park! I was very thankful my husband was driving, particularly as we got higher in elevation, because the roads were very windy with steep drop-offs. Fortunately, there are places to pull over to the side to let faster cars go by -- which is definitely encouraged in general and strongly recommended if there are four cars or more behind you.

Not a bad view ;-)

Our lodging for the weekend! Very simple but convenient and fit our purposes, since we didn't spend too much time in the room.

The first thing we did upon arrival was head to Glacier Point to watch the sunset.

Half Dome, in the center left of the photo. This was probably the first time I started getting genuinely nervous... I couldn't believe we would be hiking that!

A lot of these photos are going to be very similar because I love them so much that I want to include them alll :-)





Half Dome looming menacingly behind us...

Sunglasses: Illesteva Leonard (affiliate link) | Sweatshirt: Pink Lily (affiliate link) | Shorts: BLANK NYC

This is like one of those "what she thinks he's thinking/what he's thinking" memes. I'd like to think he was mentally preparing himself for the hike but he was probably just thinking about his favorite band Creed.



Tunnel View! Yep, there's Half Dome in the distance...




I still don't understand my husband's hiking attire, but it seemed to work for him.

Sunglasses: Illesteva Leonard in tortoise/pink (affiliate link) | 
Tank top: Brick House in the City (as a Catholic and a feminist, I love this shirt and its meaning) | 
Shorts: C9 by Champion and if anyone can find them I would be so thankful! I bought them (at Target, I think?) in several colors more than a decade ago and can't find them anymore, but they're my favorites! I have the same issue with some similar Nike shorts I bought 5+ years ago at Sports Authority and now can't find anywhere.



Backpack: Rupumpack (affiliate link) | Socks: Darn Tough (affiliate link) | Boots: Merrell (affiliate link)

I loved this backpack. Tons of zippered pockets, including an insulated one (for the bladder) and a waist one I could zip my iPhone in and easily reach it, which is handy when you want to take lots of photos! I'm not an expert hiker, but I wore this backpack for 3 days and didn't have any issues -- I highly recommend.

And I consider these boots "the Sisterhood of the Traveling Boots," because I bought them off of the recommendation of a friend, who had bought them off her friend's recommendation, and I've since recommended them to multiple other friends!



On the Mirror Lake trail






"Be Kind" hat: Pink Lily (affiliate link) | Socks: Darn Tough (affiliate link) | Boots: Merrell (affiliate link)


Lower Yosemite Fall 

At 2425 feet, Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in North America and consists of 3 sections: Upper Yosemite Fall, the Middle Cascades, and Lower Yosemite Fall.

Fun fact: "Yosemite Falls" is plural because it consists of the 3 sections, whereas other waterfalls like Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall are singular.



Pretending to be one of the mermaids in Peter Pan while wishing I had prepared to swim in the water, but the idea of getting wet and then putting boots back on didn't sound appealing.





Yep, guess what's in the distance...

Date night in Yosemite Park... aka Coors Light and Lunchable-esque cheese and crackers ;-) but with a view!

Really regretting my impulsive decision to apply for a Half Dome permit...

Back at Glacier Point for the sunset. If I'd known how tough the next day (Upper Yosemite Fall) was going to be, I would have opted to do Taft Point or Sentinel Dome instead.











On the trail for Upper Yosemite Fall! I seriously don't know how or why we underestimated this hike, it was clearly to the top of a mountain...

But we made it to the top!


Because I'm basic, I asked my husband to take a photo of me looking out over the valley...

... and turned around to realize there was a group of people hidden in the shade behind us, judging me.




The viewing platform overlooking the crest of Upper Yosemite Fall












Took this on the way back down... couldn't believe we'd been at the top! I think you can even spot the viewing platform to the left of the waterfall.

I'm not even going to point it out this time...


This may have been when I started crying and telling my husband he was not allowed to let go of the cables on Half Dome and how precious his life was...

Taken at 6:21am: On the trail for Half Dome! Sun starting to peek out and bathe the park in light...





Vernal Fall. Since we were hiking in July, the water wasn't as strong as it would be in spring, but we still got some mist from the fall!




Hat: Pink Lily (affiliate link) | Tank top: Old Navy (affiliate link)

At the top of Vernal Fall


Nevada Fall in the background


Taken at 7:39am. The building to the left is one of the two non-flushing toilets on the trail (the only flushing toilets are near the water fountain, less than a mile into the trail).

After each going through 3+ liters on Upper Yosemite Fall the day before, my husband bought a water purifier at the Mountain Shop on the valley floor. The last treated water on the trail is a water fountain less than a mile in; later in the trail, there's a sign letting you know you've reached the last point to get and treat water from Merced River until your return trip.



Coming out of the forest, we were able to see Half Dome in the distance, and this is when I started panicking again and telling my husband and some hikers ahead of us (who'd hiked Half Dome before) that I wasn't sure I could do it.

I took this at the top of Sub Dome, which is .25 miles of exposed switchbacks that occurs directly before Half Dome. I've seen a lot of people say that Sub Dome was more difficult than Half Dome because of the stairs, the relentless sun (very little shade), the switchbacks, and at one point you're not even climbing steps but scrambling up rock -- but I liked it! (My husband, not so much.)

A ranger sits at the foot of Sub Dome checking Half Dome permits. There was a guy who passed us around Nevada Fall that we saw again as we approached Sub Dome; he didn't have a Half Dome permit and was waiting with the ranger to see if any groups had room for him. Fortunately for him, the group of hikers before us had extra space, so he joined them and was able to ascend Sub Dome and then Half Dome!

We sat down at the foot of Sub Dome for 15-20 minutes to eat Cliff bars, bananas, and trail mix and to drink water and Gatorade. We also consolidated some of our water by pouring from the bottles into the bladders, so that we could flatten the empty bottles for more space in our packs.

Taken at 10:35am: View of the Half Dome cables after reaching the top of Sub Dome. 

There is only one set of cables, so people are going up and down at the same time, and there's no ranger here to helpfully remind people to be responsible and patient, secure loose items so that they don't drop onto people below you, etc. I had read that accidents have occurred when people took their hands off the cables to protect themselves from falling items, so I made sure to secure all our bottles, zip all our pockets, and clip my hat to my backpack so it wouldn't distract me or blow away.

We sat down to catch our breath after Sub Dome, but I couldn't sit for too long just staring at Half Dome... I knew it was now or never, because the longer I sat there the more time I had to get into my own head. 

I'm not afraid of heights, but I was worried that I'd lose my balance or let go of the cables and slide off the mountain. I had told the ranger at the base of Sub Dome that I was nervous, and he recommended wrapping my entire arm around the cable to feel more secure. I found that pretty difficult to do, so I ended up just putting one hand on each cable most of the time, unless someone was coming down or passing me, in which case I clung to one side with both hands. 

I feel as though I was moving mostly by pulling myself up with pure arm strength, and there were definitely times where I was worried my arms would give out on me. (My exercise routine is walking 1 hour daily, arm and ab exercises using Kayla Itsines' SWEAT app 2-3 times per week, and occasional long runs during the week -- so even though I work out my arms, they still felt like limp noodles on the cables!)

We were fortunate that the cables weren't that busy, so I could wait for the next wooden slat to become vacated, rush to it and rest, then rush to the next wooden slat once it was available. There were only a few times we had to pause because of other climbers, but each of those minutes spent waiting in place felt like a lifetime.

One of the most challenging things about Half Dome is that I wasn't just worried about myself -- I was constantly checking to make sure my husband was still there and feeling good (but not feeling so confident that he'd get cocky and make a mistake!).

Overall, it took us around 30 minutes to make the ascent.

Taken at 11:16am: Made it to the top of the dome and deliriously happy. The top is pretty big, and everyone is in such a jubilant mood for having succeeded, that everyone is taking photos for each other from different ends of the top. After we spent some time recovering and feeling grateful to be back on horizontal ground, we joined in the picture-taking.

To be perfectly honest, at first I was a little bummed there were other people in these photos. I considered trying to remove them from the photo, and I might have if their faces were more visible because I've gotten increasingly uncomfortable with sharing photos that contain other people. However, I ultimately decided against it because SO much of social media is a lie and I don't want to give people false expectations of what their own experience would be like.

On the "Visor"

You can see people in the background of this photo -- that's where someone stood to take the previous photos for us. Now I wish I'd also gotten a photo from this angle of us on that ledge!


When neither of you want to get too close to the ledge and your husband doesn't scoot over so you have to awkwardly straddle two rocks.








Tank top: Old Navy, which I love so much I have it in multiple colors (affiliate link) | Shorts: Nike (the ones I mentioned earlier!) | Socks: Darn Tough (affiliate link) | Boots: Merrell (affiliate link) | Gloves: Mountain Shop (in Yosemite) | Backpack: Rupumpack (affiliate link) 

Preparing to head back down the cables.

I really can't imagine doing this hike without gloves, though I've read that some people felt they had a stronger grip without them. On the way down, I faced the rock and essentially rappelled down the cables, keeping one hand on each cable and letting myself slowly slide down the rock. My hands were cramped afterwards from gripping the cables so tightly each way, and I felt like even with the gloves my palms might have started to blister if the cables had been any longer.

The cables were definitely more crowded at this point; we stopped several times as people climbed up, including a lengthy wait tantalizingly close to the bottom. At one point, while waiting against a wooden slat, one of my legs started shaking, which was not a comfortable feeling! The descent took us approximately 35 minutes.

Found this photo on Reddit, looking down the cables -- this angle really emphasizes how dangerous it is to slip because you can so easily slide to the side of the mountain. (Source)

This is the third time this post that I'm linking HikingGuy, but his Half Dome guide truly has excellent photos of the cables that are worth checking out.

SO HAPPY WE DID IT AND SURVIVED IT!

Now for the 5 hour hike back down...


Flipped my hat backwards to try to protect my neck, which was bright red -- don't make my mistake and forget to put sunscreen on the back of your neck!

Top of Nevada Fall. On the way down, we chose to take the Muir Trail rather than the Mist Trail (which is what we'd taken on the way up) because we'd read that, although it's 1.5 miles longer, it's easier on the knees.







Nevada Fall, with the back of Half Dome in the distance



In conclusion: My husband is out here leaving reviews telling people to do Half Dome, whereas I'd be so afraid to tell anyone to hike it because the risk is so great!

where to eat and drink:

  • We purchased groceries in advance of entering the park, but there are several stores and restaurants in the park. The full list is here. We were in line for the Village Grill our first day, but we ended up purchasing sandwiches and chips from the Village Store instead and eating on the picnic tables. That worked so well that we did it the next day, too.

links I used or recommend:

We were in Yosemite National Park for 4 nights, 3 days, and it definitely didn't feel like enough time. While I would never hike Half Dome again (one and done is good enough for me!), I still want to hike Clouds Rest, as well as Sentinel Dome and Taft Point, and to explore more of the park in general. These photos truly don't do Yosemite justice.


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