Pictures & Writing: Lyle Such
Cameras: Canon 5d MkIV
Our trip to Yosemite this year came in October. Last year, we attempted to hike Half Dome in July, but were rained out. We decided to attempt the hike late enough in the year to avoid summer heat and rain, but early enough so that we wouldn't encounter snow or bitterly cold temperatures. It turned out that our permits fell on the day before the cables were taken down for the season.
We arrived in Yosemite two days early, allowing for a bit of acclimitizing. On our first night, we set out for an eight mile hike to North Dome, which would allow us a nice view of Half Dome's face from across the valley.
The view from North Dome was beautiful as the stars came out and Half Dome fell into the shadows. It was also a peaceful location, far away from the viewpoints that attract hordes of tourists.
On our second night we drove up to Glacier Point for sunset. It's a much more crowded spot, but the angle and view of Half Dome is worth it.
Finally, hike day arrived. We set our alarms for 1:30am, but with a large group it was much more difficult to get a quick start. In the end, we hit the trail at 3:00am. Not bad, but our plans for summiting at sunrise would probably be difficult to achieve.
The signs make it very clear that you need a permit to summit Half Dome.
We had a chilly morning, but nowhere near as bad as we anticipated. The temperature was around 45 degrees.
There is a choice when hiking up to Half Dome. You can either take the shorter, steeper trail, or opt for the longer, more gradual John Muir trail. We chose to hike the John Muir Trail. The main deciding factor was remaining dry. If you hike the mist trail, the waterfall can soak you with it's spray, making for an uncomfortable day.
Every once in a while we would stop and turn our headlamps off. The sky was full of stars, and if you looked carefully you could spot the peaks silhouetted against the dark sky.
