Hike to Half Dome Cables at Yosemite!

From May  – October  Yosemite National Park installs cables on the infamous Half Dome and you have a chance to do a hike of a life time!

Standing with the peaks of the High Sierra’s at 8800 elevation above sea level. You get a breathtaking 360 degree view of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada Mountains!

In March, you can enter the lottery to get a permit for the upcoming season to hike the cables. April, you find out your results.

If you missed the month of March like me, they do a 2-day lottery, where I had entered Thursday to hike Half Dome on Saturday. I found out at 2 p.m that Thursday, planned Friday and made a day trip of it Saturday.

Mistake #1:  Making this a day trip was roughhhhh. Left Sacramento at 5 am, hiked from 9:30am-8pm, home by midnight. Make time to relax and rest your body after.

Difficulty: HARD

Distance: 17 Mile there are back trail

Elevation Gain: 4800 (at the top your at 8800 above sea level! )

My first Solo Hike in California!

Press Play to hike Half Dome with me!

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The plan was to start at the trail head by 8 a.m.. I started at 9:30 a.m.

Mistake #2: Start the trail as early as possible, so you do not feel like your in a race with sunlight. This is not a hike you want to rush.

You want to set your GPS for parking at Curry Village. This is the closet parking their is to the trail head.

Mistake #3: I had to learn the hard way and parked 2 miles away. Its already a long hike so these 2 extra unwanted miles really took a toll on my spirit.

Advice: Bring your bike! Its the fastest and easiest way to get around Yosemite!

Advice: Plan to not have service in the park. You can download directions offline on google maps!

About a mile in you come to a point in the trail where you can either take the Mist Trail up to Verona Falls (6 miles) or the John Muir Trail (7.2 miles). The John Muir is a little over a mile longer but is not as harsh and steep as Mist Trail.

A friend (Hey Maryhelen!) had advised me to take the John Muir Trail up and the Mist Trail down.

Mistake #4: Since i started out later than i wanted. I had to take the shorter and steeper Mist Trail up to Half Dome. I would take Maryhelen’s recommendation because my legs were worn early.

This amazing rainbow from the mist made the climb to the top of the falls much better! I’ve never seen an end to end rainbow that close!

Gorgeous view of Half Dome at the top of Verona Falls!

Onward and up!

Break spot to fill up my water at the junction of Mist and John Muir Trail.

I brought a 2 litter camel-back plus a 1 liter water bottle and my SteriPen. It is recommended to drink 1 liter every 2 hours.

Little Yosemite Valley is the last stop to fill up your water before your strenuous ascend.

I finished 3 liters of water easily.

After 6 hours of climbing a mountain and what feels like never ending switchbacks, you finally start to see the views you’ve been working for!

Coming up on the base of half dome, a ranger checked my permit before another ascent to reach the cables.

A rigorous 2 mile climb straight up several hundred feet of granite stairs before reaching the 400 ft of cables to the top of Half Dome.

Do it for the views!

You need to bring gloves for the cables. I forgot mine and luckily people were passing theirs back after they were done. I was gripping those cables like my life depended on it.

Exhilarating with a mix of terrifying is the best way to describe how I felt about the cables. Yosemite gives out 300 permits to hike the cables. There is a high change you will be delayed due to other people passing you on the way down or held up from people climbing to the top.

After coming down from the cables, I experienced my first leg cramp…

Not pictured: me rolling on the ground, screaming as this cramped worked its way up my left calf all the way up to my butt. A total stranger came to my rescue with the rest of her Gatorade and massaged my calve for me. Someone was looking out for me! Make sure to eat and drink so this does not happen to you!

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After recovering, it was time to start the 7 mile descent BACK to the trail head and then oh yeah another 2 miles because I parked so dang far away…

Hiked the John Muir Trail back!

Coming back down you get an amazing shot of Half Dome. Cant believe I was at the top!

My first Solo hike in California and I am beyond proud of myself for pushing through when I really really wanted to give up.

This wasn’t my best hike. I struggled the whole time and was really hurting by the end. I felt I needed to rush in the beginning, exerting energy I really needed to have to use at the top of the mountain.

The elevation was a factor and I could have eaten more.

Burning 5000 calories in 12 hours.

When asked when my breaking point was: it was when I saw the sign to tell me how much further i had: 2.3 miles. Who puts .3 on the end of mile markers!

Through it all, I would totally recommend applying for a permit and doing this hike! It will challenge you in the best way possible, making you a better hiker!!

Stay Kind,