07 Jul 2022
Our main goals this year were Clouds Rest and Half Dome as my wife has never been on top of Clouds Rest and the last time we were on Half Dome we had to rush back down the valley. We had a private tour with Lasting Adventures that ended up attached to a standard tour only because of Half Dome permit restrictions. This worked out very nicely as we had 2 guides for 4 hikers. The first day was the standard stuff in Yosemite Valley camping at the back-packers camp. The second morning we started our hike at Tuolumne Meadows and went 4 miles to Cathedral Lakes (Lower Cathedral Lake). This was a good warm-up. I was surprised at how nice and serene the views were. The only downside was the mosquitos that were relentless. The 3rd day we hiked 7-8 miles to Sunrise Lakes. We saw sights (peaks, meadows, valleys, lakes, etc.) that most people won't see by staying in the valley. The 4th day, we hiked up Clouds Rest and stayed there for lunch. What a view - perhaps my favorite view of the valley. The first mile or so down from Clouds Rest was a little hard on the knees but it got better. That day, we travelled 8 miles in total to a camp about a half mile from the Half Dome trail. The final day was fantastic - we got up at 3am and were on top of Half Dome right at sunrise. We had breakfast, enjoyed the sunrise, and took in the 360 degree views for almost 2 hours. The rest was all down hill to get our backpacks and head down to the valley. Total mileage this day was 12 miles - a long day for us. Emily and Dawson, our guides from Lasting Adventures, were wonderful. I highly recommend using Lasting Adventures for these Yosemite hikes - they take all the worry away. This was our 3rd trip with them and obviously we are very happy to recommend them.