Half Dome is at its most imposing and dramatic* from North Dome, it’s sheer stained face staring directly at you. Its summit nose looks virtually impossible to reach as the cable route is hidden from view. In nine (actually eight — plans changed) days, I’ll be standing on top it, I thought to myself. In the distance rose the peaks of the Sierra crest, some snow still clinging to their northern faces. What a view! My circumnavigation of Half Dome began with this effort.

Half Dome is at its most imposing and dramatic* from North Dome, it’s sheer stained face staring directly at you. Its summit nose looks virtually impossible to reach as the cable route is hidden from view. In nine (actually eight — plans changed) days, I’ll be standing on top it, I thought to myself. In the distance rose the peaks of the Sierra crest, some snow still clinging to their northern faces. What a view! My circumnavigation of Half Dome began with this effort.

Continued from Part 1: Yosemite Valley and Glacier Point Dayhikes.

The hiker’s shuttle picked me up from Camp Curry promptly at 8 a.m. before making a couple of other stops in Yosemite Valley. Before long, we were headed out of the valley for the Tioga Road. It was bound for Tuolumne Meadows, but I got off at the Porcupine Creek trailhead. I was the only person who got off there, and only a couple of other cars were in the parking area. It was almost a quarter after 10 before I started hiking — a very late start indeed — and the temperature was already pushing 80 degrees.

Porcupine Creek TrailheadThe trail follows an old road for about three quarters of a mile before the road disappears and instead a path through the forest takes over. In Yosemite, there is an immenseness of scale even in ordinary places. Old pine trees soared above the others, seemingly hundreds of feet high, and big enough around that it would take four or more people to embrace them fully. There is also evidence of fire everywhere. Periodically the trail passes through ghost forests of tall, dead, blackened trees, where grasses, wildflowers, and young trees thrive. Lupine were especially numerous, and beautiful, glowing purple and indigo in the sun-splashed portions of the forest.

Granite boulders are strewn about randomly as well, becoming more numerous as the trail approaches North Dome, part of the northern wall of Yosemite Valley. The trail stays mostly level, gently falling and then rising, until it reaches Indian Ridge. There’s a side trail which leads up to a natural arch, but I decided not to take it. My late start made side-trips a luxury. Because of camping restrictions near the valley, I would need to hike nearly 11 miles, so the side trip wasn’t happening.

The forest gradually began to open up, providing some tantalizing glimpses of what was to come. There was a confusing stretch of trail near one of the better viewpoints, and I wound up backtracking a bit to relocate the trail.

North Dome and Illilouette GorgeAfter another hour, I’d reached a high granite saddle overlooking the bald head of North Dome. Mighty Clouds Rest and Half Dome rose to the left. The high cliffs cradling Yosemite Falls were to the right. Glacier Point and the Panorama cliffs were straight ahead, and Illilouette Gorge and its reclusive waterfall could be seen directly across from North Dome.

I paused for lunch — well, an Odwalla bar and water, on this high saddle, debating whether to make the mile round-trip hike to North Dome, one of the trip’s primary destinations. I was already tired, and I knew I had at least 5 more miles to hike, and the clouds were gathering ominously. As time marched on, my resolve steeled, and I charged down the steep trail with just my camera. Unburdened from the pack, I made pretty good time and bolted up the summit trail to see the incredible views.

Clouds Rest and Half Dome are an unbroken mass of granite thrown up toward the sky from deep Tenaya Canyon. Half Dome is at its most imposing and dramatic from North Dome, it’s sheer stained face staring directly at you. Its summit nose looks virtually impossible to reach as the cable route is hidden from view. In nine (actually eight — plans changed) days, I’ll be standing on top it, I thought to myself. In the distance rose the peaks of the Sierra crest, some snow still clinging to their northern faces. What a view! Very much worth the effort.

It was now well passed 2 o’clock, and I had more than 6 miles to go if I stuck to the plan. I had left my pack conveniently near the trail junction, so I was soon following the north rim of Yosemite Valley to Yosemite Creek. I got water from Royal Arch Creek, and I was pleased that the SteriPen worked. I had been holding my breath — a similar model failed in Big Bend earlier this year.

The trail swings away from the valley to cross Indian Canyon Creek, and the net loss in elevation from the trailhead was now 1,000 feet. I would drop another 500 feet or so to reach the banks of Yosemite Creek. It was thundering in the distance. I picked up my pace. By 4:15, as I neared Yosemite Point, it began to rain, and the normally spectacular views of the Valley’s granite monuments were obscured by mist and clouds.

Rainy Afternoon at Yosemite PointHalf Dome’s beaked summit peeks up over the surrounding highlands, and North Dome’s bald head sits across the valley to its left. The jagged summit of Clouds Rest is visible above North Dome, while the coming storm gathers strength beyond the Sierra Crest. This day — the first of 10 I’d spend backpacking — marked a shift in the weather. A monsoonal flow was taking hold, meaning afternoon thunderstorms would become increasingly common. Lightning was already flashing all around, and I was still at least 2 miles short of my goal for the day.

Shortly thereafter, I ran into a couple who were standing under a lone, tall pine tree atop the highest granite ridge in a mile. They were watching the lightning draw closer, hoping — if that’s the right word — to glimpse smoke from any wildfires it might start. I suggested they look for safer cover and left them to their fate. The trail descended rapidly to Yosemite Creek. A group of hikers had taken shelter in a creekside hollow, and I rode out a wave of heavy rain under some trees. Just after 6 p.m., I settled into a campside on a slight rise between Yosemite Creek and a small babbling creek running down from Eagle Peak.

My first night in the hammock was a pretty good one. It had been so hot in Texas this summer that I hadn’t actually tried to fall asleep in it before. I was pretty tired after a 10.6-mile day — about a mile short of my goal — and already faced a decision as to how I wanted to proceed. The plan for the next day called for nearly 13 miles of hiking, the last of which would be a substantial climb over Ten Lakes Pass. Did I want to end my day like that, and did I want to risk being on the pass if the thunderstorms returned? I did not, though I would put off the decision until morning, when I’d undoubtedly feel better.

In fact, I was so tired that I failed to eat my Mountain House meal for the day, so I woke up hungry and a little stiff in the legs. I got off to a slow start and didn’t break camp until a little after 8 a.m., which didn’t bode well for going on to Ten Lakes. I decided to cut that portion of the itinerary out and instead use the extra day for a more leisurely exploration of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. It was a beautiful, sunny morning.

Yosemite CreekThe Yosemite Creek Trail follows the creek upstream for a couple of miles on its way back to the Tioga Road. The creek has cut a V-shaped canyon out of mostly sheer granite. It rushes and tumbles in places, and sits in placid pools in others. Wildflowers — mostly Indian paintbrushes — bloomed among the cracks in the granite.

I got water a little after noon, nearly 5 miles into the day’s journey, and was at the old Tioga Road (now a road to an established campground) in another hour. In a while, I had reached the Tioga Road itself, the roar of traffic giving it away as I approached. It was nearly 2 o’clock, and I was hungry. It was less than a mile to Lukens Lake, so I decided I would stop and eat there. The trail climbs over a ridge, topping out a little over 8,300 feet, which was 1,500 or so feet higher than my campsite. From there, the trail descends to the lake, which sits at the north end of a large, marshy meadow ablaze with wildflowers.

Lukens LakeI found some rocks on the lake’s northern shore which I turned into my kitchen. I got water from the lake, and, lo and behold, my SteriPen failed. It would work intermittently for a few more days, forcing me to use my backup water treatment, iodine pills. These stain my water containers and impart a not-so-fresh flavor to the water. And they take 30 minutes to take full effect, where the SteriPen takes 90 seconds. The delay in getting water ready left me at the lake longer than I’d planned, and I didn’t hit the trail again until nearly 4 p.m. (as the clouds were gathering overhead). It was nonetheless a pleasant place to stop for lunch, except for the hikers who believed an appropriate activity was to scream as loudly as possible, as blood-curdlingly as possible.

From Lukens Lake, the trail leads to a junction with a major trail to White Wolf, a semi-developed area with a series of tent-cabins and a restaurant for its guests. I decided not to go there, and instead pressed on toward the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. There was some distant thunder and dark clouds overhead, but no rain. Still, I was getting tired. The trail passed through an especially eerie ghost forest, part of a significant recent forest fire. I decided to exit the trail when I saw a high shelf strewn with boulders to the right. After some wandering, I found a satisfactory place to tie up and set up a dry camp. It was after 7 p.m., and I didn’t even make it until sunset.

I’d seen glimpses of the Grand Canyon through the trees, but the real treasures would not start revealing themselves until morning.

Continues in Part 3: Entering the Grand Canyon.

The complete trip report:
Part 1: Yosemite Valley and Glacier Point Dayhikes
Part 2: Porcupine and Yosemite Creeks
Part 3: Entering the Grand Canyon
Part 4: Walking Among the Waterfalls
Part 5: Glen Aulin to Cathedral Lakes
Part 6: The Tempest
Part 7: Sunrise to Clouds Rest
Part 8: Facing Fear on Half Dome
Part 9: Triumph Atop Half Dome
Part 10: The Final Miles
Part 11: From Woods to Wharves
Part 12: The Streets of San Francisco
Part 13: Muir Woods and Foggy Shores

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