Trip Report: Cathedral Lake to Half Dome

Trip Stats:

Days: 3

Distance: 39 miles

Day One:

Tioga Road closed due to snow the night before our trip began.  That was it: the death sentence for our trip.  Well, not quite, but it sure put a lot of stress on us.

We had permits for six people leaving from the Cathedral Lakes trailhead.  These permits were particularly valuable because they included the option to climb coveted Half Dome.  Unfortunately, the Cathedral Lakes trailhead was on Tioga road, and even as we stood in line at the ranger station in the valley the morning our trip was supposed to begin, Tioga Road was closed.

As the minutes ticked by, we passed the time drinking coffee and hitting refresh on the NPS road status site.  Finally at noon, Tioga road was opened.  Yes! Our trip was saved! Well, not quite.  The plan was to get picked up by a shuttle service so we could end the trip at our cars.  Because of the road closure, the shuttle said it was too late, so we had to drive ourselves and get shuttled at the end.  A minor inconvenience, but better than nothing.

We finally hit the trail at about 2 PM.  Definitely a later start than I was hoping for.  The trail to Cathedral Lakes starts with a climb.  It’s not too difficult or steep, and the blood flow was definitely welcome in the snow.  The first three miles of the trail are mostly just forest.  There are a few vantage points when the trees clear, but the views don’t start getting really nice until you hit the lakes.

We stopped for a snack at Upper Cathedral Lake, still in good spirits.  This is the part of the trail where the views finally start to become special.  But in the back of my mind there was a slight sense of fear.  It was already quite late in the afternoon and we still had many miles to go before camp.  So we set off.

The next four miles after Upper Cathedral Lake just get better and better.  After Cathedral Pass, you are solidly in the Sierra high country.  But this trail follows Sunset Creek, and the meadows next to that creek are some of the most beautiful in California.  While the snow had not been something we planned for, it really added to the serenity of our surroundings.  And as much as I wanted to hit camp before sunset, walking under the cotton candy colored sky as day turned to dusk over the winter wonderland around us was one of those experiences that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

We pulled into the Sunrise High Sierra Camp just as the last moments of daylight were slipping away from us.  It was still a mile and a half from our original intended campsite at Upper Sunrise Lake, but the fire already set up by a group who had made it to the camp before us looked quite inviting as the temperature dropped.

After setting up our tents, we joined our new friends around the campfire for dinner, we had a chance to hear some tales from further along the trail.  We met one guy who was just finishing the John Muir Trail.  He had started from Horseshoe Meadows about a month before and was one day shy of his return to civilization.  There was also a woman who just started the JMT coming from the opposite direction.  She had a month ahead of her.  Our weekend trip was childsplay compared to the two hundred plus miles these folks were doing.  As the night wore on, and the bag of wine we brought began to run dry, it was time to call it a night.

Day Two:

To say it was the worst night sleep of my entire life would be an understatement.  It was a night filled with tossing and turning and trying (and failing) to stay warm.  The only proof I have that I got any sleep at all was that my boyfriend got up in the night and I would have remembered that if I were awake.  Eventually the night ended, the sun began to rise warming the world below.

Once again, we got a late start, leaving camp at around eleven AM.  We had a lot of miles today, especially since we didn’t make it to our intended destination the day before.  The trail from the Sunrise High Camp was barely trodden, it would have made more sense for skiers or snow-shoers than us in hiking boots, but after arriving at the Upper Sunrise Lake, the trail and miles came easier.

The crux of our day involved climbing up and over Cloud’s Rest, a ridge with arguably the best views in Yosemite.  I have been to the top of Cloud’s Rest before, and even in good conditions it frightened me due to the sheer drop-offs on both sides.  I was tepid for this hike in particular due to the snow and ice.  But after stopping for lunch at the last fork, we made the decision to push forward.  The next couple of miles felt very fast, and I was feeling confident based on chit-chat with people coming the opposite way.  The sun was out, the snow was melting, I was feeling good.

Like clockwork, some clouds blocked out the sun just as I arrived at the scramble to the top.  And that was it.  A complete wave of panic took over, and I just sat there crying.  The icy steps to the top were just too much for me.  I wasn’t going to make it.  It was already four pm and the alternative was to back track and walk an extra nine miles around Cloud’s Rest, a daunting task.  But faced with such panic, my boyfriend let the rest of the group know our plan, and we turned around.

The ramification of this decision didn’t hit me until we were back at the fork.  Night was approaching, we still had many miles to cover, and the other trail had only one set of footprints.  For the second time that day, I started crying.  As if on cue, another group of backpackers showed up at the fork.  They also turned around at Cloud’s Rest and would be heading the same way as us.  That gave me a confidence boost to head down the unbeaten path.

Again, the miles came quickly.  After about a half a mile, the snow melted away and the trail was clear.  We were treated to a gorgeous sunset behind half dome as we raced our way to little yosemite valley.  Eventually we came to the Cloud’s Rest fork to find some beautiful campsites.  Too bad we hadn’t planned our meetup with the rest of the group better.

At this point the sun had set and the only light left was that of dusk.  It was officially a race against time to get to Little Yosemite Valley.  I had my headlamp in my pockets, but by this time, both of our moods had soured.  We strolled into the campground about twenty minutes after dark, no smiles on our faces.  Dennis started calling out our friends names and eventually one of them heard us.  It was certainly a relief to see them.  It had been a long, seventeen mile day.  I ate my dinner, drank some whiskey, and went to bed.

Day Three:

It was a much better night than the previous, but not long enough.  At five am, my alarm went off.  The idea was to get to the top of Half Dome in time for the best light of the day.  We left our campsites still set up, and hit the trail as soon as we were all ready to go.  The five or so mile from Little Yosemite Valley to Half Dome are the most boring of our trip, luckily we completed them quickly and mostly before sunrise.  We reached the base of subdome at sunrise.  It was glorious, and we had the best part of our day still ahead.

At the top of Subdome, I had a moment of doubt.  I felt defeated after my panic attack on the ridge of Cloud’s Rest and wasn’t sure if I could muster the courage to climb the cables.  But it was a beautiful day and I wasn’t about to let yesterday’s failures hold me back.  Once at the top of the cables, I was happy I chose to overcome my fears.

It was a perfect day and we had mostly beaten the crowds.  We spent just under an hour taking in the view and taking photos at all the classical viewpoints.  In short, I could not have asked for a better morning with a better group.

But of course, what goes up must come down.  Once again, we were in a race against the clock.  We had to meet the shuttle driver at the trailhead at two pm, and we had eight miles to walk, plus breaking down camp.  My boyfriend and I took the lead.  We got back to camp and had pretty much everything packed before the last of our group made it back.  We filled up our CamelBaks and set down, but not before we got both sets of keys, in case not everyone caught the shuttle.

The trail from Little Yosemite Valley into Yosemite Valley was the first part of the entire trip we could really feel the crowds of the park.  We opted for the Mist Trail over the JMT (Mist-ake) and the last two miles were an absolute zoo.  Dennis and I made it to the meeting point as the clock chimed two, but the shuttle wasn’t there.  I sat down on a curb in the parking lot, happy to trade my hiking boots for Birkenstocks as I waited for the shuttle.

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