Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Half Dome as a training hike – too crowded?

I’m planning to hike Half Dome (tourist route from Happy Isles) as part of my training for a late-summer day hike of Whitney. I see on the Yosemite website that the Half Dome trail is closed this summer on weekdays. Will that mean that the trail will be too crowded on the weekends for an enjoyable hike? I hiked it last September on a Saturday – it was crowded in places but not too bad, still had a great time. With all the weekday hikers pushed into the weekends, on top of the usual weekend crowd, should I be looking for a different training hike? Anyone hiked the Half Dome cable route this summer – if so how crowded was it?

my wife i did halfdome over memorial weekend. it was not crowded at all, but that's before they put "up" the cables. no doubt it will be crowded over any summer weekend... i have a suggestion. as a training hike for whitney, why don't you start very early? that way, you will surely beat most of the crowd and only run into them on your way down..

Don't go on a day when there is free admission to the park. There can be a one-hour wait on the cables. In June 2002, there was a free admission weekend and I had a 50-minute wait going up. In 2003, we went in September and left early. Going down from the top we were surprised to see the cables jammed with people and made a rhetorical remark something like "This isn't another one of those free admission days is it?" Sure enough, we received an affirmative response from one of the people going up.

If you go, the best advice I can give is to leave early (before sunrise if possible).

There is construction work slated for quarter dome (the stretch before the cables) in July from Monday thru Thursday. Weekends are going to be packed given the tremendous snow we've had this year. The poles and the 2x2s are expected to be installed on June 16th on the last 400 feet climb using the cables.

If you are going to hike, leave early and reach the cables by 9am and no later than 10am. It will start getting VERY crowded on the cables after 10am.

Half Dome is a good "muscle toning" hike prior to Whitney. But the altitude impact on Whitney is something totally different. Half Dome is at 8842 feet and Whitney is 14494 feet. I can run up and down Half Dome but the Whitney altitude gets tough for me beyond Trail Crest when I am day hiking on the main trail.

Enjoy!

You could also try Mt. Dana in Yosemite. I did that one as part of my "training" for my summit of Whitney back in 2002. It's only 6 miles r/t, but the elevation was what I was after.

-Mike

Another alternative (a little further south) is Kaiser Peak:

http://www.summitpost.org/show/mountain_link.pl/mountain_id/2865

It's not as spectacular (not even close) or as long, but often times it's a nearly solitary experience. It's also a little higher to help you train for Whitney. On the way there you can stop for a side trip to Rancheria Falls to add some extra mileage (not to be confused with the Rancheria Falls that's in Yosemite). It should be nice with the excess runoff this year. There are other trails in the area too.

Thanks for the advice. Will be sure to start out very early in hopes of missing the worst of the crowds.

Although there may be more people starting early, last summer mid-July I was hiking just above Little Yosemite Valley when I stopped to "be aware of my surroundings". To my surprise there was a mountain line about 75 feet of the trail to my right. It was checking me out, no growling or snarling, but just watching. I banged my trekking poles together to make some noise and blew my whistle which only caused him (her??) to come forward by about 20 feet or so. I backed up to a large tree, and we watched each other for about 20 minutes or so. It finally drifted back into the brush. I stayed put for another 30 minutes or so, then headed back to the car. Quite an experience! Just make sure you check your surroundings every 10-15 minutes or so. It is a great hike whenever you do it.

Anybody been on Mt. Dana recently? Is access not possible since Tioga pass is still closed?

According to the <A href="http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/">
CalTrans web site</A>, Highway 120 is open on the east side up to Tioga Pass:



<A href="http://www.tiogapassresort.com/">Tioga Pass Resort</A> is open in the winter.

Rather than doing the crowded trail up Half Dome, I'd recommend going up to Clouds Rest, which is a little higher and further than Half Dome. Going up to Clouds Rest from the valley is a much better work out if you're planning on Whitney, and it doesn't involve waiting behind a long line of tourists wanting to climb the cables.
The views from the top are waaaaay more rewarding too!
--Ajay

I agree with Ajay on Clouds Rest and the best part is, it is accessible from Tenaya Lake from the Northeast. The elevation gain is only about 1200 feet and it is about 9 miles roundtrip but there are no crowds. I think this is a great hike preparing for Whitney.