Climbing the Half Dome Cables
Yosemite National Park
What got me into doing this hike.
I absolutely love activities that involve nature and a personal challenge which is why the Half Dome hike piqued my interest. In my brief research, as I looked at the pictures of the Half Dome hike online, I thought to myself: “This looks beautiful and cool! Yeah, I wanna do it”. That’s all it took for me to put my name down for the permit lottery at the end of 2022. Come spring of 2023, and “voilà”, I got the permit! That one important thing that you would need to climb the Half Dome!
It is worth mentioning that I love the Yosemite National Park and everything it has to offer; therefore, you can imagine my excitement! I was reminded that prep is a must. And this is when reality hit me! The hike is not just the cables (the cool part I saw online)! It is roughly 14-16 mi long round trip hike with an average of 4,800 feet of elevation gain! I was scared but exhilarated!
Prep before the hike.
The very first thing I knew I needed was a backpack. I researched a heck out of it and the choices were overwhelming. I ordered several backpacks off of Amazon (e.g. Camelback, Osprey, etc.) and none worked. I knew exactly what I wanted / needed; however, it was the fit and the pack size that I struggled with.
Being 5’2” and petite can be challenging when the world is built for 5’7”! However, the associate at REI was superb and I found the match from the first fitting and have not regretted getting the backpack ever since. I got the Gregory Jade 28L backpack in XS-S size in gray at the REI Outlet, and a basic 3L water pack on Amazon.
It fit me perfectly! I can talk about my Gregory backpack ad nauseam! Although, I never heard of the Gregory brand before and probably would have never taken it seriously if not seeing it in person, and, moreso, using it. Gregory makes high quality, functional and durable backpacks to fit a size vs one size that fits “all”.
Now that I had the backpack sorted, the next step was to figure out the hiking boots, water, food, and miscellaneous gear.
The boots I got didn’t fit me well, despite being lightweight and having a good ankle support. I was looking for slightly lighter weight than my Salomon boots, which Merrell Deverta 2 Mid Hiking boots seemed like a match. However, even after breaking them in, the boots just didn’t provide the comfort I needed for a long and strenuous hike like this, even with the custom insoles.
Remember, water will be the heaviest load – 1L of water = 1 Kilo (roughly 2.2lbs)! For me water alone was 11lbs. Ouch! I felt it!
Water Intake
Let’s talk about WATER! This is one thing you should have plenty of. I can’t stress this enough!
We only encountered one water station which was roughly half a mile into the hike. I did not see the second station that several blogs talked about. Be prepared to carry your entire water supply. I had 5 liters of water on me and finished the hike with about 1L. This is after I shared some water with a stranger on the way back.
I usually don’t drink a lot of water but I still was very worried about it. My guy friend finished with half a liter. Both of us started with 5L. That said, know your intake! We also had a water filter and tabs for emergency; however, we never used them. I added electrolytes in the two 1L bottles that I carried in addition to the 3L water pack.
Food Intake
Don’t overthink / overpack food! That’s one mistake we did. Keep it light but nutritious. Of everything we packed, we liked the wraps, granola bars and some nuts. I also had the energy chews; however, really didn’t feel the difference. We made enough stops to fuel which was helpful as we were adjusting to the elevation.
Remember, there is a 4,800 feet elevation gain for the first 6-7 miles of the hike. We felt it from the very first step on the trail. It took us roughly 6-7 hours to hike 7 miles, which takes you to the top of the Half Dome.
Miscellaneous Gear
You will absolutely need gloves. Do not count on gloves being left out at the bottom of the cables, as some blogs state. I personally didn’t see any laying around at 5-6 PM. Just pay some $10-$15 to get some gloves, please. Here are the ones I got on Amazon and they worked perfectly. I still have them. A friend of mine had garden gloves and struggled.
Oh! And the trekking polls! Don’t forget your trekking polls! I got mine on Amazon, link here. If you are short, like me, I recommend the telescopic ones as they will adjust to the shorter height the best!
Additionally, from the gear perspective, I had:
- calf compression sleeves
- knee straps
- a hat
- fanny pack
- change of socks
- bandaid (also wrap your toes before you start)
- one fleece layer (for the morning)
- long moisture wicking cloth (I strapped to my backpack)
- a lip balm
- headlamp (never got to use it)
- portable charger (never got to use it)
Accommodation
We stayed at Oakhurst, CA which is super close to the south entrance of the park. There was no traffic in the morning. If you want the Airbnb link, happy to share. We loved it! It had a 4.97 star rating and very reasonably priced.
The day of the hike!
We did this hike at the end of August 2023 and only experienced the heat in one specific part of the hike towards the top. It was tolerable. We were lucky to get a spot in the parking lot closest to the trailhead [list the address] and started the hike roughly at 6:30 am.
It was truly a humbling experience from the first step on the trail. I thought it would come easier to me since I do CrossFit and have been training before the hike. Ultimately, the key is to keep moving, while making as many stops as you need, hydrating, fueling, and enjoying the views whenever you can. The views are stunning!
Do NOT underestimate this hike! It is very strenuous with technical terrain and lots of surprises on the way! Like the one right at the footbed of the dome, just when you think you are done with the hard part! Haha… The cables themselves were super easy for me and actually people slowed me down. This is where my CrossFit training showed!
On the way back
We took the Mist Trail as it was closed on the way up. Additionally, we knew it was a bit of a shortcut. A shortcut that you should NOT underestimate! Did I say surprises?! The terrain was hard for us, especially since our legs were fried; as a result our knees, ankles and hips were all taking a hit. Although it is all giant stairs down, it was worth the view! We agreed that it would have been best to take the Mist Trail up instead of down, but, unfortunately, it was closed.
This concludes this epic journey of climbing the Half Dome Cables! It was worth the pain.
Now go enjoy the challenge and make your own memories! If you have questions, I’m happy to help! Just ping me at theaisleseatlife@gmail.com