Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Slightly off topic...how long to hike Half Dome?

I'm doing Whitney in mid September as a day hike and figure since I'm going right past Yosemite on my way home...maybe I'd do Half Dome the next day. Anyone know how long that hike takes if you're moving pretty good? I can do Whitney up and down in about 10 hours. I'd rather not start the HD trip at 3am like I do Whitney. A more leisurly 6a start would be preferable but I'm not sure if that leaves enough daylight.
Thanks

If you can do Whitney in 10 hours, you should be able to do Half Dome in 7 hours. That is pretty damn fast! You have to factor in the traffic at the cables. That could add an hour if its crowded. I imagine you would be slower than normal if you are doing this the day after Mt. Whitney.

I do Whitney in 9-10 hours. I did Half Dome with my nephew a few weeks back in a little over 7 1/2. (We stayed on top a long time.) Mist Trail both ways. (My nephew loved the shower treatment that the fall gave us.)

Problem is, the later you start, the larger the crowds at the cables. We were at the cables by around 9:30am on a Friday. No crowds yet. A couple hours later, when we wanted to head down, there was a crowd and it probably took twice as long to go down than up because of this.

7-8 hours is about average. As Richard P said get there early as you can (weather and conditions permitting), do your photo shoots, and get back down before the hordes of humanity.

We take the Mist Trail up and the JMT down. Too many tourons on the Mist.

Have fun.

If you can do Whitney in 10 hours, HD will be no problem. I like to start at first light, just as the sky is starting to turn gray in the morning. That way you will have daylight for the whole trip, and still get to the cables well ahead of the crowds. You will be able to spend some leisure time on top, and still make it down with plenty of daylight.

Some people use the outside of the cables, up on the north side, and down on the south side. The rock is far less slippery, and the traffic jam is no problem.

If you take the outside: Use bare hands going up, for best grip; and use good leather going down -- it allows you to slide your hand along the cable.

If you go between the cables and are in the traffic jam, maybe good rubber-studded gardening gloves, since you hang on for an hour, and want a tight grip.

I just did Half Dome this past Saturday, and while we didn't leave as early as we wanted (began about 7am), we did the hike in just under 12 hours round trip. We took a relatively leisurely pace up, then got stuck waiting nearly 2 hours to head up the cables... spent about 50 minutes on top, then got stuck waiting over an hour to come down the cables. We booked it out, taking only one stop to get water on the way down. I'm not sure what crowds will be like in mid Sept, but I definitely didn't expect the crowds this past weekend. At one point the line to get to the start of the cables went up and over the shoulder a the end of the Stairs (thank goodness we were halfway up at this point).

As far as gloves, I highly recommend wearing them both up and down, someone behind me wore fingerless weightlifting gloves and ended up with blisters on all exposed fingers. Hands get sweaty, and I personally would rather rely on gloved hands rather than slippery, blistering skin.

Thanks for the advice everyone! Looks like at 5:30a-6a start would work fine...now I just have to convince my legs to keep going after Whitney :-)
I'm hoping the late season hike will ease the crowd problem. I can't stand the thought of waiting in line to hike...I go to the woods to get away from lines.
1 more question...
How early can you drive to the trailhead from outside the park? I'm not planning on staying in the park the night before (unless I can swing a good deal)...most likely a hotel somewhere outside. Is that stupid? I've never been to Yosemite so have no idea yet how far in the trailhead is etc. Still researching those options. I'd like to stay in a hotel because this hike will be the morning after Whitney and I'm hoping to stay in a hotel (bed!) that night.
Thanks again!

I've done the cables both with and without gloves (both up and down). I wouldn't recommend it without gloves going either direction.

CaT

5:30-6:00 will get you a spot in the Trailhead Parking Lot, just past Curry Village. Later in the morning, you might have to park in one of the Day Use lots.

You can drive into Yosemite at any hour. The attendants are gone from the entry gates, so entry is free, so you pay on your way out.

The drive from Lone Pine to Lee Vining is 2:20. From Lee Vining to Yosemite Valley is another 2 hours. You will be missing some of California's grandest scenery if you do it after dark. The parking nearest the Happy Isles trail head to Half Dome is an open gravel lot labeled "Trailhead Parking", and it is just east of the Curry Village area. For places to stay, consider Lone Pine, Mammoth or Lee Vining. Some people try sleeping in their cars at the trailhead parking lot, but the park service frowns on that.

With the 5-hour travel time, no matter where you stay you won't get much sleep.

We started our hike @ daylight and it took 9 hours, with a leisurely lunch on the hump before the cables and also about an hour on top. I wore the rubber palmed gardening type gloves and the grip was excellent. I had to hang out for over an hour on the way up the cables. We came up via Mist Trail and down the JMT. Feet were pretty sore at the end of the day!
There is a decent hotel right outside the park entrance. If I remember correctly, it was about $150 a night.

I hiked HD a couple years ago the Saturday after Labor Day and we stayed at a hotel outside the park in El Portal - approx 12 miles outside the park. I wanted to sleep in a bed after that hike and believe me I was thankful for it. You have to drive through the park to get to the parking lot near the Happy Isles trailhead so it took a total time of 45 min (if I remember correctly) from hotel to parking lot. We started our leisurely hike at 5:45 AM and at 10:00AM the cables were a little crowded. There was a bit of a jam because A)a woman got so scared on the cables that she was lying on the ground with her arms wrapped around the poles and looked absolutely petrified and her friend didn't know what to do with her and B) a couple smaller kids were very frightened mid way up and their parents had to walk them back down. We spent about an hour at the top and the cables were crazy jammed when we came down. Take the JMT back down - easier on the knees for the last couple miles. Have fun.

Leigh

Leave Happy Isles trailhead no later than 5 am if you hike fast. You should be able to be on Half Dome by 8 am (given your Whitney hike time) and beat the crowds on top. One hour to the top of Nevada Falls. One hour to the 2 mile junction to Cloud's Rest. And about one hour for the last two miles because they are steep and slow.
Good luck.

The rubber covered gloves from a home/gardening store will give you the best grip on the cables at Half Dome.