Cloud's Rest (Yosemite) 10/9/2010

Total Mileage: 12.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 3000 ft
Starting Point: Sunrise Lakes Trailhead




This picture was taken from google images. Cloud's Rest is right behind Half-Dome.


My wife and I had planned a trip to northern CA to visit some friends and spend a night in San Francisco where we used to live. We stayed a few nights with our friends, Rocia and Emerson. Emerson had mentioned possibly hiking Half-Dome on the Saturday we were there. I thought it was a great idea. About 3-4 days before leaving I was researching Half-Dome and come to find out that a permit is required to hike Half-Dome on the weekends. I thought I could just call up or apply online and get one but that was not the case. Suffice it to say, we could not get a permit so we would not be hiking Half-Dome. I solicited advice from my friends on 14ers.com and Cloud's Rest was suggested to me. It turned out to be a fantastic suggestion!

From Emerson's house it was about a four hour drive to the trailhead. Most of the day was spent discussing dentistry so you can imagine how wild it got. The huge granite slabs that make up these mountains are in stark contrast to what I'm used to hiking in Colorado. For me, it was awesome change of scenery and my first time hiking in Yosemite. I saw a beautiful peak called Mount Clark and I informed Emerson I would like to come back in the Spring to hike it.

Mount Clark is the prominent peak in the center.

The hike was moderate in difficulty and the trail seemed to follow the pattern of climbing then it would flatten out and repeat. Nearing the top, we began to see some of the awesome views of the granite faces.

The final pitch to the top:

After this last little hill we were on the summit with incredible views of the whole valley including Half-Dome.

Cloud's Rest summit. Elevation 9,926 feet.

Zooming in on Half Dome I could barely make out the people climbing the steep face.

We stayed on top for probably a solid hour. We shared the summit with about 10 people that day which I didn't think was too crowded for a Saturday. The views of Half Dome were awesome....almost as if I was holding it in my hand....

Emerson was better at staging this photo than I was.

Now for the posed shot.

While I know this isn't a "14er" I still thought it was an awesome hike. Definitely worthy of being shared. I hope to make it back to Yosemite soon. Big thanks to Emerson for suggesting we go hiking and for opening up his house to me and my family. Bros 4 eva!!