When it hail to classical Yosemite peaks , Half Domegets all the attention . All the map and trail guides babble about Half Dome . Every someone who finds out you ’re in Yosemite has to take , “ Have you done Half Dome ? ”
But what they should really be postulate is , “ Have you done Cloud ’s respite ? ”
This jolty ridge , though taller than Half Dome at 9,931 feet , sit in the phantasm of its more celebrated cousin . But for those in the know , this is the place with the near scene in the whole ballpark — better than Half Dome , and far less crowded on the trail and at the top .
If you did n’t win the lottery for the Half Dome cables ( and even if you did ) , put this at the top of your Yosemite list . you may summit Cloud ’s Rest on a solar day hike but it ’s most striking as an overnighter , which we did after backpack in from Sunrise Lakes .
Despite an elevation modification of 2,700 feet , the biggest challenge on the hiking was the extra weight in water we had to carry . With no piddle seed near the superlative of Cloud ’s Rest , we call for to bring enough water system for our hike in , that evening ’s dinner , the next morning ’s breakfast , and the next good afternoon ’s wage increase out .
From Sunrise Lakes , we retraced our pace back to the track joint with all the signs . It was only four miles to Cloud ’s Rest from here , but would feel like the long four Admiralty mile of my life .
The Forsyth Trail descend sharply for the first half Roman mile , winding down a granite stairway through stands of wildflowers . It flattened out for the next two knot , passing through a beautiful wooded valley .
We block off at a little lake on the track to fill up every bottleful and vesica we bestow with us ; 164 ounces afterwards , I was pretty indisputable I ’d tip off over if a leaf had so much as fall on me .
Our climb began concisely after . The lead start up open up up to views of Yosemite Valley , and we had our first peeks at Cloud ’s Rest as well as a whole skyline of bonce .
The last mile zigzagged up Cloud ’s remainder and offer expansive purview over the valley . If I squinted , I could see the little blue dot that was Tenaya Lake , the start of our hike way , way out there . It ’s mind - boggling to picture myself as an even tinier dot traversing those ridge just a few days ago .
Just before the final scamper to the superlative , we accomplish the infamous Cloud ’s balance Foot Trail . A narrow ridge no more than 20 feet all-inclusive ( with the smallest discussion section about 10 foot wide ) , the crown depend like a stack of construction blocks . It was a relatively secure hike out , but you by all odds did n’t require to trip on anything as both sides were fully exposed .
I walk along the total distance of the arête to the very tip - top of Cloud ’s Rest at 9,931 feet . The perspective were imposing and humble . I almost had whiplash just conduct it all in . This way … no , that way … no , over there … oh look , over there !
I do n’t have it off another place in the park where you could get an unobstructed 360 ° view from the utmost reaches of the high country to the well populated valley floor . All around us were peaks , peaks and more peaks , one after another , layered like a opulent painting .
This is what makes Cloud ’s Rest so extra — no other attic abide between you and your view , and you really feel like you ’re in the center of Yosemite . I could even see Cathedral Peak in the distance , the site of my very first pack slip in 2008 .
To the west stood Half Dome and though a thousand feet shorter , was no less impressive . The Grand Dame of Yosemite domes was a spectacular feature article of the valley . We could even make out a faint run of white where the cable path was instal .
We sit on the ridge , munching on jerky and umber and express mirth at all the people in personal line of credit to climb the transmission line on Half Dome . They bet like small ants process up and down the face .
With the sun waning on the horizon , we started debating where to coiffure up summer camp . Should we hike down a mo and incline our tents on a lower ridge ? Should we hike all the way down and coterie in the woods below Cloud ’s Rest ? Our chief concern was wind ; but with the airwave being so still and warm , we decided to set up camp flop on the spine , on a 20 - foot bridge of granite standing thousands of feet above the vale storey .
There was no “ safe ” view at camp , as each of our tents had a primo view of the Yosemite crown . We drop anchor to every possible bowlder , block , chockstone , and chickenhead — guylines going everywhere . Walking just a few foot in any centering from our collapsible shelter institute us right to the edge of the spikelet , so something as simple as , say , extend to the toilet facility at night was not something we wanted to do while still half - asleep .
Hands down , Cloud ’s Rest is and wasthemost epical encampment I have ever , ever experienced . I think this was the point in our misstep where all of us felt like our life had changed in some agency .
Watching the sundown to a soundtrack of Ben Gibbard on my iPod speaker , I was tearing up conceive about how keen that place , and especially that moment , was . When it comes down to it , being able-bodied to be present is such a cracking gift in life sentence .
At dark , we had our own secret planetarium . I could lie down on the rock , appear up at the sky , and have a 360 ° IMAX wake of the Milky Way sprayed across the screen . I really had fuss finding my favorite constellations because there were so many other stars seeable !
When my Quaker at last went to layer , his tent glow like Venus against a backdrop of orange lights from the city far off in the distance … Fresno , perhaps ?
After have in a glorious sundown the Nox before , we woke up to a beautiful , quiet sunrise . The first ray of light spill over the top of Half Dome while we were brewing coffee . Only one other hiker had wield to make it up to Cloud ’s Rest for sunrise and he stayed for less than an hour , so we had the whole ridge to ourselves that morning , keep an eye on the park change colors over the course of several 60 minutes .
When we finally pack up around noon , still no one had made it to the top . We hold the Cloud ’s rest period Trail maneuver down and west from the summit . Now if I were to do Cloud ’s eternal rest again , I definitely would not take this trail to the top … You ’d have to be quite hardy to goupit from Little Yosemite Valley , which we were hikingdownto . ( Not that going downhill is any easy than lead uphill . )
And to cap off our Cloud ’s residuum experience , we saw this sweet matter while descending to our next destination .
Trail map : cluck hereSegment log:5 miles with 2,700 pes natural elevation changeNext segment : Cloud ’s ease to Little Yosemite Valley
Read the full “Epic Yosemite” series:
