Yosemite Half Dome Backpacking

Yosemite Half Dome Backpacking Itinerary:

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• Day 1 Welcome to Yosemite, where our backpacking adventure begins with a trip orientation in the fabled Yosemite Valley along with dinner in camp.

  Your trip begins in Yosemite National Park, CA. Today you will meet your guides and the other group members at the Backpackers' Campground, located at the far end of The North Pines Campground in Yosemite Valley. Group members must arrive at camp by 4 p.m. for orientation, dinner, gear check, and distribution of group gear and food. Please allow yourself plenty of time to get to the campground, as traffic may get congested in the valley. Dinner included.

• Day 2 Head off on the trail and into Yosemite's beautiful backcountry.

  Today we wake and enjoy breakfast before packing up and heading out to our first backcountry campsite. We'll distribute group gear and food, review techniques for correctly packing a backpack, and discuss our route. Depending on our route, we may start with either a park shuttle (approximately one hour) or head right to our trailhead from the valley floor. This is typically a full first day of backpacking, with time along the way for lunch, a myriad of photo opportunities, trail interpretation, and maybe a dip in a mountain creek. At dusk, look forward to camaraderie around the campfire as we watch for shooting stars overhead. Our first day we'll usually hike close to 5 miles, elevation profiles will vary by route. All meals and snacks provided.

• Day 3 We'll continue our journey and exploration of the park, taking in the glacially carved features and magnificent forests.

  Another glorious day in the mountains awaits us as we don our packs and hit the trail. Depending on our route, this may be a summit day with only a day pack, or we may continue our route with fully loaded packs to camp on the shoulder of Half Dome. Our guides will share their passion for backpacking in the Sierras, and you may delight in a glimpse of a marmot or the call of the mountain chickadee. A hearty dinner will satisfy your belly and the Sierra stars will satisfy your soul. All meals and snacks provided.

• Day 4 Waterfalls and vistas are ours on another beautiful Sierra day. A final breakfast will celebrate our accomplishment before we head back down to the valley below.

  If this is our summit day, we'll rise early to enjoy the dome near sunrise, with a celebratory breakfast after we return to camp. Nevada and Vernal Falls will be both backdrop and soundtrack as we make our way down the Mist and John Muir trails to the valley floor. At trail's end, we'll catch the park shuttle for a quick trip back to our cars at the Curry Village lot, planning on returning around 5pm, but there is no guarantee as trail conditions and other factors can impact travel times. Those flying out of Fresno or Oakland should plan flights after 10:30 p.m. Breakfast, snacks and lunch included.

Although we do our very best to adhere to the schedule listed above, this itinerary is subject to change for numerous reasons beyond our control. There are numerous beautiful and suitable routes available to our guides, and these routes may be utilized instead of those published in this itinerary when circumstances or conditions warrant. This trip is operated rain or shine.

Contact REI Adventures prior to purchasing your airline ticket to confirm the trip has the minimum number of participants required to operate.

Professional instruction and guiding; meals as noted on the daily itinerary; 2-person tents; group cooking gear; group first aid kit, water filter; campsite and permit fees; shuttle between trailheads.

Transportation from your hometown to group meeting point; park entrance fees where required, insurance of any kind; alcoholic beverages; soft drinks; guide gratuities and items of a personal nature.

This trip is rated Vigorous(4). Participants will be carrying their own backpacks with weights of 30-45 lbs over steep and rocky terrain with constant and dramatic elevation gain and/or loss exceeding 3,700 feet per day on most days of this trip. Day hiking with 30-45 lbs in the pack you intend to hike with on the trip and making sure your hiking boots are broken in before your trip is key. This is not a beginning backpacking trip. Previous experience is highly recommended.

Daytime temperatures usually range between 60^o – 80^o F, with evening temperatures dropping into the 40s - 50s. You may encounter freezing temperatures at some of the higher elevations. Afternoon thunderstorms are a distinct possibility so adequate raingear is important.

Merced, CA 80 miles; 2 hours
Fresno, CA 100 miles; 4 hours
Oakland, CA 180 miles; 5.5 hours
Reno, NV 180 miles; 5.5 hours

REI Adventures recommends one of the following ways to make your rendezvous: either rent a car and drive to the designated location or fly into Merced, CA (with connections from Las Vegas) and use YARTS (Yosemite Area Regional Transportation Service) to travel the rest of the way.  YARTS can be contacted at 1-877-98-YARTS.

Please note that you may not be able to connect with YARTS service out of the park until after 5:00 p.m. on the last day of our itinerary on most departures, and this may impact your air travel plans.

This trip is subject to the booking information set forth in the current REI Adventures Weekend Reservation Information. Please read this information carefully and call us if you have any questions. A full gear list and detailed pre-trip information is sent upon sign-up. We highly recommend the purchase of travel insurance through REI Adventures. If coverage is purchased at the time of your initial reservation, the 'Pre-existing Conditions Exclusion' is waived (certain exclusions apply).

We look forward to having you join us for the trip of a lifetime! Why wait? Space is limited, reserve your adventure today.

The key to staying comfortable while on an active trip is layering. To obtain maximum comfort with minimum weight, you need versatile layers that mix and match to create the right amount of insulation, ventilation and weather protection. This gear list has been created to help you choose equipment for the trip. Try to bring only what is necessary - this will help you and the field staff. If you do not already own all of the necessary gear and are not certain if you will participate in outdoor trips on a regular basis, please consider renting.

Gear Checklist