TL;DR
Clouds Rest is a wonderful day hike if you’re looking for something long (14.5mi) with rewarding views of the valley and Half Dome at 9,931 ft. Start early to beat the heat during the summer. Its possible to do before Tioga Pass opens but you’ll have to start from the valley in addition to dealing with icy conditions. There aren’t any reliable water sources on this trail so make sure you pack enough. This hike is pretty strenuous with elevation gain starting shortly into the hike.
Thoughts
Every so often you’ll come across a hike with an inspiring name. Names have such power yet we hardly ever think about it. If Clouds Rest was called Ridge Point or Half Dome Overlook I feel as if part of it would be diminished. But Clouds Rest sounds like something out of a fantasy novel. Someplace inherently tranquil.
This is a retroactive post. I hiked Clouds Rest with a group of friends in August 2015. Just on the name itself I was sold. I had heard a lot about it beforehand so I knew where it went and what is there. Google image search and sites like EveryTrail can take some of the mystery out of exploring. Its great you can see the place, know where to go and get excited about being there in person, but often the most memorable moments for me is seeing something I hadn’t known about. Nonetheless, its still incredible to be up on that granite wave looking down into the valley.
My boyfriend and I started earlier ahead of the group. He wanted some sunrise photos and I thought everyone was crazy for wanted to start later. Its August in Yosemite. It gets hot. We parked at the Sunrise Lakes trail head and started in. You quickly come across Tenaya Lake. It was dawn and the lake was glassy. It looked perfect for paddleboarding and is one of my goals next time I’m up that way. It was at this point that I also realized that my point and shoot Canon didn’t have its memory card and my GoPro was soon to be dead…. pretty unfortunate but it happens. The Clouds Rest hike is a 14.5 mile out and back with 1,775ft of elevation gain. Leg burner going up and a knee grinder going down. There’s one critical fork where we weren’t quite sure which way to go. Going left actually leads you back down into the valley but is posted as Half Dome. Going right is the direction to Clouds Rest but doesn’t actually say it goes to Clouds Rest. We didn’t have a map (oops) so we bickered for a bit and luckily chose the right direction.
Clouds Rest is a granite saddle that overlooks Half Dome and Yosemite Valley. The saddle itself is pretty wide, I wouldn’t worry about falling off but the sides are steep and lead to drop-offs. If you have a fear of heights this might make you a bit skiddish but wouldn’t say its dangerous when dry. It was still early when we got to the top so we took off our shoes and had some lunch. We actually ended up waiting until the rest of the group made it up there. They were a few hours behind us. There isn’t much shade at the top so we started feeling the heat. I did manage to grab a nice panorama with my GoPro before it completely died. But as always, photos never do the real thing justice.
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