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Hiking Half Dome in Yosemite (my all-time favorite national park) has been on my bucket list for the longest time, and I finally had the opportunity to do it in October! If hiking Half Dome has been on your bucket list for awhile but you just haven’t had any luck with the lottery, consider going during the off-season! Here I walk you through how to prepare, what to pack (you’ll need some rock-climbing equipment!), and what to expect on this rewarding hike.

Half Dome is a beautiful Yosemite icon that you can’t miss if you visit the park, rising nearly 5,000 feet above Yosemite Valley and 8,800 feet above sea level. George Anderson first reached the summit in 1875, laying the beginnings of the current cable route. The hike to the top of this monumental dome is 14-16 miles roundtrip, with a total elevation gain of 4,800 feet, and can take around 10-13 hours.

The most difficult part of the hike is the ascent up Half Dome itself via the cables. During season, when the metal cables are up (usually between Memorial Day and the second Monday in October), you can scale the last 400 feet to the dome summit without rock climbing equipment. But since we were there during off season in October, when the cables have come down, some rock climbing equipment is involved to climb to the top of Half Dome. The main benefit of going during off season, however, is that you don’t need to get a permit (which is increasingly hard to get by lottery since it is so competitive!). And while climbing during season seems less scary, if you use your ropes correctly during off season, they’re actually very safe because you’re always tied into the rope! More on the climb later in this post.

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Packing List

What should you bring on this hike? Thankfully I did this hike with people who are seasoned hikers and backpackers and knew the right gear to pack. Some essential items to take with you:

• Hiking backpack
• Water reservoir: I used to think that these were weird and preferred drinking out of normal water bottles, but quickly found that they make the hike so much easier because you don’t have to pause and reach into your backpack every time you want a drink, you don’t have to hold your water bottle, and, perhaps most importantly, having the straw right next to you at all times ensures that you keep drinking consistently. As someone who easily gets dehydrated on long hikes, I’ve found that you drink more and are more likely to stay hydrated if you’re taking sips constantly, rather than drinking big gulps a few times. Using a water reservoir that you can carry in your backpack is ideal, and will help ensure that you stay hydrated throughout the hike, hands-free! We used this one and this one.
• Headlamp: This is a must if there is any chance you’ll be starting the hike before dawn or ending it after sunset. We used the Nitecore NU25 and Black Diamond Astro headlamps. You can also bring a flashlight, but headlamps are preferred because it allows you to free up your hands.
• Hat: aim for one that covers most of your face, since you’ll be exposed to all the elements once you reach the dome, and one that has a strap so that it won’t come flying off halfway up the dome!
• Sunglasses / sunscreen: the sun can be quite brutal once you’re out of the trees! (A reason to start early so you can do the hardest part of the hike in the cooler morning hours)
• Light jacket, as it can be chilly in the early morning and early evening, as well as at the top of the dome
• Hiking shoes: For a rigorous hike such this one, it’s especially important to wear sturdy hiking shoes! I highly recommend Merrill Moab shoes (see here and here) – I found them to be very sturdy, pretty comfortable without much break-in time, and high quality with a good grip, which especially comes in handy on steep/more slippery trails (or rock!). And I like the mid-heel ones as it keeps dirt from getting into your shoes on the trail (just make sure to wear ankle or quarter length socks!)
• Gloves: you’ll need them to protect your hands when you climb Half Dome
• Climbing harness and two Prusik loops with carabiners (if you’re climbing Half Dome during off season)
• Lunch/snacks: We brought bread and salami + other snacks (these Clif bars are my fav!). It’s usually a good idea to bring both sweet and savory foods as you just might find yourself craving both (salt is especially important to avoid dehydration!), and it’s totally recommended to bring snacks that make you happy 🙂
• Water and electrolytes: it is recommended to bring at least four liters of water/electrolyte drinks per person
• Permit (if applicable)

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Day Before the Hike

I arrived in Yosemite the afternoon before the hike. On Thursday I drove up 6 hours from L.A. and did a brisk walk around Tenaya Lake, a beautiful and easy 2.5 mile loop.

We spent the night at Curry Village, in one of their unheated tent-like huts. It’s basically a small room with beds, so a little nicer than a tent. We had to put all of our food, even toiletries, in the bear storage box right outside the hut. I would recommend staying the night here, since it’s pretty close to the start of the trail.

The Hike

We were up at 3.30am on Friday morning. It was pitch dark as we headed for the Mist Trail shortly after 4am, using headlamps to see. We walked on the path for awhile before getting to the trailhead, from which began a gradual and steep slope upwards. Still half asleep yet out of breath, I began the ascent, which eventually became stairs going past Vernal Falls and then Nevada Falls. Perhaps it helped that we couldn’t see how many stairs were ahead of us, because there were a lot of stairs and they just kept going! Unfortunately we couldn’t see the waterfalls, only hear them. We were a ways past the falls by the time the sun came up, and as my eyes got accustomed to the dim light, I could finally put away my headlamp and enjoy the beautiful scenery around me – the meadows, the mountains, the cool air. On we continued.

The sub-dome was probably the hardest part of the hike part (before Half Dome). This is the incline just before you get to the bottom of Half Dome, where you basically climb up a mini-mountain, switchback after switchback, and scale a large boulder.

And then there it is – Half Dome in all its splendor! We were at the final leg of this grueling hike.

During off season, rock climbing equipment is required to climb Half Dome. To go up the cables, you need a climbing harness and two Prusik loops with carabiners to connect them to your climbing harness, and gloves to protect your hands from the rough cables (they especially come in handy on the way back down). Since the cables are down, they’re just left lying on the rock, bolted to the rock, and you pick it up as you go. I had learned the night before how to tie the Prusik knot to tie yourself to the cable – I would definitely recommend practicing a few times before you start the hike. It’s not a particularly difficult knot, but it’s important to get it right so that you tie a secure knot! If you don’t personally know anyone who can show you, you can also look up YouTube videos and websites on how to tie a Prusik knot. (Or if you need a second pair of eyes just to be safe, I’ve found that people on the hikes are usually very friendly and happy to help you out!)

The cables are actually quite safe because you’re always tied in to the cable with at least one loop – in fact, this might make them even safer than during season, where you’re not tied in but just gripping the cable. You need the second Prusik loop every time the cable ends and the next one begins, since you have to untie and retie your loop to continue scaling the rock.

For my first time doing this, not gonna lie, going up the cables was brutal. Pulling yourself up the rock felt like rock climbing, and at first it was scary to lean back and rest, even though I knew I was safely tied in. That was a mental hurdle to overcome, as well as looking around and down, especially the higher we got (would not recommend this if you’re very afraid of heights!). And there were moments where you had to wait for the person in front of you to untie and retie their knot onto the next section of cable, and it was uncomfortable to be perched there waiting, especially if you don’t let yourself lean back. Untying and retying the knot was a challenge for me because I did it with slippery gloves, and a few times my shoes kept slipping on the rock. And because the cable is down on the ground and you’re tied to them with a short loop, you have to scale the rock bent over while picking up/gripping the heavy cable – that was probably the most challenging and uncomfortable part. But the good news is that you can pause and rest whenever you need to (unless there’s a line of people behind you – but if someone really wants to go in front of you they’ll just use the second cable to pass you. And if you go during off season, there will be much fewer people!).

It took us about an hour to scale the dome, and we got to the top at 11am (what a relief!!). We spent an hour enjoying the beautiful 360º view, taking lots of pics, and eating our packed lunch (I think we had bread and salami + other snacks). Make sure to bring a jacket, as it can get pretty chilly up here.

Going down was supposedly easier, but it still took me about an hour and was by no means easy. I guess it’s easier in the sense that you’re more used to the cable and as you get more comfortable with it, you can start sliding down more quickly. Some people face down the mountain as they go down, others face up. I went down facing up the mountain and sliding the prusiks as I walked down. I would recommend getting gloves that fit snugly – the gloves I used were a little too big and loose on me and kept getting caught in the chains, so it took me awhile to slide down the cable and do the motions at each juncture: tie, clip, untie the other one, clip. A couple times I slipped a bit and was super thankful the Prusik knot was keeping me there haha. But at last I was back down, done with the cables for good. I think doing Half Dome with the cables up (during season) would’ve been more comfortable, since they would come with some stepping support and the cables would be easier to grab. But you bet it felt incredibly amazing and rewarding to have scaled that hurdle. I feel like a rock climber now!

We took a less steep way back – the John Muir Trail, from which we still got views of Vernal and Nevada Falls. The trail was a little longer in distance, so we ended up walking about an extra half mile and got back at 6.30pm, when the sun had set. It was mostly downhill, but it felt long – my legs ached all over – but there was nothing to do but keep going! (Also my thought when I was stuck halfway up the dome.)

To cap off an amazing day, we also saw a black bear afterwards! We had really hoped that we would see one, and we saw it in the valley, albeit at a distance – it was a big brown furry bear, cute yet majestic. We also saw several deer.

After that I had to drive 2 hours through dark winding roads to Oakhurst, where I was staying the night. Make sure to drive carefully on those winding roads, especially at night – I nearly hit a bobcat!

As expected, I was very sore the next day. But the hike was so beautiful, and so so worth it. Cannot recommend it enough as a challenging and iconic hike in beautiful nature scenery.