![]() ![]() I walked along the entire length of the arête to the very tip-top of Cloud’s Rest at 9,931 feet. It was a relatively safe hike out, but you definitely didn’t want to trip on anything as both sides were fully exposed. A narrow ridge no more than 20 feet wide (with the smallest section about 10 feet wide), the summit looked like a stack of building blocks. Just before the final scramble to the summit, we reached the infamous Cloud’s Rest Foot Trail. It’s mind-boggling to picture myself as an even tinier dot traversing those ridges just a few days ago. If I squinted, I could see the little blue dot that was Tenaya Lake, the start of our hike way, way out there. The last mile zigzagged up Cloud’s Rest and offered expansive views over the valley. The trail started opening up to views of Yosemite Valley, and we had our first peeks at Cloud’s Rest as well as a whole skyline of domes. We stopped at a little lake on the trail to fill up every bottle and bladder we brought with us 164 ounces later, I was pretty sure I’d tip over if a leaf had so much as fallen on me. It flattened out for the next two miles, passing through a beautiful wooded valley. The Forsyth Trail descended sharply for the first half mile, winding down a granite staircase through stands of wildflowers. It was only four miles to Cloud’s Rest from here, but would feel like the longest four miles of my life. With no water source near the summit of Cloud’s Rest, we needed to bring enough water for our hike in, that evening’s dinner, the next morning’s breakfast, and the next afternoon’s hike out.įrom Sunrise Lakes, we retraced our steps back to the trail junction with all the signs. You can summit Cloud’s Rest on a day hike but it’s most spectacular as an overnighter, which we did after backpacking in from Sunrise Lakes.ĭespite an elevation change of 2,700 feet, the biggest challenge on the hike was the extra weight in water we had to carry. If you didn’t win the lottery for the Half Dome cables (and even if you did), put this at the top of your Yosemite list. But for those in the know, this is the place with the best views in the whole park - better than Half Dome, and far less crowded on the trail and at the top. This rocky ridge, though taller than Half Dome at 9,931 feet, sits in the shadow of its more famous cousin. Every person who finds out you’re in Yosemite has to ask, “Have you done Half Dome?”īut what they should really be asking is, “Have you done Cloud’s Rest?” All the maps and trail guides talk about Half Dome. When it comes to classic Yosemite peaks, Half Dome gets all the attention. ![]()
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