Cloud’s Rest — Nov. 8, 2025
This was likely my last foray into the High Sierra for the year. As I write this, the Sierra and much of California is getting battered by the first atmospheric river of the season; snow for days, much needed rain in the lowlands, even the moss in my apartment’s parking lot has been rejuvenated. I settled on a destination I had never been to yet for this last trip — Cloud’s Rest in Yosemite.
Many backpackers in Little Yosemite Valley will add on Cloud’s Rest to a Half Dome trip, but approaching from the valley side is more than 20 miles and 5000 ft of elevation gain round trip. A more reasonable approach to Cloud’s Rest is from Tioga Road, which consists of only 12 miles and 3000 ft of elevation gain (700 of which are gained on the way back). I set an ambitious goal of leaving the Bay Area at 3:30AM on a Saturday so I could be on the trail by 7AM. Of course, what really happened was leaving and starting a full two hours later than planned. The trailhead was less than half full at 8:30AM and never filled up even later in the day. Hallelujah to late season hikes!
The night before, I had looked at satellite imaging which showed a substantial amount of snow on the trail before. However, given the number of cars at the trailhead, I made a gamble that there was be a sufficient bootpath through the snow and ditched my snowshoes. The spikes came along but were never necessary.
The first mile or so winds through shaded forests under the west-facing slopes above Tenaya Lake. I found myself quickly bored, which somehow morphed into a challenge of seeing how fast I could make it to the top. You see, usually I’m quite a slow hiker — long breaks every hour to rest my back and keep up with my fast metabolism are the norm. On this particular trip, my day pack was around 19 lbs including two liters of water. I was able to maintain a faster-than-2mph pace and even took my snack and water breaks while moving. It took me 2.5 hours to make it to the top, where I found a private spot to eat my lunch before taking some photos and calling it a day.
The downhill hike took me about 2 hours. It was actually quite warm out at this point which made the uphill portions unpleasant, but soon enough I was back under the cover of dense forest and back at the trailhead. All in all, I’d say this was a very successful hike. These last couple of years I’ve felt out of shape due to getting older and also needing to devote more time to work. It was obvious though that an entire summer of being very active (at least in terms of hiking) paid off! My goal for the winter is now to do enough hikes that I’m able to maintain my current level of fitness.
—Justin
