November 14, 2024 • 23 mins
Read the full guide and get more tips 👉 here
🎟️Securing a permit to hike Yosemite's iconic Half Dome can feel like winning a lottery, with only a 22% success rate, but the reward at the summit makes every setback worthwhile.
😱Join Alexandra from the Bucket List Mermaid as she shares her journey through the grueling permit process and the meticulous preparation required for tackling this 17-mile adventure.
🥾From the steep ascent on the Mist Trail to the descent via the John Muir Trail, discover the physical and mental demands of conquering one of the most challenging hikes in the United States.
💪Discover practical tips on how to train and prepare for Half Dome, especially if you’re planning a solo expedition.
🎒Learn what essentials to pack, such as hydration systems, safety gear, and tech equipment, to ensure you’re ready for anything.
⚠️Safety is non-negotiable when it comes to Half Dome, known for its daunting ascent cables.
😍From the thrill of reaching the summit to the joy of sharing this achievement with others, this episode is filled with inspiration and practical advice for anyone with Half Dome or similar adventures on their bucket list.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 0 (00:04):
Hello there, adventurers.
My name is Alexandra with theBucket List Mermaid.
It is my goal and wish to helpyou with your bucket list, and
today we are going to be talkingabout one that is on a lot of
people's bucket lists and it'svery elusive, it's very
prestigious, and that is hikingthe Half Dome in Yosemite.
When I was looking into all ofthis, I was wildly unprepared
(00:24):
and there wasn't a lot ofinformation on it.
I mean, I could see how scarythe cables were going up which
we'll talk about it and I saw alot of videos of people actually
hiking it, but I didn't see alot of videos of people actually
prepping for it and talkingabout the permit process.
Let's go ahead and let's talkabout how I got the permit, what
I packed, how I trained.
Now, first, let's talk aboutthe permit process, which is a
(00:52):
lottery and, yes, it's as scaryand daunting as it sounds.
Now I looked up some statisticson what the actual chances were
of getting a permit.
It was actually like 22%,because in 2023, there was about
35,000 people who applied toclimb Half Dome and only a
little bit under 8,000 actuallygot it.
So my hopes for actuallygetting a permit to hike this
was not too high and if youactually hike without a permit,
(01:13):
they take that very seriously.
You could be fined thousands ofdollars and you could also
actually end up getting somejail time.
So would 10 out of 10 notrecommend doing it without a
permit?
I did see a lot of people thatjust took their chances and
didn't do without a permit.
Now that's bucket listdedication.
I don't know if I would do thatfor a bucket list item Stay
legal folks.
You can get a permit one of twoways, one of which is through
(01:34):
the pre-season lottery, andthat's where you go on about
March-ish area and then againyou just start to bid on when
you start to go.
I would definitely recommendthis.
If you are coming here to hikeHalf Dome, they only allow a
certain amount of people upthere per day.
A section of those go tobackcountry permits of people
staying at Little Yosemite.
But if you miss the pre-seasonlottery, do not panic.
(01:56):
That's what I did because,again, I just thrive on chaos
and I don't plan anything.
They also have spots that areallocated for the daily lottery
and those are ones that justcome from cancellations or just
various other reasons, and theyjust have an allocated amount of
spots for daily.
So, in order to do the dailylottery, here's what I would do
every single day I would wake upevery morning, I would go on to
(02:17):
recreationgov.
Now I had a little troublefinding this, but here's the
best way that I found is thatyou actually search half dome
permits and then it'll give youthe website and then scroll down
.
It says how to get a permit andfor some reason, if you just
search recreationgov, that takesyou to a different place.
But if you go there and hit therecreationgov, it'll take you
(02:40):
to the actual half dome permitpage.
So after you do that, you haveto create an account, which
obviously we're all adventurers,we all have accounts anyway and
you pay ten dollars in order toput your name into this lottery
.
If you get it the first time,that's like getting into an ivy
league school.
I've actually heard thatseveral times.
It's getting a permit itself islike getting into an ivy league
school.
It is seriously like somethingto be so proud of that you win
this daily lottery to go hikehalf dome.
(03:02):
Now, when you do sit down and dothis, it is for two days in
advance.
So, for example, if I wanted tohike Monday, I would apply on
Saturday, results would be outpretty much by 4 pm.
I never had any result.
That was past 5.
I got rejected a lot, and keepin mind that this is $10 each
time you enter the lottery, sothat's something that I was not
(03:24):
prepared for.
Is hiking Half Dome isexpensive.
Now, I talked to several peopleabout this and they were kind
of outraged, myself included.
Just spending $10 a day, everysingle day, just for a rejection
was painful, painful, painful,and knowing that it was just
pure luck that I would getrejected or accepted was painful
.
So keep that in mind, thattrying to get a permit is kind
(03:45):
of disheartening at times.
However, obviously I did it, Igot one.
I'm going to be honest gettinga permit was probably harder
than the hike itself, or not?
Probably not.
The hike was really hard.
Let's talk about how to trainbecause, if you want to know my
actual stats, I ended up goingjust a little bit over 17 miles.
I ended up taking the MissTrail up and the John Muir Trail
(04:07):
down.
It was about 8.3 miles up tothe summit, including the cables
and the sub dome hike.
Now I'm going to be honest,this is brutal because you're
going at an uphill for probablylike four to six hours,
depending on how fast you go andyou're tired.
It was so funny I was actuallyusing all trails and they have
these little points where youcan learn about it and I clicked
(04:28):
on the point for the cables andit said now is the time that
you will learn, if you trainedhard enough for this hike.
And that is 100% true.
Those cables require all ofyour focus, all of your mental
attention, all of your physicalenergy, of you literally just
climbing up, just giving it yourall.
But once you're at the top, ohthe sweet reward.
And then you have to go down5,200 feet for another five
(04:52):
hours.
But that being said, I'm goingto go purely off of where my
body absolutely hurts right nowbecause I'm just coming off of
this hike my quads, my calvesand maybe a little bit of my
back muscles, just because youare pulling yourself on those
cables, but really it's justlegs.
So I would do the squats, stairstepper, maybe climb a little
bit, just so that you are very,very prepared.
(05:13):
And also important, I would dosome long endurance hikes.
Before this, before this, I wasat Great Basin National Park.
I was also in arches NationalPark.
So I did like a 10 mile inarches and then I did a nine
mile in Great Basin.
So I started doing these longendurance hike.
Was it like 17?
No.
So if I were to change it, Ithink I would do more in a day
(05:35):
just to really prepare my bodyfor that hike.
And it was also hard becausewith Arches there's not really
elevation, but there iselevation here.
So maybe try to do some longendurance hikes over some
elevation, just to get youprepared.
If you are in Colorado because Iam a Colorado local I would
100% recommend just doing abunch of 14ers.
I think that would do the trick.
I didn't train a ton for it andI was still okay, but I was
(05:58):
very tired by the end.
So I do think that you have tobe realistic with yourself and
you have to think you know, am Iabove fitness level?
I mean, I don't think you needto be this crazy athlete in
order to do it, and I saw allwalks of life on this trail.
I do think that it is doable.
However, if you want to have agood experience, I would
recommend training beforehand.
(06:18):
And now the fun part.
Let's go into what I actuallypacked.
Now, just for some information.
I did do this and it wascommented on a lot that I was
doing it solo, solo femalehiking crazy hikes like this
very, very empowering.
I would expect to feel veryempowered, but here's all the
things.
I do have to say that I wish Iwould've packed less, and
(06:39):
especially for the cables, justbecause it's hard to have that
extra weight when you arepulling yourself up on those
cables.
However, these are the thingsthat I brought.
I'm going to be going throughwhat I brought, what I wish I
would have brought and what Iwish I would have left at home,
and also the essentials.
So let's get started Now.
Starting off strong, I would100% recommend bringing a
camelback Now.
They do recommend that you havea minimum of four liters of
(07:02):
water Now with this camelback, Iactually do have the bladder
down at the bottom.
I've just found that this, forwomen specifically, is just
better because it puts more ofthe load on my hips rather than
my back Just personal preference.
You can also get the ones thatgo the entire length of the back
as well.
I also like it, just because itgives me a lot of space inside
(07:22):
of this as well.
This is only a three litercamelback, so I ended up taking
two bladders with me.
This was extremely heavy andI'm not sure I would recommend
this.
If I had to do it again, Ithink I would end up getting a
water filter.
I just didn't have one of thoseand I only pretty much had a
day to prepare for this becauseof how the lottery works.
Now, on the backpack itself, Ido have some various things.
(07:43):
I have a whistle, I have somehand sanitizer and then I also
have this little alarm thing,and then also I don't have it on
here, but I also had some bearspray or some mace that I kept
in my pocket for the first partof the hike.
Now, just going on the thingsthat you for sure need, I ended
up printing out my permit.
I just wanted to make sure thatI had everything all printed
(08:06):
out, and it also had me bring mydriver's license as well.
Other things that I had thatwere pretty nice.
I had some layers that I couldtake off and put around my waist
.
I had some Kleenexes, justbecause I have allergies.
Just hiking with a runny noseis the worst thing ever.
I also ended up getting this.
This is just a small littlefirst aid kit.
I think it might be a littleoverkill and I ended up taking
(08:27):
all of this out and just puttingit in and leaving the box.
But it's nice that the box isstill there, but just in case of
emergencies, this is very nice.
And another thing I brought wetwipes and I will let you use
your imagination for what thisis for.
The average time it takes to dothis trail is about 10 to 12
hours, maybe a little bit moreif you're stopping at the top,
(08:48):
you might need to use thebathroom With it.
I just took a plastic bag sothat I am leaving no trace and I
can pack all of these huggiesand everything out.
Headlamps I would recommendthese because you are most
likely either going to be doingthis early, early in the morning
, or you are going to be stillhiking when it is dark.
But this one I especially like,just because if you hold it, it
(09:12):
has a red light.
So the night that I was thereit actually was a new moon, so I
could kind of do a littlestarlight hike with this and it
wouldn't disrupt my night vision.
I saw a lot of people with redlight headlamps, so definitely
good for this.
I also had some extra batteriesin my pack, just in case,
because I just can't imagineanything worse than this dying
and just being completely in thedark alone.
(09:34):
So, safety first.
Bring a flashlight.
This is also another thing tokeep in mind.
I brought my AirPods, as wellas something that plugged
directly into my phone, and thisis because, by the end of the
trip, my AirPods actually died.
So keep that in mind that youmight need this now.
With that being said, I don'thave it directly with me, but I
actually ended up bringing twoportable chargers.
(09:55):
This was overkill.
I only needed one, but I wouldrecommend bringing something to
charge your phone because, in myexperience, I was taking photos
, I was taking videos, I waslistening to an audio book on
the way up, so you are are usingyour phone.
I was also using the all trailsGPS just in case, and my phone
was pretty much dead by the timeI reached the summit.
(10:16):
I know it can be a little heavy, so maybe try to bring a
lightweight one just to keepdown on weight.
Going along with just somepersonal items, just that I
prefer to hike with.
I prefer to hike with some eyedrops, just because I do wear
contacts, and a hike that long,my eyes do get tired.
I also do have asthma.
Making sure that I do have arescue inhaler.
If I can do this with asthma,so can you.
(10:36):
So there you go.
Just some hair ties.
I have in here another thingthat really, really helped me.
That wasn't actually my idea,but this was my mother's idea.
Of course, my mother comes upwith the best ideas.
Oh, I ended up bringing aTylenol and caffeine pills.
I took the caffeine pills rightbefore the hike and then also
on the summit, and then I alsotook Tylenol once I was on the
summit, no matter what I wasfeeling.
(10:57):
And this really, really helpedfor the descent, because once
you start descending off of thesummit, you have to go back down
the cables and it's verystrenuous.
Your adrenaline runs out, yourlegs are exhausted because you
just hiked up a mountain for 8.3miles.
Downhill is a mental game and Ithink that these really, really
helped me get through thedownhill section of this hike.
(11:18):
And, of course, I brought someextra contacts because you know
I need to see A chapstick, andthen this is actually an air tag
and this was so that peoplecould actually track where I was
and just in case I did fall orI got lost or anything like that
worst case scenario, I wouldhave a way to be tracked.
And this is where I'm alsogoing to recommend that you get
(11:39):
at least the free trial ofAllTrails Plus.
Alltrails is a hiking app whereyou can download an offline map
, and what I really liked aboutthis is you can actually do a
live share, can download anoffline map, and what I really
liked about this is you canactually do a live share.
So I sent a link to a bunch ofdifferent people you know, who
wanted to track my progress andit was kind of fun.
They could, like, congratulateme and, you know, give me
encouragement and all that stuff, but they could actually track
(12:00):
where I was at all times duringthe hike.
And it was so fun because Iactually got a text.
Don't ask me how I got service,but I actually got a text from
my grandma exactly when Isummited Half Dome and she said,
oh my gosh, congratulations forsummiting, like exactly as I
was.
So it was really really niceand there was a couple of times
where I would check it just tomake sure that I was on the
right path.
Again, I did the Mist Trail upand then the John Muir down.
(12:21):
So I made this decision allbecause of all trails, and I
actually had a couple hikersstop me on the way and be like
where am I?
Please help me At least doingthe free trial just while you're
doing your hike, just forsafety purposes here.
So just continuing on, and thisis what my bladder looks like.
Again, I took two of these.
It was very heavy, it was veryuncomfortable.
I started feeling the weight ofthe backpack about
(12:43):
three-fourths of the way up, sokeep that in mind.
However, once I starteddrinking the water, it obviously
got lighter and lighter as theday went on.
Even though it was heavy and itwas annoying, I still was very,
very happy for the water.
I ended up going through aboutfour and a half liters.
Now let's talk about these.
Do you need them?
Do you not need them?
These are hiking poles and Iwould say 200 percent, bring two
(13:07):
.
I used them the entire way up,the entire way down, even if you
don't use them the entire timewhen I would recommend these is
on the sub dome going down,because those stairs are very,
very steep and they have norailings and if you fall, you
would be dealing with someserious consequences, and I saw
some people going down withoutpoles and they just were
struggling.
(13:27):
They were sitting on their butt, they were scooting, but the
people with poles were doing alot better, including myself.
Another thing, if you have room, that I ended up bringing that
I used the entire time was thesegloves right here Now.
I would not recommend usingthese gloves for the actual
cables.
However, I did notice that whenI was using my poles on the
(13:49):
ascent up like the 8.3 mileascent up I did notice that I
was getting some blisters on myhand just from using the poles,
and so these really did helpwith just blister and hand
comfort when using the poles onthe actual hike.
As I said, once you get up tothe cables, these are not going
to cut it.
You need like big, thick, hardy, gardening or climbing gloves.
These are lightweight and Ijust put them on my hands the
(14:09):
entire time, so I didn't reallynotice any weight difference and
, yeah, really really liked them.
And now let's talk about theother thing, that is, you need
to bring in your bag, which isfood.
Most of the time when peopleget hurt on Half Dome and need
to be evacuated or whatever,it's because they are dehydrated
and they are starving.
You are burning so manycalories.
(14:30):
According to Yosemite, theaverage person burns about 3,000
to 5,000 calories on this trek,which means you need to eat.
So I ended up getting, likethese meat sticks, some beef
jerky, and then I alsopersonally love to hike with
yogurt covered raisins.
Like don't ask me why, that'sjust my thing, I just love them.
Like they're just so sweet, butthey're not too sweet and they
(14:51):
raise my blood sugar very wellon hikes.
Now that brings me to my nextpoint how I prepped the day
before.
Now, as I said, with thislottery system, I only had about
a day to prep for this.
So on the day before I ended upcarb loading as much as I
possibly could.
I ate a bunch of littlesausages.
The day before, I ate spaghettifor that dinner, and even when
(15:12):
I was full, I just kept going,maybe a little bit past my
normal fullness level, and Ijust drank a ton of water all
day long, just consistentlywater, water, water and honestly
, this was really, really,really helpful.
Now, another thing that I didnot have here and I'll tell you
why I don't have it here isgloves.
Now this is recommended andthat's stupid.
I'm sorry that's stupid thatthey do not tell you on the
(15:34):
permit that you need gloves anda harness.
I don't understand this.
I don't know how you could dothat without completely
destroying your hands.
I mean, you are physicallypulling yourself up and maybe
you could do it up.
Maybe you'd get some blisters,but maybe you could do it up but
down.
I was literally going backwardsand I was holding and sliding
my hands down these metal cablesand if I didn't have gloves I
(15:56):
don't know what I would havedone.
So I ended up getting thesegloves because I did the Via
Ferrata in Euray.
These were perfect for this.
But on the way down somebodyasked to look at them and said,
hey, how grippy are your gloves?
And they showed me their glovesand they had.
They were like winter slipperygloves and I was like this
person is gonna get hurt.
So I ended up giving my glovesto that person just because it
wasn't worth their life and Ijust had a feeling.
(16:18):
I was like they need these morethan I do.
So I do not have my gloves withme right now because that
person used them.
But it should not berecommended.
It should be required.
Also, another thing that I don'thave here that I did bring on
this trip is I brought my 360camera.
I actually attached it to themiddle chest strap and that is
what all of these epic videosare taken on.
Not sure I can recommend doingthat, although this footage is
(16:40):
amazing.
I think that it was a littlereckless getting footage, but if
you're solo, you want to get it.
I think I would have.
Probably, if I were to do itagain, I would ask somebody to
get the footage of me, justbecause trying to get it myself
and balance without a harness onthe cables was a little
dangerous and I'm just not surethat was the smartest decision
on my part.
If you do have some extraweight, I got an emergency
(17:02):
blanket.
I have some super glue andextra flashlight.
Now, I didn't actually end uptaking any of these, just
because I felt like it was tooheavy.
However, if you do have someextra weight, that might be good
for you.
Now let's talk about the thingthat I wish I had, that I did
not have, and that is a harnessRepeat with me a via ferrata
harness.
That is what you want.
(17:23):
A via ferrata harness.
Basically, it's just a harnessthat goes on your body.
You have two carabiners,basically.
You have one carabiner thathooks to the cable and then you
have another one and it's justyou switching one.
You have one carabiner thathooks to the cable and then you
have another one and it's justyou switching one carabiner
after the other and this makesit so that if you were to fall,
you would only fall like amaximum of six feet.
I missed this a lot and I hadread online that people are like
(17:43):
oh no, most people do itwithout a harness and I thought,
oh yeah, well, like I'm likemost people, I'll do it without
a harness and I'll be fine.
Fast forward to me on thecables, absolutely losing my
mind and realizing why this isone of the most dangerous hikes
in the US.
I want to honor all the peoplewho have passed away during this
hike.
Unfortunately, I can see why isbecause I went on a day that
(18:06):
there were no clouds, there wasnothing and the sky was
completely clear.
There was no chance ofthunderstorms and I was slipping
and sliding everywhere.
So if you're there when it'sthundering or lightning, pay
attention and do not go up ifthere's any chance of thunder or
lightning it is so dangerousand if you don't have a harness
on those cables.
(18:26):
You make one wrong move and youfall, and the only thing that
you have is your grip strength,and so maybe you say you do a
really, really good gripstrength.
What about the person in frontof you who falls down and hits
you?
I don't think I would everrecommend doing this hike
without a harness.
Just take care of yourself.
And that is my number oneregret of doing this hike
(18:46):
without a Via Ferrata harness.
Now, if you do want a ViaFerrata harness, I will link one
in the description, just so youcan see what I'm talking about.
If you did do that pre-season,you might have more time to
prepare in renting one.
I did not have a harness, butthere was a lot of people who
didn't choose to go up becausethey saw it and went.
I don't have a harness, I'm notdoing that and they were
(19:07):
probably smarter than I was.
However, here we are.
I did make it.
I went very, very slow, but itwas very strenuous and it was
very nerve wracking to know that, if I fell, that was it.
Now let's just talk about sometips for hiking.
Number one start early, andwhen I say early, I mean three
or four in the morning.
Trust me on this.
It gets hot here and doing thathike when it's hot, like me
coming down, it was hot and Icouldn't even imagine going up
(19:29):
during that time.
I know most people start aroundlike five and I just it's just
too much.
And plus that means that youget to the cables faster and the
less people you have on thosecables when you're ascending and
descending, the better.
I ended up starting about 3.30,ended up summiting around 9.30.
, I stayed a while up there andI am really glad that I did,
because when I was coming backdown there was more people there
(19:51):
.
It was 11 o'clock.
People who had started at therecommended time were already
there and there was just so manypeople up there.
Now, number two go slow.
I know that you want to get upto the cables.
I did too.
I was really anson for it.
I was like, oh, I just want toget up there before everybody
else does.
However, your body needs rest,but this is eight miles uphill
(20:13):
and you are gaining a lot ofelevation here.
You need to take time to rest.
You need to take time to eatand drink and just take care of
yourself.
This is not a sprint.
It is truly a marathon.
Number three, do not feel anyshame in turning around.
I say this because, as I said,we've talked about,
unfortunately, the people whohave given their lives to half
dome.
When I was talking to therangers, they said that the
(20:34):
majority of the accidents thathappen here are because people
are too stubborn to know andlisten to their body when they
need to turn around.
This is mostly for the cablesand sub-dome.
First of all, as I said, theywarn you about this up the wazoo
, but if there's any chance ofit being slippery, that granite
that you are walking on is soslick.
The lightning is also really,really dangerous.
(20:55):
And also you could be tired.
I mean, hiking for over eightmiles uphill is enough to make
anybody tired, let alone pushyourself even further to get up
to the cables.
And I'm going to be honest, Isaw this a lot when I was up
there.
There was a lot of fightinggoing on because you did the sub
dome and most people did makeit up sub dome.
It's a little sketchy but it'sdoable.
And then you get up to sub domeand you look at the cables.
(21:17):
It's just this universal panic.
When you see the cables, Ithought to myself.
I said, ah, surely universalpanic when you see the cables.
I thought to myself I said, ah,surely these cables are worse
than pictures.
Like you know, they use phototricks to make it seem like it's
steeper than it is.
No, it is way worse than in thephotos.
And this was basically thecollective opinion over
everybody, because half of thegroup said absolutely not, I
don't feel comfortable doingthat.
(21:38):
And then the other half said wejust hiked eight miles, climbed
for six hours up here, andyou're not even going to do it,
and we got the permit, and it'sstatistically impossible to get
the permit and you're going toquit right here.
And people were like, no, Idon't want to do it.
So I think that there is a lotof courage in doing the cables
and there's a lot of courage inactually summiting and going to
(21:58):
the top of Half Dome, butthere's also a tremendous amount
of courage in looking in thatand knowing your physical and
mental limitations and knowingthat it's not safe for you.
So I think that there iscourage in doing both of those
and I think it's okay to knowyour limitations and to stay
safe.
And then let's just talk alittle bit of what to do
afterwards.
(22:19):
I am on day two.
My body is still a little sore,but it is definitely not as
sore as it was.
I would recommend putting yourfeet up, maybe icing some joints
For me.
My hips really hurt on this oneNot really my knees or my ankle
, but yeah, my hips werestruggling a little bit and just
relax.
I know that you want to go doeverything, but this is a
massive hike and it's a massivephysical achievement.
(22:40):
So I would just make sure thatyou are really, really taking
care of and nourishing your bodyafterwards.
Maybe eat a little bit morecalories than you are normally,
just to replenish all the onesthat you've burned, and just
give yourself some self-love andalso some sense of
accomplishment and just be kindto yourself and your body.
You only get one.
You might as well be kind to it.
At least I'm trying thatphilosophy.
(23:02):
Send a picture of the cables toeverybody you know and say I did
this.
They'll be like what?
That is it for my half domeprep as a solo female hiker.
Let me know in the comments ifyou think that I forgot anything
or if you have anything to add.
If you have climbed half dome,please, please comment because I
want to know and I want toacknowledge your achievement,
(23:22):
because this is truly anachievement.
Thank you so much for watching.
If you did enjoy this video orthis video was helpful to you,
don't forget to hit thatsubscribe button so that I can
keep bringing you free,adventurous content.
Thank you, guys, so much forwatching and keep adventuring.
Hello there, adventurers.
My name is Alexandra with theBucket List Mermaid.
It is my goal and wish to helpyou with your bucket list, and
today we are going to be talkingabout one that is on a lot of
people's bucket lists and it'svery elusive, it's very
prestigious, and that is hikingthe Half Dome in Yosemite.
When I was looking into all ofthis, I was wildly unprepared
(00:24):
and there wasn't a lot ofinformation on it.
I mean, I could see how scarythe cables were going up which
we'll talk about it and I saw alot of videos of people actually
hiking it, but I didn't see alot of videos of people actually
prepping for it and talkingabout the permit process.
Let's go ahead and let's talkabout how I got the permit, what
I packed, how I trained.
Now, first, let's talk aboutthe permit process, which is a
(00:52):
lottery and, yes, it's as scaryand daunting as it sounds.
Now I looked up some statisticson what the actual chances were
of getting a permit.
It was actually like 22%,because in 2023, there was about
35,000 people who applied toclimb Half Dome and only a
little bit under 8,000 actuallygot it.
So my hopes for actuallygetting a permit to hike this
was not too high and if youactually hike without a permit,
(01:13):
they take that very seriously.
You could be fined thousands ofdollars and you could also
actually end up getting somejail time.
So would 10 out of 10 notrecommend doing it without a
permit?
I did see a lot of people thatjust took their chances and
didn't do without a permit.
Now that's bucket listdedication.
I don't know if I would do thatfor a bucket list item Stay
legal folks.
You can get a permit one of twoways, one of which is through
(01:34):
the pre-season lottery, andthat's where you go on about
March-ish area and then againyou just start to bid on when
you start to go.
I would definitely recommendthis.
If you are coming here to hikeHalf Dome, they only allow a
certain amount of people upthere per day.
A section of those go tobackcountry permits of people
staying at Little Yosemite.
But if you miss the pre-seasonlottery, do not panic.
(01:56):
That's what I did because,again, I just thrive on chaos
and I don't plan anything.
They also have spots that areallocated for the daily lottery
and those are ones that justcome from cancellations or just
various other reasons, and theyjust have an allocated amount of
spots for daily.
So, in order to do the dailylottery, here's what I would do
every single day I would wake upevery morning, I would go on to
(02:17):
recreationgov.
Now I had a little troublefinding this, but here's the
best way that I found is thatyou actually search half dome
permits and then it'll give youthe website and then scroll down
.
It says how to get a permit andfor some reason, if you just
search recreationgov, that takesyou to a different place.
But if you go there and hit therecreationgov, it'll take you
(02:40):
to the actual half dome permitpage.
So after you do that, you haveto create an account, which
obviously we're all adventurers,we all have accounts anyway and
you pay ten dollars in order toput your name into this lottery
.
If you get it the first time,that's like getting into an ivy
league school.
I've actually heard thatseveral times.
It's getting a permit itself islike getting into an ivy league
school.
It is seriously like somethingto be so proud of that you win
this daily lottery to go hikehalf dome.
(03:02):
Now, when you do sit down and dothis, it is for two days in
advance.
So, for example, if I wanted tohike Monday, I would apply on
Saturday, results would be outpretty much by 4 pm.
I never had any result.
That was past 5.
I got rejected a lot, and keepin mind that this is $10 each
time you enter the lottery, sothat's something that I was not
(03:24):
prepared for.
Is hiking Half Dome isexpensive.
Now, I talked to several peopleabout this and they were kind
of outraged, myself included.
Just spending $10 a day, everysingle day, just for a rejection
was painful, painful, painful,and knowing that it was just
pure luck that I would getrejected or accepted was painful
.
So keep that in mind, thattrying to get a permit is kind
(03:45):
of disheartening at times.
However, obviously I did it, Igot one.
I'm going to be honest gettinga permit was probably harder
than the hike itself, or not?
Probably not.
The hike was really hard.
Let's talk about how to trainbecause, if you want to know my
actual stats, I ended up goingjust a little bit over 17 miles.
I ended up taking the MissTrail up and the John Muir Trail
(04:07):
down.
It was about 8.3 miles up tothe summit, including the cables
and the sub dome hike.
Now I'm going to be honest,this is brutal because you're
going at an uphill for probablylike four to six hours,
depending on how fast you go andyou're tired.
It was so funny I was actuallyusing all trails and they have
these little points where youcan learn about it and I clicked
(04:28):
on the point for the cables andit said now is the time that
you will learn, if you trainedhard enough for this hike.
And that is 100% true.
Those cables require all ofyour focus, all of your mental
attention, all of your physicalenergy, of you literally just
climbing up, just giving it yourall.
But once you're at the top, ohthe sweet reward.
And then you have to go down5,200 feet for another five
(04:52):
hours.
But that being said, I'm goingto go purely off of where my
body absolutely hurts right nowbecause I'm just coming off of
this hike my quads, my calvesand maybe a little bit of my
back muscles, just because youare pulling yourself on those
cables, but really it's justlegs.
So I would do the squats, stairstepper, maybe climb a little
bit, just so that you are very,very prepared.
(05:13):
And also important, I would dosome long endurance hikes.
Before this, before this, I wasat Great Basin National Park.
I was also in arches NationalPark.
So I did like a 10 mile inarches and then I did a nine
mile in Great Basin.
So I started doing these longendurance hike.
Was it like 17?
No.
So if I were to change it, Ithink I would do more in a day
(05:35):
just to really prepare my bodyfor that hike.
And it was also hard becausewith Arches there's not really
elevation, but there iselevation here.
So maybe try to do some longendurance hikes over some
elevation, just to get youprepared.
If you are in Colorado because Iam a Colorado local I would
100% recommend just doing abunch of 14ers.
I think that would do the trick.
I didn't train a ton for it andI was still okay, but I was
(05:58):
very tired by the end.
So I do think that you have tobe realistic with yourself and
you have to think you know, am Iabove fitness level?
I mean, I don't think you needto be this crazy athlete in
order to do it, and I saw allwalks of life on this trail.
I do think that it is doable.
However, if you want to have agood experience, I would
recommend training beforehand.
(06:18):
And now the fun part.
Let's go into what I actuallypacked.
Now, just for some information.
I did do this and it wascommented on a lot that I was
doing it solo, solo femalehiking crazy hikes like this
very, very empowering.
I would expect to feel veryempowered, but here's all the
things.
I do have to say that I wish Iwould've packed less, and
(06:39):
especially for the cables, justbecause it's hard to have that
extra weight when you arepulling yourself up on those
cables.
However, these are the thingsthat I brought.
I'm going to be going throughwhat I brought, what I wish I
would have brought and what Iwish I would have left at home,
and also the essentials.
So let's get started Now.
Starting off strong, I would100% recommend bringing a
camelback Now.
They do recommend that you havea minimum of four liters of
(07:02):
water Now with this camelback, Iactually do have the bladder
down at the bottom.
I've just found that this, forwomen specifically, is just
better because it puts more ofthe load on my hips rather than
my back Just personal preference.
You can also get the ones thatgo the entire length of the back
as well.
I also like it, just because itgives me a lot of space inside
(07:22):
of this as well.
This is only a three litercamelback, so I ended up taking
two bladders with me.
This was extremely heavy andI'm not sure I would recommend
this.
If I had to do it again, Ithink I would end up getting a
water filter.
I just didn't have one of thoseand I only pretty much had a
day to prepare for this becauseof how the lottery works.
Now, on the backpack itself, Ido have some various things.
(07:43):
I have a whistle, I have somehand sanitizer and then I also
have this little alarm thing,and then also I don't have it on
here, but I also had some bearspray or some mace that I kept
in my pocket for the first partof the hike.
Now, just going on the thingsthat you for sure need, I ended
up printing out my permit.
I just wanted to make sure thatI had everything all printed
(08:06):
out, and it also had me bring mydriver's license as well.
Other things that I had thatwere pretty nice.
I had some layers that I couldtake off and put around my waist
.
I had some Kleenexes, justbecause I have allergies.
Just hiking with a runny noseis the worst thing ever.
I also ended up getting this.
This is just a small littlefirst aid kit.
I think it might be a littleoverkill and I ended up taking
(08:27):
all of this out and just puttingit in and leaving the box.
But it's nice that the box isstill there, but just in case of
emergencies, this is very nice.
And another thing I brought wetwipes and I will let you use
your imagination for what thisis for.
The average time it takes to dothis trail is about 10 to 12
hours, maybe a little bit moreif you're stopping at the top,
(08:48):
you might need to use thebathroom With it.
I just took a plastic bag sothat I am leaving no trace and I
can pack all of these huggiesand everything out.
Headlamps I would recommendthese because you are most
likely either going to be doingthis early, early in the morning
, or you are going to be stillhiking when it is dark.
But this one I especially like,just because if you hold it, it
(09:12):
has a red light.
So the night that I was thereit actually was a new moon, so I
could kind of do a littlestarlight hike with this and it
wouldn't disrupt my night vision.
I saw a lot of people with redlight headlamps, so definitely
good for this.
I also had some extra batteriesin my pack, just in case,
because I just can't imagineanything worse than this dying
and just being completely in thedark alone.
(09:34):
So, safety first.
Bring a flashlight.
This is also another thing tokeep in mind.
I brought my AirPods, as wellas something that plugged
directly into my phone, and thisis because, by the end of the
trip, my AirPods actually died.
So keep that in mind that youmight need this now.
With that being said, I don'thave it directly with me, but I
actually ended up bringing twoportable chargers.
(09:55):
This was overkill.
I only needed one, but I wouldrecommend bringing something to
charge your phone because, in myexperience, I was taking photos
, I was taking videos, I waslistening to an audio book on
the way up, so you are are usingyour phone.
I was also using the all trailsGPS just in case, and my phone
was pretty much dead by the timeI reached the summit.
(10:16):
I know it can be a little heavy, so maybe try to bring a
lightweight one just to keepdown on weight.
Going along with just somepersonal items, just that I
prefer to hike with.
I prefer to hike with some eyedrops, just because I do wear
contacts, and a hike that long,my eyes do get tired.
I also do have asthma.
Making sure that I do have arescue inhaler.
If I can do this with asthma,so can you.
(10:36):
So there you go.
Just some hair ties.
I have in here another thingthat really, really helped me.
That wasn't actually my idea,but this was my mother's idea.
Of course, my mother comes upwith the best ideas.
Oh, I ended up bringing aTylenol and caffeine pills.
I took the caffeine pills rightbefore the hike and then also
on the summit, and then I alsotook Tylenol once I was on the
summit, no matter what I wasfeeling.
(10:57):
And this really, really helpedfor the descent, because once
you start descending off of thesummit, you have to go back down
the cables and it's verystrenuous.
Your adrenaline runs out, yourlegs are exhausted because you
just hiked up a mountain for 8.3miles.
Downhill is a mental game and Ithink that these really, really
helped me get through thedownhill section of this hike.
(11:18):
And, of course, I brought someextra contacts because you know
I need to see A chapstick, andthen this is actually an air tag
and this was so that peoplecould actually track where I was
and just in case I did fall orI got lost or anything like that
worst case scenario, I wouldhave a way to be tracked.
And this is where I'm alsogoing to recommend that you get
(11:39):
at least the free trial ofAllTrails Plus.
Alltrails is a hiking app whereyou can download an offline map
, and what I really liked aboutthis is you can actually do a
live share, can download anoffline map, and what I really
liked about this is you canactually do a live share.
So I sent a link to a bunch ofdifferent people you know, who
wanted to track my progress andit was kind of fun.
They could, like, congratulateme and, you know, give me
encouragement and all that stuff, but they could actually track
(12:00):
where I was at all times duringthe hike.
And it was so fun because Iactually got a text.
Don't ask me how I got service,but I actually got a text from
my grandma exactly when Isummited Half Dome and she said,
oh my gosh, congratulations forsummiting, like exactly as I
was.
So it was really really niceand there was a couple of times
where I would check it just tomake sure that I was on the
right path.
Again, I did the Mist Trail upand then the John Muir down.
(12:21):
So I made this decision allbecause of all trails, and I
actually had a couple hikersstop me on the way and be like
where am I?
Please help me At least doingthe free trial just while you're
doing your hike, just forsafety purposes here.
So just continuing on, and thisis what my bladder looks like.
Again, I took two of these.
It was very heavy, it was veryuncomfortable.
I started feeling the weight ofthe backpack about
(12:43):
three-fourths of the way up, sokeep that in mind.
However, once I starteddrinking the water, it obviously
got lighter and lighter as theday went on.
Even though it was heavy and itwas annoying, I still was very,
very happy for the water.
I ended up going through aboutfour and a half liters.
Now let's talk about these.
Do you need them?
Do you not need them?
These are hiking poles and Iwould say 200 percent, bring two
(13:07):
.
I used them the entire way up,the entire way down, even if you
don't use them the entire timewhen I would recommend these is
on the sub dome going down,because those stairs are very,
very steep and they have norailings and if you fall, you
would be dealing with someserious consequences, and I saw
some people going down withoutpoles and they just were
struggling.
(13:27):
They were sitting on their butt, they were scooting, but the
people with poles were doing alot better, including myself.
Another thing, if you have room, that I ended up bringing that
I used the entire time was thesegloves right here Now.
I would not recommend usingthese gloves for the actual
cables.
However, I did notice that whenI was using my poles on the
(13:49):
ascent up like the 8.3 mileascent up I did notice that I
was getting some blisters on myhand just from using the poles,
and so these really did helpwith just blister and hand
comfort when using the poles onthe actual hike.
As I said, once you get up tothe cables, these are not going
to cut it.
You need like big, thick, hardy, gardening or climbing gloves.
These are lightweight and Ijust put them on my hands the
(14:09):
entire time, so I didn't reallynotice any weight difference and
, yeah, really really liked them.
And now let's talk about theother thing, that is, you need
to bring in your bag, which isfood.
Most of the time when peopleget hurt on Half Dome and need
to be evacuated or whatever,it's because they are dehydrated
and they are starving.
You are burning so manycalories.
(14:30):
According to Yosemite, theaverage person burns about 3,000
to 5,000 calories on this trek,which means you need to eat.
So I ended up getting, likethese meat sticks, some beef
jerky, and then I alsopersonally love to hike with
yogurt covered raisins.
Like don't ask me why, that'sjust my thing, I just love them.
Like they're just so sweet, butthey're not too sweet and they
(14:51):
raise my blood sugar very wellon hikes.
Now that brings me to my nextpoint how I prepped the day
before.
Now, as I said, with thislottery system, I only had about
a day to prep for this.
So on the day before I ended upcarb loading as much as I
possibly could.
I ate a bunch of littlesausages.
The day before, I ate spaghettifor that dinner, and even when
(15:12):
I was full, I just kept going,maybe a little bit past my
normal fullness level, and Ijust drank a ton of water all
day long, just consistentlywater, water, water and honestly
, this was really, really,really helpful.
Now, another thing that I didnot have here and I'll tell you
why I don't have it here isgloves.
Now this is recommended andthat's stupid.
I'm sorry that's stupid thatthey do not tell you on the
(15:34):
permit that you need gloves anda harness.
I don't understand this.
I don't know how you could dothat without completely
destroying your hands.
I mean, you are physicallypulling yourself up and maybe
you could do it up.
Maybe you'd get some blisters,but maybe you could do it up but
down.
I was literally going backwardsand I was holding and sliding
my hands down these metal cablesand if I didn't have gloves I
(15:56):
don't know what I would havedone.
So I ended up getting thesegloves because I did the Via
Ferrata in Euray.
These were perfect for this.
But on the way down somebodyasked to look at them and said,
hey, how grippy are your gloves?
And they showed me their glovesand they had.
They were like winter slipperygloves and I was like this
person is gonna get hurt.
So I ended up giving my glovesto that person just because it
wasn't worth their life and Ijust had a feeling.
(16:18):
I was like they need these morethan I do.
So I do not have my gloves withme right now because that
person used them.
But it should not berecommended.
It should be required.
Also, another thing that I don'thave here that I did bring on
this trip is I brought my 360camera.
I actually attached it to themiddle chest strap and that is
what all of these epic videosare taken on.
Not sure I can recommend doingthat, although this footage is
(16:40):
amazing.
I think that it was a littlereckless getting footage, but if
you're solo, you want to get it.
I think I would have.
Probably, if I were to do itagain, I would ask somebody to
get the footage of me, justbecause trying to get it myself
and balance without a harness onthe cables was a little
dangerous and I'm just not surethat was the smartest decision
on my part.
If you do have some extraweight, I got an emergency
(17:02):
blanket.
I have some super glue andextra flashlight.
Now, I didn't actually end uptaking any of these, just
because I felt like it was tooheavy.
However, if you do have someextra weight, that might be good
for you.
Now let's talk about the thingthat I wish I had, that I did
not have, and that is a harnessRepeat with me a via ferrata
harness.
That is what you want.
(17:23):
A via ferrata harness.
Basically, it's just a harnessthat goes on your body.
You have two carabiners,basically.
You have one carabiner thathooks to the cable and then you
have another one and it's justyou switching one.
You have one carabiner thathooks to the cable and then you
have another one and it's justyou switching one carabiner
after the other and this makesit so that if you were to fall,
you would only fall like amaximum of six feet.
I missed this a lot and I hadread online that people are like
(17:43):
oh no, most people do itwithout a harness and I thought,
oh yeah, well, like I'm likemost people, I'll do it without
a harness and I'll be fine.
Fast forward to me on thecables, absolutely losing my
mind and realizing why this isone of the most dangerous hikes
in the US.
I want to honor all the peoplewho have passed away during this
hike.
Unfortunately, I can see why isbecause I went on a day that
(18:06):
there were no clouds, there wasnothing and the sky was
completely clear.
There was no chance ofthunderstorms and I was slipping
and sliding everywhere.
So if you're there when it'sthundering or lightning, pay
attention and do not go up ifthere's any chance of thunder or
lightning it is so dangerousand if you don't have a harness
on those cables.
(18:26):
You make one wrong move and youfall, and the only thing that
you have is your grip strength,and so maybe you say you do a
really, really good gripstrength.
What about the person in frontof you who falls down and hits
you?
I don't think I would everrecommend doing this hike
without a harness.
Just take care of yourself.
And that is my number oneregret of doing this hike
(18:46):
without a Via Ferrata harness.
Now, if you do want a ViaFerrata harness, I will link one
in the description, just so youcan see what I'm talking about.
If you did do that pre-season,you might have more time to
prepare in renting one.
I did not have a harness, butthere was a lot of people who
didn't choose to go up becausethey saw it and went.
I don't have a harness, I'm notdoing that and they were
(19:07):
probably smarter than I was.
However, here we are.
I did make it.
I went very, very slow, but itwas very strenuous and it was
very nerve wracking to know that, if I fell, that was it.
Now let's just talk about sometips for hiking.
Number one start early, andwhen I say early, I mean three
or four in the morning.
Trust me on this.
It gets hot here and doing thathike when it's hot, like me
coming down, it was hot and Icouldn't even imagine going up
(19:29):
during that time.
I know most people start aroundlike five and I just it's just
too much.
And plus that means that youget to the cables faster and the
less people you have on thosecables when you're ascending and
descending, the better.
I ended up starting about 3.30,ended up summiting around 9.30.
, I stayed a while up there andI am really glad that I did,
because when I was coming backdown there was more people there
(19:51):
.
It was 11 o'clock.
People who had started at therecommended time were already
there and there was just so manypeople up there.
Now, number two go slow.
I know that you want to get upto the cables.
I did too.
I was really anson for it.
I was like, oh, I just want toget up there before everybody
else does.
However, your body needs rest,but this is eight miles uphill
(20:13):
and you are gaining a lot ofelevation here.
You need to take time to rest.
You need to take time to eatand drink and just take care of
yourself.
This is not a sprint.
It is truly a marathon.
Number three, do not feel anyshame in turning around.
I say this because, as I said,we've talked about,
unfortunately, the people whohave given their lives to half
dome.
When I was talking to therangers, they said that the
(20:34):
majority of the accidents thathappen here are because people
are too stubborn to know andlisten to their body when they
need to turn around.
This is mostly for the cablesand sub-dome.
First of all, as I said, theywarn you about this up the wazoo
, but if there's any chance ofit being slippery, that granite
that you are walking on is soslick.
The lightning is also really,really dangerous.
(20:55):
And also you could be tired.
I mean, hiking for over eightmiles uphill is enough to make
anybody tired, let alone pushyourself even further to get up
to the cables.
And I'm going to be honest, Isaw this a lot when I was up
there.
There was a lot of fightinggoing on because you did the sub
dome and most people did makeit up sub dome.
It's a little sketchy but it'sdoable.
And then you get up to sub domeand you look at the cables.
(21:17):
It's just this universal panic.
When you see the cables, Ithought to myself.
I said, ah, surely universalpanic when you see the cables.
I thought to myself I said, ah,surely these cables are worse
than pictures.
Like you know, they use phototricks to make it seem like it's
steeper than it is.
No, it is way worse than in thephotos.
And this was basically thecollective opinion over
everybody, because half of thegroup said absolutely not, I
don't feel comfortable doingthat.
(21:38):
And then the other half said wejust hiked eight miles, climbed
for six hours up here, andyou're not even going to do it,
and we got the permit, and it'sstatistically impossible to get
the permit and you're going toquit right here.
And people were like, no, Idon't want to do it.
So I think that there is a lotof courage in doing the cables
and there's a lot of courage inactually summiting and going to
(21:58):
the top of Half Dome, butthere's also a tremendous amount
of courage in looking in thatand knowing your physical and
mental limitations and knowingthat it's not safe for you.
So I think that there iscourage in doing both of those
and I think it's okay to knowyour limitations and to stay
safe.
And then let's just talk alittle bit of what to do
afterwards.
(22:19):
I am on day two.
My body is still a little sore,but it is definitely not as
sore as it was.
I would recommend putting yourfeet up, maybe icing some joints
For me.
My hips really hurt on this oneNot really my knees or my ankle
, but yeah, my hips werestruggling a little bit and just
relax.
I know that you want to go doeverything, but this is a
massive hike and it's a massivephysical achievement.
(22:40):
So I would just make sure thatyou are really, really taking
care of and nourishing your bodyafterwards.
Maybe eat a little bit morecalories than you are normally,
just to replenish all the onesthat you've burned, and just
give yourself some self-love andalso some sense of
accomplishment and just be kindto yourself and your body.
You only get one.
You might as well be kind to it.
At least I'm trying thatphilosophy.
(23:02):
Send a picture of the cables toeverybody you know and say I did
this.
They'll be like what?
That is it for my half domeprep as a solo female hiker.
Let me know in the comments ifyou think that I forgot anything
or if you have anything to add.
If you have climbed half dome,please, please comment because I
want to know and I want toacknowledge your achievement,
(23:22):
because this is truly anachievement.
Thank you so much for watching.
If you did enjoy this video orthis video was helpful to you,
don't forget to hit thatsubscribe button so that I can
keep bringing you free,adventurous content.
Thank you, guys, so much forwatching and keep adventuring.
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