The best location to view Half Dome is Glacier Point, which is only 4 miles hike south of Yosemite Valley, but it would take 40 mile winding mountain road to get there from the Yosemite Valley. We visited there the first day we entered Yosemite from south entrance.
What a view we had when we got to the Glacier Point area: the Half dome is prominently in the center of the vista, its unique feature of flat west face commands attention. The Verna Fall and Nevada fall (the lower right hand corner of the first picture) to the east of the half dome, still ran strong despite the late summer time (mid August). The flying white ribbons, green forests all add to the beauty of the Half Dome.
As we reached the Glacier Point, the Half dome was slightly to our right, a canyon, known as "the tunnel", was in front of us. Though Half dome is more than a thousand feet taller than Glacier Point (elevation7214ft), we had the the illusion of looking at the Half dome at eye level, due to the distance between the two objects. It really felt great to have the commanding view of the half dome and high sierra. I could only imagine how much more beautiful and awesome of a view it would be if we had a clear blue sky as the the background.
Another view of the half dome was from the top of Sentinel Dome. We hiked to the top of Sentinel Dome (elevation 8122ft) from glacier point via a 1.6 mile trail, a gain of 900ft in elevation.
As we gained elevation on the Sentinel Dome trail, we felt like looking downward at the Half Dome now. The hike was moderate, but I was a bit slower than Lily and our boys. When I got to the top, they were done exploration and taking pictures already. The boys were sitting on the rock resting.The dark cloud was moving in, it started to drizzle, and it was windy. It did not stop me from walking around the dome top, enjoying the feel of on top of the world! Lily and I also took a few playful pictures of ourselves - I patted the Half Dome at "head", Lily, half squatting, gently touched the Half Dome.
view of Half Dome from Sentinel Dome Trail
on Top of Sentinel Dome - a pat of the Half Dome at its head
on Top of Sentinel Dome - a gentle touch of the Half Dome
The next day, it was Sunny, we could clearly see how blue sky and white clouds enhance the beauty of Yosemite. From Yosemite Valley, we hiked to the top of Nevada Fall, about half distance to the top of Half Dome, via Nevada Fall trail - a very steep, and strenuous trail. We were almost exhausted when we got to the top Nevada Fall. The scenery, the clear water, the rocks, the bluer sky at the top, made all the efforts worthy.
From Nevada Fall, we took John Murr Trail on the way down back to Yosemite Valley. This trail is not as steep as Nevada Fall Trial, and presents gorgeous view of the little Yosemite Valley, and a different view of the Half Dome, a view of its back, or its east face.
The back dome in the following picture, is the Half Dome, the front one is Liberty Cap (elevation 7076ft). The Half Dome is actually 1800ft taller, another illusion of distance.
View of Half Dome from John Murr Trail - on way back from the top of Nevada Fall
From Yosemite Valley floor, where our Curry Village tent house was, we had to look up to see the Half Dome . We could see Half Dome's flat west face from almost anywhere. A peculiar and strikingly beautiful moment of the Half Dome is at sunset. At sunset, it is peach colored.
Sunset over Half Dome - view from Curry Village tent house
Sunset over Half Dome - view from the middle of Yosemite Valley near Yosemite Fall
The most beautiful view of the half dome is from south, west and southwest directions. But I had the obsession to view it from north. I read an article from National Geographic, about hiking to the top of Half Dome: the danger, the steepness, the cables etc. I did not plan to hike to the top of the dome, primarily due to my acrophobia. I might be able to climb up, but I would definitely have a hard time to climb down. Since I will not climb it, I wanted to see it.
We drove 60 miles to Tuolumne Meadow at Northeast Yosemite to take a good view of the north face of the Half Dome. The best viewpoint is Olmsted Point by the Tioga road. The haze in the mountains that day, the cloudy sky, and the distance from Olmsted Point to Half dome prevented a clear view of the north face. But I did have a good view of it, and saw climbers near the top. Hats off to those climbers!
View of Half Dome North Face from Olmsted Point
The hikers on the Half Dome Trail near the top look like little sticks
Despite the less than ideal weather during our stay at Yosemite, Yosemite amazed us in many ways. The Half Dome is only one of the many addicting natural beauties there, though an overpowering one.
