The mountains are calling!

For all those faint hearted souls who are scared of cliffs and mountain edges, the final ascent to Clouds Rest is not bad, its the worst nightmare one can overcome, like me! The reward — how magnanimous you will feel when staring at the thing called “Half Dome”.

As with most people our group started the hike to Clouds Rest from the Sunrise Lakes Trailhead on highway 120, just south of Tenaya Lake. The parking lot here is small and you will need to get early to find a spot, or park on the road side. Be careful and watch out for No Parking signs on the road.

Our hike started with a little adventure of crossing the Tenaya Lake Outlet. The Outlet stream crossing can be quite deep early spring, but the water is Cold regardless of when you plan to hike. The initial stretch for about a mile is flatter with barely any elevation gain. When we headed out to do Clouds Rest we did know that the main challenge was going to be early and late in the hike.

Our first challenge was a 1000 ft elevation gain about 1.5 miles into the hike. A 1000 ft elevation doesn’t seem a lot, but be careful if you are traveling from lower elevations as you may be prone to altitude sickness. We did this hike early June, in a moderate snow year for Yosemite, but there were still patches of snow when we began to start gaining elevation. At some places you are required to make your own directions and snow made it even tougher. Aim for the forest line towards the center and the chances of getting lost are less.

The most difficult part of this 1000 ft elevation gain were the blood sucking mosquitos. If you do go early in the season, remember to carry a face mask, but then the mosquitos would still bite you through your multi layer clothes, your hat, and anything else in their way. The 1000 ft elevation gain ends at the junction of Sunrise Lakes Trail going towards Sunrise Lakes. Sunrise Lakes would be a decent hike if anyone wants to relax and head back to Tenaya Lake.

From the junction we headed south on Sunrise Lakes Trail towards Clouds Rest. From here the trail descends down into a meadow where you get a first glimpse of Clouds rest. When you reach to the south side of the meadow the trail begins to ascend gradually, and the shaded trees make way to the beautiful sun. Though you are walking in the sun, there are tress every few hundred yards which provide some much needed shade and relief on a hot day.

As we gained elevation, Clouds Rest seemed to be much more farther than we anticipated. As we continued along the second stretch of elevation we soon reached flatter ground and descended down for a bit. This is the point where you can take rest before you make the final push up the mountain in front of you towards Clouds Rest.

At the top of this mountain is the final stretch to Clouds Rest which can be a daunting task. Once you are on top of the mountain, you will need to ascend a narrow ridge line of granite rocks, with tall drops on both sides. People who are Acrophobic need to watch out for this section as this will be the trickiest part of the hike.

If you are like me, then all you need to do is watch your feet until you reach the top of Clouds Rest so you are not as scared when you glance towards the sides. If you don’t feel good during the initial ascend over the ridge line, do yourselves a favor and enjoy the views from where you are! You can always ascend Clouds Rest from Yosemite Valley by backpacking, or a very ambitious one day trip, which does not include the hike up this section. Once we were on the top, we enjoyed the 360 degree view, and could clearly stare down Half Dome.

With the fantastic views in our heads and a glorious photography session we headed down towards Tenaya Lake. As with any hike, getting to the top is only half way done, which is very true with this hike. As we headed back we realized that all the descents that we made and were thankful for, will be ascents and kick our ass. 4 people in our group lost their way while descending the section from Sunrise Lakes junction, and they did not like what they experienced. With all the snow and the lack of a clear path this section gets a little confusing, unless you can back track your steps when you came up.

Depending on everyones pace, each one of us in the group reached at different times, and some even made it closer to when it was getting dark. If you are a slow hiker or not, it’s wise to carry a torch so it’s easier to navigate if it gets dark. The fastest group of people took 9 hours, with the last group of people taking close to 12 hours. Clouds Rest has some truly amazing views of the Yosemite valley, and if you are up for a challenge, try doing Clouds Rest and Sunrise Lakes in a day!

Difficulty – Strenuous Insanity Level – 2 Distance ~ 14.5 miles Elevation ~ 2000 ft Time ~ 9 hours
Directions – Sunrise Trailhead – Sunrise Lakes Trail – Clouds Rest – Sunrise Lakes Trail