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Marcsoltan wrote:Hey Bob, as you said in your comment "lots of great suggestions" but I found the last two suggestions by Noondueler a definite must. They are located inside the valley itself, were as a lot of suggestions, though inside the park, are a bit remote or in the Yosemite high country. The Half Dome trail is beautiful, but the last few miles of it are boring until you get to the shoulder where you can look down into the valley. And, if you are not sure you will be able to get to the top, just do the first half.

I agree with Marc. Half Dome is a great hike, but in some ways, getting to the top is more of a rite of passage or achievement than a hike of pure pleasure. Like he said, there is a long boring stretch. If you want to do an epic Yosemite hike, I would reiterate the 4 Mile Trail / Panorama Trail combination. The views of the Valley and Yosemite Falls as you climb are awesome and you get to see both from numerous perspectives. Then the views from Glacier Point are unbeatable (just ignore the crowd and enjoy!) Then the ever-changing views of Half Dome as you descend keep one constantly occupied...to say nothing of the only good opportunity to see Illilouette Falls and the up close and personal exposure to Vernal and Nevada and the justifiably famous Mist Trail all add up to a superlative hiking experience. Plus, nearly all the up hill is done in the first four miles and then one has a leisurely hike back to the Valley (the only significant up hill being the brief climb out of Illilouette Valley).

Just my 0.02...

BobSmith wrote:

Osterizer wrote:My Favorite Hikes / Places
Yosemite Valley:
- Half Dome: go up the Mist Trail and come down the JMT

Lots of great suggestions there! Everyone says I need to do Half Dome, and it's uppermost in my mind, but it'll depend on the lottery system of course.

I don't know a lot about the lottery system for Half Dome, but the crowds aren't as bad in September. If you do go, make sure to go early in the day, and on a weekday. One, there won't be a traffic jam on the Mist Trail, and two, there won't be tons of people on the cable. When I hike to HD I like to be at Happy Isles no later than seven in the morning, and I try to time it so that I am descending the cables no later than noon. Alternately, if there are a lot of people you can always go to Clouds Rest. This adds some elevation and about five miles to the hike, but there will be no crowds and the view is a little bit better than HD.

Went up the cables once at 10 pm on a clear full moon night . The top of Half Dome and the Valley were very well lit up and there only a few people on top.
The summit of Eagle Peak is another interesting hike from the Valley or down Yosemite Creek from Hwy.120.

Well, I bought a trail map of Yosemite National Park. There's no turning back now. We're definitely going in September, so that's set. We're also inviting our son along, so maybe he'll go with us. We took him to Yellowstone in 2010--had to do that since we were always too poor when he was a child to take him anywhere like that. Now that we can afford such trips we always give him the option of going along with us--making up for being so poor when he was a child.