brucelee

iTrader: (6)

Oh wow, good to know. Will stock up on anti-mosquito items.

lickwid

iTrader: (16)

We've done it several times. Go up the Mist Trail and come down the John Muir trail. Bring a poncho as you'll get wet. I've never done it this late in the season, but with all the snow this year, I can imagine it to be pretty wet still. Be ready for a lot of staircase type steps.

I usually just wear comfortable running/trail shoes and they work fine, even all the way to the top of Half Dome. Just be careful and take your time. And don't dick around, as nature is not friendly and there are no reset buttons.

brucelee

iTrader: (6)

I appreciate the advice! Yeah, I don't plan on swimming or going close to any cliff edges, lol.

burnyou2

iTrader: (12)

What lickwid said! So many people have been taken this year up there. Be CAREFUL!

ryball

iTrader: (6)

I would wear hiking boots for the ankle support alone, but I'm old. I've done it in shoes without ankle support and the next day was not terribly fun.

eleventy billion stairs + no ankle support = not happy ryball on day 2.

It's a decent little distance. I also recommend coming back down John Muir. Do not do this in sandals.

Poncho's are for little girls and old people.

PArex

iTrader: (5)

Grippy shoes are fine. The shoes to avoid are like basketball or running shoes with a slick bottom or anything without good tread. There are a lot of large stairs (actually I recommend taking the John Muir trail for the second half of the trail for this reason, and because the view is so cool) so if you wear sandals you could easily stub your toe. You shouldn't need a poncho. I did the hike about six weeks ago and while there was plenty of water and we got slightly wet, we didn't get drenched. I can only imagine it will be drier now.

buzzword

iTrader: (11)

Mosquitoes should be pretty under control by now. They were bad when I did 5 days on the OBOFRT in July.

brucelee

iTrader: (6)

Great info... My dad is coming with me on the trail (he's in insanely good shape) so I'll recommend that he wear hiking boots for ankle support.

I don't have hiking boots, but I do have these, you think they would be sufficient?




I have shoes with grippy bottoms but they provide zero ankle support.


We plan on hitting the trail at 9am, should we go earlier? What's the ETA if we're taking our time doing the Mist to Muir trail?


Thanks guys, this is really helpful.

burnyou2

iTrader: (12)

Those aren't hiking boots? What do you call hiking boots?! Those look too manly for even Bear Grylls.

PArex

iTrader: (5)

I'd say a solid four hours minimum, five is more likely. The John Muir trail adds a bit of time, but its worth it to save your knees on the downhill. As for what time, the only thing I would be concerned about are the crowds, and if you're doing JM downhill that shouldn't be an issue.

chicagozer

The earlier the better. We did half-dome last week. Left at 5:45. Just started getting light on the trail when we hit the trail head.

Weather wasn't bad going up; pretty cool and shady. I would recommend something with some ankle support; you roll your ankle and you'll be very unhappy. The stairs are a little slick but not horrible.

The nasty part is sub-dome and the cables. That's really f-in scary. Have fun!!

ryball

iTrader: (6)

Cables? Fine... but **** subdome in it's demon ***.