We decided to hike Half dome. It is 14 miles round trip, and gains 4800 vertical feet. Having hiked and climbed on Half Dome in the past, I decided it would be easier if we backpacked in and spent the night. We camped out with friends in the Valley on Friday night, then they hiked up to attempt it in one day, and we started off on our two day adventure.We have been wanting to get started with overnight hikes for quite some time. This seemed like an auspicious way to begin our family backpacking adventures. The hike starts out in the valley floor, and winds around half dome to climb the back side via some very steep cables. The distance from valley floor to the top is a little over 7 miles. The backcountry camp is about 4.3 miles in and over 3000 feet up.
