This past fall,ÌęConnor Herson decided to take a four-month break from his studies at Stanford University to go rock climbing. Herson, 21, is pursuing a degree in engineering, but his studies have often butted up against his desire to climb the toughest ascents in the country.

For the past three years, balancing college and climbing has meant squeezing as much of the latter as possible into winter, spring, and summer breaks—plus the occasional weekend trip to Yosemite during the school year. At age 15, Herson became the youngest person to free climb the Nose route on El Capitan.

“I’ve always balanced school and climbing but it’s gotten a lot trickier as I’ve gotten deeper into both worlds,” Herson told șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű. “I really wanted to see what I could do in a full season of Yosemite climbing.”

Herson made the most of this most recent break from class. In November, he free climbed one of the hardest routes up 3,000-foot El CapitanÌęalongside famed American climber Tommy Caldwell. The ascent—which only a handful of other climbers have done before as a free climb—cemented Herson as Yosemite’s next great star.

“Connor is part of this super young generation that’s incredibly strong from having been brought up in modern-day climbing gyms,” Caldwell told șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű. “But he’s also an outlier among people his age in that he’s chosen to apply that strength and skill to big-wall climbing, which is so awesome to see.”

On El Capitan, Herson and Caldwell free climbed a route known as the Heart, one of the most technically difficult lines up the granite behemoth. Of the Heart’s 31 pitches, a whopping eight of them are at the 5.13 level. Ìę

The Heart was first free climbed in 2015 by Mason Earle and Brad Gobright, following five years of planning and attempts. Free climbing is a style that requires climbers to rely on ropes and equipment only for safety—they cannot haul themselves up the route with gear. Other than Gobright, Earle, Caldwell, and Herson, the only other person to have successfully free climbed the Heart is Alex Honnold, in 2023.

Herson and Caldwell spent three days ascending the Heart, hauling their food, water, and portaledgesÌęas they went. Herson told șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű that free climbing on El Capitan with Caldwell was the realization of a lifelong dream.

“He was one of my heroes growing up,” Herson said. “Of all the El Cap legends, no one stands out as much as Tommy Caldwell.”

Herson grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. His parents were avid climbers, and theyÌębrought Herson and his sister, Kara, to the local climbing gym from the time they were toddlers. Herson started participating in competitive climbing events in middle school, and holds three national titles in sport climbing at the youth and collegiate levels.

He and his family also regularly traveled to Yosemite on weekends, and they took vacations to classic crags all across the U.S. Herson learned to trad climb (short for “traditional”) on these trips, placing his own gear for protection on the rock. His parents also introduced him to big-wall climbing—multi-pitch routes that cover thousands of verticalÌęfeet. Herson was just 12 years old when he first climbed Yosemite’s 2,000-foot Half Dome alongside his dad, Jim, who is a robotics engineer.

“My parents give me a lot of support with life in general and in climbing,” Herson told Climbing in 2022. “They have made a lot of sacrifices. There are times when we go to crags which might not have the best routes for them.”

Herson’s classes in engineering at Stanford don’t leave him as much time as he’d like to devote to big-wall climbing. He prepared for what he called his “gap quarter” this fall in Yosemite by cramming in a weekend of climbing there with Alex Honnold in May. Among other projects, the two completed the second free ascent of a route called New Leaf. Afterward, Herson had to hurry back to school for a midterm exam.

“Being in physical shape is one thing,” Herson said. “But more for me is the mental stress of school assignments or just anything school-related.”

He added, “Even if I’m not overtly thinking about that while climbing, it’s in the back of my mind.”

Herson spent the spent the past two summers in Canada’s climbing capital of Squamish, British Columbia, a world-renowned destination with multiple big walls. By the time he roped up with Caldwell for the Heart, Herson was already in very elite company, having ticked off all of the hardest single-pitch trad climbs in both Squamish and Yosemite, including Squamish’s iconic Cobra Crack. His preparations paid off on El Capitan.

“He was the most solid person I’ve ever seen climbing up there,” Caldwell said. “He’s also very level-headed and safe—like he wore a helmet all the time.”

Caldwell also started climbing big walls in Yosemite as a teenager with his dad. But that was 30 years ago, when rock climbingÌęwas much more of a fringe sport. “He’s just so much more advanced than I was,” Caldwell said.

Still, some things never change. Big-wall climbing comes with logistical challenges, particularly how to haul your food and supplies up the route. Herson was eager to learn Caldwell’s best practices. “There are a lot of small tactical strategies that he’s such a master at,” Herson said. “It was so cool to be able to climb with him and leverage that, and just learn so much from him.”

One of Herson’s biggest takeaways from the experience is that even Caldwell struggles on El Cap. “He doesn’t struggle that much, but when he does, and it was something I struggled on too, it’s just really validating,” said Herson.

Herson plans to resume his studies at Stanford in January, following the holiday break. In the meantime, he’ll continue climbing in Yosemite until the snow starts to fall. After the Heart, Herson told șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű that he would like to try every free-climbing route on El Capitan. “Not all in one season or anything,” he said. “Just slowly working away at trying all of them.”

“The combination of challenges on El Cap, of placing your own protection to keep it safe while at the same time pulling moves that are close to your limit, really speaks to me,” he added.

 

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Caldwell can’t help but wonder what Herson would be able to accomplish in Yosemite if he pursued climbing full-time. “Up on the ledge [on El Cap], we mostly discussed how many semesters to take off from Stanford to climb,” Caldwell said. “As a parent, I’m in this weird position because I’m sure his parents don’t want him to drop out of school.”

Caldwell added, “But I’m also like, you could change climbing forever.”

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Alex Honnold’s latest climbing project has taken him back to Yosemite National Park.

Honnold, star of the Oscar-winning 2018 climbing film Free Solo has spent the last few weeks attempting to free climb El Capitan’s famed route The Nose, the 2,900-foot vertical climb that is among the most famous routes in American rockÌęclimbing.

You might be wondering:ÌęHasn’t Alex Honnold already climbed The Nose? He has, maybe 50 times by his estimation. Honnold actually set the speed record on the route with Tommy Caldwell (1 hour, 58 minutes, 7 seconds) in 2018. But Honnold has never free climbed the route—a style that allows climbers to use ropes and climbing gear for protection but not to aid the ascent.

Since Lynn Hill first freed the Nose in 1993, about 15 other climbers have ascended it in this style, including Caldwell. Honnold has been working on the endeavor for one month now, climbing with a variety of different partners. He caused a big reaction on Instagram on November 29 when he posted photos of his attempt to free climb the Nose with the actor Jared Leto.

șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű caught up with Honnold in Yosemite while he was hunkered down in his van with his family, waiting out a storm. He opened up about his latest project, why he roped up with a Hollywood heartthrob, and why the Nose remains the greatest big-wall climb in the world.

OUTSIDE: What was the catalyst for you to attempt to free the Nose? It’s been done more than a dozen times before so it’s obviously not a world first. Is this personal?
Honnold: It gets done and it’s certainly doable, but it’s still a very significant thing in climbing. The Nose means a lot to me personally. It’s been there throughout my entire climbing life. It was my first El Cap route; I aid climbed it in 2005 or 2006. I started working on the speed record with Hans Florine in 2012, and then working on the speed record again with Tommy Ìęyears later. The Nose is part of big linkups I’ve done like the Triple Crown.

It’s been this yardstick against which I can measure my own progress as a climber, starting from just the aspiration of climbing the Nose, and then trying to climb it faster, and then trying to climb it free. There’s always something hard you can do on the Nose.

 

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It’s also sort of unfinished business. I made some preliminary attempts to free it the same season that Tommy and I were working on the speed record. I thought it would make sense to try to work on a free climb at the same time. But it turns out they’re mutually exclusive goals because the style of climbing is so different [speed climbing the Nose involves aid climbing, among other tactics]. It’s too hard to train for both at the same time. So I focused on the speed record. This season, I’m re-focusing on free climbing it.

You’ve been posting photos to Instagram of some of the people you’ve crossed paths with on the Nose while attempting to free climb it. There’s a lot of them. How do you manage that?
It was particularly crowded this fall season. I think there are more climbers now and the level of climbers is rising over time. People are just more able to do things like that. Which I think is great.

There’s definitely been some complaining about overcrowding on walls in Yosemite. It’s hard for me to say because I always have positive interactions with everybody on the wall. Climbers I encounter say, ‘Oh my God, can I take a selfie?’ And they’re all really nice. It’s allÌęreally chill and fun. But I don’t know if that’s the experience that everybody has.

I think the key is clear communication, for passing parties, rappelling through parties, whatever. Just being like, ‘Hey, how are you guys doing? What are you planning to do? Here’s what we’re doing. How is that going to impact you? How can we work together to make sure that nobody is held up by the things that we’re each trying to do?’

In my experience on the Nose, everybody is up there having the big adventure of their life. And generally everybody wants to have a good time up there.

How do you prepare to free climb the Nose?
The main way I’ve been practicing is by rappelling it, and I did that mostly with Brette Harrington. She was also working on free climbing the Nose. Brette and I rappelled it together maybe like a half-dozen times. You rappel the whole wall, stopping to work on the key pitches as you go down.

There are two hard pitches: Changing Corners and the Great Roof. I mean, there are a lot of other pitches that are challenging in their own ways, but those two pitches are so much harder than the rest that they’re kind of the only two that matter.

I’m doing a variation on the Changing Corners which has never actually been done, which has a long and storied history of various people checking it out, but never quite committing to it. I did it on top rope years ago, so I know that it goes, but nobody’s quite done it that way yet.

Tommy gave me a lot of grief for it. Changing Corners is super historic, because that’s the way Lynn Hill did it. And there are iconic photos of her on it. There are iconic photos of Tommy Caldwell and Beth Rodden, when they did the second and third ascents. Everyone’s grown up seeing these cool images of the Changing Corners. So Tommy was like, What are you doing going around it? You’re ruining a classic! You’re destroying the Nose!

But then he belayed me on it [last week], and after watching me on it, he was like, Okay, you’re not destroying a classic. Because basically [the variation] is still very high quality, it’s still quite hard, and it looks pretty. It’s also really sharp granite that’s so far split open every one of my fingertips.

Has your perspective on the Nose changed at all since you’ve started trying to free climb it? Has it taught you anything new in these past four weeks?
It’s more that my perspective on it hasn’t changed, and that it hasn’t changed all that much in the not quite 20 years since I first climbed it. The thing with El Cap is that despite all the things that I’ve done on it over the years, you still look at the wall and you still think, Man, that is impossibly big and looks so hard. It’s just still so inspiring.

El Cap is still the most magnificent wall on Earth , and the Nose is still the most striking line up it, and when it really comes down to it, is still quite hard to climb. It always commands respect.

Okay so then how does Jared Leto fit into all this?
He’s always wanted to climb El Cap, and we were both in the Valley and it just kind of worked out. He’s been wanting to climb it in a day, but hasn’t had the time to get that kind of fitness. I was planning on going up wall-style [spending multiple days and nights camping on the wall] to try to free the Nose. I texted him, half-joking, Why don’t you join us? We can camp together. He texted back, ‘Wait, like actually, can I come?’

 

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We’ve been climbing together for almost ten years, just very sporadically. It started when he first got into rock climbing, which I think was 2015, and decided to make a little film project about it. He hired Renan Ozturk to film him going rock climbing around the West. One day Renan—he’s a friend—texted me, ‘Hey, would you go solo Matthes Crest with Jared?’ I was in Yosemite climbing anyway and was like, ‘Cool, an active rest day.’

At the time, Jared was training to be the Joker in a movie and was super fit for it. He was really muscular. And he had green hair. We had a great day climbing. Since then, we’ve climbed in the same places a few times. I took him up one of the Flatirons in Boulder once, because he was in Denver for a concert, things like that.

He was great on the Nose. It was awesome. He top-roped like ten of the 31 pitches and jugged the rest. It was pretty impressive. Nick Ehman, who was the third person climbing with us, commented, ‘Jared doesn’t get scared.’ There’s all these weird things on the Nose, like lower outs and swings, and one part where he was basically dangling on a rope in mid-air at the very top of El Cap. It just does not bother him at all.

Want more ofÌę°żłÜłÙČőŸ±»ć±đ’sÌęnews stories?Ìę

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Austrian powerhouse Barbara “Babsi” Zangerl has stunned the climbing world, becoming the first person in history to successfully flash a route on El Capitan. Zangerl blitzed the 3,300-foot granite monolith via the iconic Free RiderÌęroute over a four-day ground-up push from November 19 to 22, all without falling. Zangerl was supported by her longtime partner—on and off the wall—Jacopo Larcher, who was attempting a flash as well, but had a single fall.

Free Rider, a Huber-brothers variation to the SalathĂ© Wall, is one of the most famous routes in Yosemite Valley. It’s perhaps best known as the route Alex Honnold climbed in the film Free Solo.

For years, 36-year-old Zangerl has proven to be one of the most versatile climbers in the game. She’s bouldered V13, , and has made rare free ascents of both high altitude climbs like the Nameless Tower’s , the Eiger’s Odyssee, and iconic Yosemite lines like The Nose, El Niño, Zodiac, and . Zangerl was also the fourth person (and still only woman) to complete the “,” entailing three 5.14 multi-pitch routes in the Alps: Des Kaisers neue Kleider, Silbergeier, and End of Silence.

There are few climbers with such an appetite for long, big, bad routes, and Zangerl’s eyes aren’t bigger than her stomach. She puts it down. Now she’s become the first person to flash a route on the Big Stone.

Zangerl said for her friend Kolin Powick had spent years trying to convince her and Larcher that they should have a go at Free Rider, but she didn’t really believe a flash was possible. “I had really low expectations,” she said.

It’s worth noting that in 2014 Pete Whittaker also , but with two caveats. First, after he and partner Tom Randall’s first day on the wall, they descended to the ground to escape heavy traffic, so the ascent was not completed in a continuous, ground-up push. Second, he fell on the “Boulder Problem” and then pivoted to the alternate “Teflon Corner,” which he sent without falling. CĂ©dric Lachat “flashed” the route under similar circumstances in 2009. And Adam Ondra attempted to—but he fell above the Boulder Problem, on the Salathé’s “Headwall” pitch.

Zangerl took us through her climb. “The Freeblast was quite tricky,” she said, speaking of Free Rider’s initial 10 pitches, which go at 5.11 and are often completed as a route on their own. The climbing isn’t as physically demanding as some pitches higher on the route, but it’s techy, footwork-intensive climbing that demands full concentration. “There are a lot of pitches where you don’t have good handholds, and you’re standing on quite bad feet. It’s a lot of insecure climbing, smearing on slippery holds, there are so many chances to make a mistake and fall.”

 

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Another crux sequence, for Zangerl, was the “Monster Offwidth,” which she led first. As the name suggests, this is a sustained offwidth crack, requiring an arsenal of jams. “The Monster was a real fight for me,” she said. “I’m not really good at offwidth climbing.” She wore two shoes (one La Sportiva TC Pro inside another TC Pro) on her right foot during this pitch to lengthen her feet while heel-toe-camming.

A last-minute meeting with Alex Honnold just before they climbed may have saved the day. “Alex told me when it’s getting super exhausting on the Monster, I should lean out to the right, jamming my left leg, so I can rest,” Zangerl explained. “This was really helpful for me. There was a moment when I felt I couldn’t go any further, I was so exhausted, and then I leaned out of the crack like [Alex] told me, and it worked.”

The infamous “Boulder Problem” was the overwhelming crux, Zangerl said. Larcher took the first lead on this sequence, a tenuous, friction-based pitch that ends with a desperate “ninja kick” out to a dihedral, and this is where he took his fall, ending his flash attempt.

When Zangerl set off on lead, she quickly realized she was too short to use the same footholds as Larcher. She downclimbed to a rest and weighed her options. “When I found my own way, and got to the ninja kick, it was just completely out of control,” she explained. At the same time as Zangerl kicked her foot out, her left hand peeled off. “I thought I was falling,” she said. “But at the very last moment, I stuck the foot on the other side,” she said. “It was extremely insecure. I was really lucky.”

“The further up we got, there was more and more tension,” she explained, “as I began to think maybe it was possible.” Zangerl said that topping out with a flash left her with an incredible feeling. It was a feat she hadn’t really believed she could accomplish. But it was also tainted by the fact that her partner came up short by just a single move. “I was sad for Jacopo,” she said. “And, really, this was a team effort. We did this together. I could not have done this without Jacopo.” The duo has been climbing together for 11 years, and most of her hardest climbs, like Eternal Flame, have been completed with him on the other end of the rope. Zangerl admitted she also had an advantage over Larcher on the Boulder Problem, as he led the pitch first and provided real-time beta for her to consider.

Larcher offered some insight into his own experience . “I briefly felt relieved [after falling,] as now I could just climb the rest without pressure
 but after topping out, feelings changed. I won’t lie. This one meant a lot to me and failure is, and will be, hard to accept. We had an amazing time up there and I couldn’t be more proud of Babsi and her achievement!”

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This story, originally titled “On Ending,” appeared in our 2024 print edition of Ascent. You can buy a copy of the magazineÌę.

The stratigraphic process of arthritis turned Royal Robbins’ fingers to stone. He took up adventure kayaking. Charlie Porter, sailing. Jim Holloway got on his bicycle. “To go fast on two wheels was the point,” writes the poet Frederick Seidel. “To go fast on two wheels is the point of life, isn’t it?” Seidel’s father was disfigured by a fall, at age twelve, off a bicycle into a coal cellar. He walked home with a broken back and refused, thereafter, a therapeutic corset. Seidel Sr. matured into an athletic handball player and competitive golfer. Quinn Brett became an adaptive cyclist.

Kurt Albert fell from a via ferrata, and Wolfgang GĂŒllich, returning home from an interview, crashed his motorcar. John Bachar crashed, too, in Utah, but he survived. Beverly Johnson, a feminist icon and a member of the first all-female team to climb El Cap, died in a helicopter accident. Her death was overshadowed in the news by the death of Frank Wells, a Seven Summits aspirant and the president and COO of the Walt Disney Company, who was on the same aircraft. Clint Eastwood was also heli-skiing with Wells and Johnson but had gone home an hour before. Isabelle Patissier turned to motorsport.

Beleaguered by scandal, Walter Bonatti quit. He became a journalist for Epoca. The Italian media, which celebrated his K2 teammates Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, vilified Bonatti for stealing oxygen designated for a summit attempt. Thirty years later, Bonatti produced evidence that he had not done so. In fact, Compagnoni and Lacedelli, in the face of competition from Bonatti, may have hidden a tent from him and the porter Amir Mehdi, forcing them to bivouac at 8,100 meters. Mehdi lost his toes and became a government servant of Pakistan. The Italian government awarded him a pension. His son says that the checks never arrived.

People are never still, and they are never finished, writes the impeccable Hugh Raffles.

Aleister Crowley, between expeditions to the Alps and Nepal, encountered in Sweden ceremonial magic, occultism, and philosophy. He was already familiar with, as a student at Cambridge, drugs, prostitution, gonorrhea, chess, and poetry. His mother called him “the beast.” In Sicily, he founded the Abbey of Thelema to usher in the Aeon of Horus. The Italian government expelled him.

John SalathĂ© abandoned his family for his native Switzerland, where he became an initiate of the medium Beatrice Brunner. He returned to the U.S. ten years later to life as a vagabond, vegetarian, spiritualist, and preacher. Louis Lachenal lost his toes and (according to Lionel Terray) his mind to Annapurna, on the summit of which he felt “a painful sense of emptiness.” Maurice Herzog, who lost fingers and toes to the same mountain, felt indescribable happiness. Don Whillans turned to drinking and bar brawling, which were also his pastimes before his momentous partnership with Joe Brown. Brown opened a climbing shop in Wales. Herzog became a politician. Lachenal skied into a crevasse.

Jim Bridwell died of complications from a tattoo he got in Borneo.

Catherine Destivelle married and had a son, Victor, dearer to her than climbing. Robyn Erbesfield married Didier Raboutou and had two prodigious children. Ron Kauk doubled for the actress Janine Turner.

Lynn Hill taught David Letterman how to belay. “Do most guys when they climb wear ties?” Letterman asked her. Albert Mummery collaborated on an economics text that argues for government regulation of private economic spheres. Sylvester Stallone adapted John Long’s novella, and Josune Bereziartu sold insurance. Fritz Wiessner shilled F. H. Wiessner Wonder Red Wax for skis.

Fred Beckey never stopped. Nor did Wiessner. “You must be climbing pretty good,” exclaimed an aged Wiessner to a cocky kid who had soloed the route they were climbing together. Then Wiessner, on lead, climbed the next pitch without placing one piece of protection. “I must be climbing pretty good, too, eh?” he said.

Vandals broke holds in Little Cottonwood Canyon, and Meadowlark Lemon was chipped. Rock art in Arches was bolted over to aid disabled climbers. Ice claimed Lakeview. A storm toppled Beach Crack. The Gendarme fell over as expected. “I have never stayed for such a short period on a summit,” said one climber. The National Park Service introduced a climbing permit system in Yosemite.

The Adirondack orogeny continues, but the Rockies are eroding, “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,” blown to the plains of Kansas. Eurasia will crash into North America, and in Spain mountains rise. A swelling sun will torch the earth, and the Milky Way will collide with Andromeda with minimal damage. The universe will convert its matter into heat and cool, black holes will evaporate, and, in the infinite darkness, time will stop. Without time, Penrose says, distance has no meaning, and that which is vast will be indistinguishable from, will in fact be, that which is small.

From such a compact nothing, it may begin again. All of it. Volver. To return.

Nothing dies as slowly as a scene, writes Richard Hugo. Gyms close. Friends move or move on. People uncouple. Bodies, like old cars, no longer feel trusted to the task. It hurts just as much as it is worth, says the novelist Julian Barnes to the novelist Zadie Smith. I climb now with a friend whose ambition exceeds his competence. “What if something happens up there?” I ask. “What if you need to self-rescue?”

“I’ll look it up on YouTube. Why?” he says.

I am often frightened. I ask myself whether any of it, whatever climbing has become for me, is worth it anymore. I do not know. I really don’t.

I wonder how it will end.

To read more fromÌęAscent, visit the table of contents .

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I was thinking about going to India with Hannah, or Bali with Ashlyn, maybe Morocco with Emily Rose. But then I came across Yosemite with Haleigh. Haleigh looked so happy. So carefree. Her arms open wide, embracing the wilderness. I, too, wanted to clasp my coffee mug while watching the sunrise and swing in a hammock slung between pines. It had been too long since I’d gone backpacking! I didn’t know Haleigh’s last name or anything about her. No matter. Haleigh made life outdoors look so easy. So perfect. On Instagram, at least.

Recently, the algorithm has been inundating me with women like Haleigh—pretty, approachable, adventurous, always on a trip somewhere lovely. And suddenly all of them seemed to be inviting me to join them. Trekking in Peru. Strutting through Parisian streets. Leaping into turquoise waters in Tahiti. “Travel with me!” their painstakingly curated feeds read, leading to links where all you had to do was click and pay, then pack a bag.

I wanted to go. Follow the followers. See what traveling with a travel influencer was all about. But India with Hannah sounded
 far. Better, I thought, to stick a little closer to my home in San Francisco; drive my own getaway car. So I clicked Haleigh’s book-now button, put down a $600 deposit, and, when summer came, headed east to Yosemite, to meet up with a bunch of women I’d never met before.

Most of the dozen others had flown in. Strangers all, waiting at the airport for the sort-of stranger who’d lured them there. And then there she was, in the flesh at SFO: @, a lithe 32-year-old with a waist-length dirty-blond braid, wearing Stio pants and Chacos, walking toward a van full of her followers. And everyone was quietly freaking out.

“There was this fangirl moment,” Jeanne, a restaurateur from North Carolina, mother of four, and at 51 the eldest of our group, told me later. “No one said it out loud or anything, but you could feel it. This nervous energy. It was like: Oh, my God! There she is! She’s real.”

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I first experienced the Sierra Nevada while thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail when I was 20. As I approached from the south, the prominent mountains were an intimidating sight, rising thousands of feet from the desert. I was new to thru hiking, and didn’t know the first thing about snow travel, but I was immediately hooked because the scenery was so breathtaking.

That was also my first foray on the John Muir Trail, as much (but not all) of the 211-mile JMT overlaps the PCT. I was so inspired that over the next ten years I returned to the JMT three different times, completing two immersive thru-hikes and later setting the on the classic trail. Each time I covered it differently: with a friend, then alone, and, finally, with very little sleep while going for the record.

What makes the JMT so special? The campsites are incredibly beautiful, as only pristine backcountry sites can be, the alpine lakes pristine, and the trail culture a major part of the endeavor. Yet even with the significant elevation and distance, it’s accessible for every level of hiker. With some planning, resupplying is straightforward, and enough other hikers are typically around that you never feel completely alone.

After I backpacked the JMT in 2011, as part of my Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike, the pictures and stories of adventure I relayed to my parents encouraged them to take three weeks off work and fish their way along the trail, something I helped them plan. From bear-can basics to can’t-miss campsites, there are a lot of logistics to consider. But you can tackle it—and should—because the John Muir Trail is ideal for everything from a short backpacking trip to the full go from start to finish.

Which Direction Should I Walk the Route?

Most JMT thru-hikers start from the northern terminus in Yosemite National Park and head south to finish atop Mount Whitney. The reason: altitude acclimatization. Because Yosemite is the trail’s lowest point—4,000 feet elevation—and Whitney the highest—14,505 feet—backpackers usually take a couple days to get used to the thinner air before slowly making their way to the trail’s higher terrain. It’s a better experience.

The first half of the trail, when setting out from Yosemite Valley, stays fairly low in elevation, with only brief sections above 10,000 feet. The highest passes happen on the southern end. Organizing your trip from north to south means you can hike yourself into shape and have the stamina to more fully enjoy the difficult sections later; however, since most thru-hikers opt for southbound route, those can be tough to come by (I go into the permit process in detail below). Here are three different starting points at Yosemite to choose from.

The Most Popular Yosemite Trailheads

Happy Isles Trailhead: This is the official start of the John Muir Trail and, as such, the most competitive for permits. Located in Yosemite Valley, this option includes access to the backpackers-only campground the night before your permit date. From Happy Isles, the trail gains over 5,000 feet elevation in the first 12 miles, passing both Nevada and Vernal Falls and the cutoff trail to Half Dome.

Glacier Point Trailhead: This is a more difficult trailhead to get to from Yosemite Valley, but an easier permit to land. A tour bus heads up to Glacier Point from the Yosemite Valley Lodge, so get your bus ticket ahead of time. Or, if you’re up for tacking on four extra miles with 2,000 feet of elevation gain, you can hike to the trailhead from Yosemite Lodge.

Lyell Canyon Trailhead: If you choose this option, you’ll miss out on the first 23 miles of the JMT and start higher up (at 8,500 feet), giving you less time to acclimatize. However, by starting on this trailhead, you’ll avoid Yosemite Valley and still see the most striking points of the trail.

How Long Does It Take to Hike the John Muir Trail?

That depends. I’ve completed the whole thing in three days (technically 3 days 47 minutes and 56 seconds) and also in twenty days. This is a thru-hike worth enjoying, and taking around three weeks to do so takes some of the stress out of the experience. I recommend allowing 20 to 25 days to thru-hike its entirity.

What’s the Best Time of Year to Tackle the JMT?

Wildfires, high snow levels, and flooding can impact the trail, so the answer to this may vary from year to year. For example, in 2023, record snowfall in the Sierra resulted in severe runoff that took out a major bridge across the South Fork of the San Joaquin River.

But barring extreme conditions and natural disasters, the best months to hike the John Muir Trail are between June and September. In June and July, there tend to be fewer wildfires nearby and fewer mosquitoes on the trail but a higher likelihood of encountering snow and intimidating stream crossings, so your pace will probably be slower.

The prime weather window for the trail is late July through August, because the snow has largely melted and stream crossings are tamer. Permits are obviously more competitive during these weeks, though, and crowds on the trail tend to peak. My personal favorite time to hike the JMT is late summer. Early September isn’t very buggy or crowded, there’s minimal snow, and stream crossings are manageable.

The downsides to thru-hiking the trail late in the season are much colder nights and an increased chance of a blizzard. You can snag a permit relatively easily though.

When Planning Your Hike, You Should Think About These Five Things

1. Your Resupply Strategy

The JMT has numerous resupply options, but all require advance planning. Shipping time to most locations can take weeks, and options to buy food along the trail are limited, so decide on a resupply strategy as soon as you have a permit, and stick to it.

I recommend stopping at the town of Mammoth Lakes. From Yosemite, it’s about 60 miles and the best place to stock up on food or make gear or apparel swaps before tackling the more difficult part of the trail.

No matter what approach you land on, head into the adventure with the mindset that you’ll only have what you mail yourself along the route, and utilize Mammoth and the other small access points along the way to round things out.

Resupplying options, from north to south, include:

(seasonal), at mile 23.9: You can resupply here or hitchhike into the town of Lee Vining, but most thru-hikers skip this spot and push on to Red’s Meadow.

, at mile 57.3: I recommend catching the bus or hitching into Mammoth Lakes from Red’s Meadow and making full use of its amenities. But Red’s Meadow does accept resupply packages (for a fee) and has a small convenience store and cabins to rent.

, at mile 86.5: VVR is a ferry ride across Lake Thomas Edison, or a five-mile hike, from the JMT, but its café accepts packages.

, at mile 106.4: The hiker box at Muir Trail Ranch is legendary, but the cost to ship a package here is steep. Expect few amenities, because everything is packed in by mule, but make use of it if need be—this is the last chance to resupply before the five highest passes in the southern section of the JMT.

, at mile 177.9: Onion Valley is a 15-mile round-trip detour over 11,709-foot Kearsarge Pass, but well worth it. Kearsarge is one of the prettiest passes in the High Sierra, and this is the last chance to resupply before climbing the highest pass of the JMT. From Onion Valley, it is easy to get a ride out to Highway 395 and the post office in Independence.

2. Permits

are required on the John Muir Trail, and a ranger will likely ask to see yours at some point along the route. Landing a permit is very competitive, especially the lottery process (with about a 2 percent success rate some years). Enter six months from your desired start date. The more ranges of dates you apply for, the more likely you are to secure a permit. It costs $10 to enter the lottery and $5 if you’re awarded a permit. During the permit process, you must state which trailhead you will start from, as well as your estimated finish date.

However, if this permit route proves unsuccessful, there’s still hope: the National Park Service reserves 40 percent of JMT permits for release seven days in advance. Of course, this makes planning resupplies difficult, but if you have the time, some of the resupply locations can be reached by car, so you can drop off your resupply packages ahead of time, or ask someone you trust to do it for you.

Once secured, your permit includes backcountry travel and camping along the whole JMT route with an exit out of the Mount Whitney Portal.

Still have questions? The National Park Service offers further clarification on the permit process, along with key dates, .

3. Weather and Trail Conditions

With the route so void of outside communication, having an idea of the weather, stream levels, snowpack, and potential fire issues are essential before starting the trail. There’s no worse shock than arriving at a stream only to see it flowing well beyond your comfort level.

While several good weather-forecasting resources are available through satellite messengers, the storms in the high Sierra move in quickly, often with thunder and lightning. I’ve used an device to maintain contact and to check the weather daily.

Further, a great resource is , which offers localized weather forecasts for a number of locations throughout the High Sierra.

4. Self-Sufficiency

Cell service is nonexistent on the JMT, so having all the logistics, maps, and itineraries completed and downloaded beforehand is a must. One platform for this is , which I’ve used before. There are several side trails (all over high passes) to get out if something goes wrong, but ensuring that this information is available offline is the only way to be aware of such options. Being this secluded also means that help, if needed, will take time to arrive, so you should have and know how to solve personal health issues should they arise.

5. Your Gear Knowledge

Except for Mammoth Lakes, there are very few areas to change out gear. So practice regularly with your equipment and make sure you’re comfortable in all the possible weather situations, especially rain and snow. Also, remember that gear can fail, so having a small repair kit can be helpful to alleviate some of the stress that comes with adversity. I once had the hipbelt of my backpack rip out while hiking the JMT. A needle and some dental floss were all it took to sew it up and make it through the trip.

Shoe and sock strategy are crucial to nail down before hitting the trail, too. A bad case of blisters can ruin the experience, and wet feet are inevitable with the many stream crossings. I suggest you put in the miles with various shoe-and-sock combinations until you find those that work for your feet in all conditions.

The Gear You’ll Need

There are a few things I wouldn’t hike the John Muir Trail without.

• Trekking poles: These help with climbing and balance on snowy terrain and during stream crossings.
• Quick-drying shoes: Chances are good that you’ll get your feet wet a few times each day. If your shoes dry quickly, you’ll be more comfortable, have fewer blisters, and won’t be weighed down by soggy shoes as long.
• A satellite communicator: Because there’s no cell service on the trail, there will be no weather updates to your phone and no ability to check on whether your resupply boxes have arrived at their locations. A satellite communicator and a support person on the outside willing to help with logistics issues can make problem-solving a lot easier. Also, most satellite messengers offer weather forecasts, and that lets you plan when to climb up and over the high passes. I use an InReach and haven’t had issues throughout the Sierra.
• A bear can: For most of the trail, this is required. And since bear cans come in many shapes and sizes, find one that will fit your food for each of the resupply stretches. It’s not a bad idea to practice how to pack this clunky item in your pack ahead of time—it’ll make hiking a lot more comfortable. I use a bear can.
• Mapping software: Your phone will work for navigation even without cell service, but downloading offline maps is essential in case something goes wrong. There are a number of mapping applications that work well in the backcountry. Some focus only on the JMT, while others show more side-trail opportunities, too.
• An external battery: Because you’ll be using your phone to navigate, and many of the resupply locations are days apart, you’ll have to recharge your phone each night. Practice with your charger, and know how many times it can recharge your phone, to alleviate anxiety.
• An extra layer: At altitude, the temperature drops dramatically at night, so having another piece of dry clothing to put on at day’s end will make the evenings more pleasant.

What to Expect and Trail Highlights

The JMT is really a trail of sections, each with incredible scenery, high points, and scenic spots. Here’s what to expect while thru-hiking the trail from north to south.

Yosemite Valley to Red’s Meadow: About 57 Miles

The first quarter of the trail is an introduction to the High Sierra. From Yosemite Valley up and over Donahue Pass to Red’s Meadow, this section features 12,500 feet of climbing and eclipses 10,000 feet twice: 11,073-foot Donahue Pass and 10,226-foot Island Pass. Use these miles to acclimatize to the elevation, enjoy the alpine lakes, and get your hiker legs under you.

Spectacular sights: The first high pass of the trip, Donahue; the majestic Thousand Island Lake; and the unique basalt columns at Devils Postpile National Monument, worth the short quarter-mile side trip.

Red’s Meadow to Muir Trail Ranch: About 50 Miles

After a possible resupply at Red’s Meadow, with access to Mammoth Lakes via a ten-mile bus ride (unless you want to hitchhike), the trail and camping possibilities expand dramatically. You can camp at a lake nearly every night! The JMT also begins to stay primarily above 9,000 feet, with 9,750-foot Virginia Lake, 10,781-foot Silver Pass, and 10,800-foot Seldon Pass standing out and signifying the even higher passes to come. Depending on the time of year, numerous waterfalls fueled by snowmelt surround and cross the trail through this middle section, making finding a good campsite inevitable.

Spectacular sights: Marie Lake and the drainage off Silver Pass are particularly pretty campsite destinations, along with the option to take a ferry across Lake Thomas Edison to Vermillion Valley Resort.

Muir Trail Ranch to Mount Whitney: About 98 Miles

As previously mentioned, the last section of the trail is the hardest. While most of the trail remains above 10,000 feet, be prepared to cross high passes and then drop into massive valleys surrounded by granite peaks before climbing up yet another pass. Five high passes—Muir, Mather, Pinchot, Glen, and Forester Passes (11,955 feet, 12,068 feet, 12,090 feet, 11,926 feet, and 13,153 feet, respectively)—will require long ascents but jaw-dropping views of jagged peaks and cobalt lakes. And it all culminates at the summit of 14,505-foot Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States.

Spectacular sights: Rae Lakes is one of my personal favorite areas, and it has numerous camping options. Of the five passes Mather is my favorite; I appreciate the difficulty, the ruggedness, and the beauty of Palisade Lakes en route to the top.

Where to Camp Along the John Muir Trail

Camping along the JMT is one of the easier parts of this thru-hike, as it’s included with your permit and there are many options. Other than a few restrictions, you can utilize numerous established and backcountry sites. Always keep principles in mind.

First, two no-no’s. There are a couple of well-marked off-limits camping locations—notably Duck Lake, Half Dome, and Thousand Island Lake—but these restrictions are limited to about a quarter-mile of protected area. Also, campfires are not permitted above 10,000 feet in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

These are my favorite sites along the trail:

Thousand Island Lake: Few lakes are as striking as this one. Banner Peak rises 12,936 feet behind it, providing the perfect backdrop. The best camping is on the north side of the lake. Camping is prohibited within a quarter-mile of the lake outlet as well as 200 feet from the shoreline.

Garnet Lake: Granite peaks and a very picturesque lake dotted with tree-filled islands make this a worthy spot. Camping here is also prohibited within a quarter-mile of the lake outlet.

Evolution Valley: This entire valley is one of the most scenic places in the Sierra. The views at Darwin Bench, on the south side of the valley as you climb past Evolution Meadow, are remarkable, but you won’t be disappointed camping along any of the alpine lakes on the climb up to Muir Pass.

Rae Lakes: This is my absolute favorite campsite of the entire trail. It’s also one of the busiest, but thanks to multiple camping spots, there’s usually a spot to pitch your tent and gaze upon the massive alpine lakes and admire the deep valley. This is also an awesome spot for stargazing.

Worthy Detours and Side Trips

While the John Muir Trail is simply stunning enough, there are two side trips I recommend that are once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Half Dome, in Yosemite National Park, is a four-mile round-trip detour from the JMT and offers a wonderful panorama of Yosemite Valley. Usually, there’s an option to add a Half Dome permit to your John Muir Trail permit if you’re starting in Yosemite Valley at the Happy Isles or Glacier Point Trailheads.

If you can’t get a permit for Half Dome, a side trip up in Yosemite National Park is a challenging yet rewarding option. The views of the valley are equally amazing, and a permit is not required. The side trip can either be done as a detour, giving up 6.7 miles of the JMT in exchange for 9.6 miles over Clouds Rest, or a 6.6 mile out-and-back side trip.

Jeff Garmire has been backpacking most of his life, thru-hiking for 13 years, and he set the current fastest known time on the John Muir Trail in 2022. His is about hiking the calendar-year triple crown.

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The solo speed record on the SalathĂ© Wall, a climbing route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, had stood for 10 years. Then, on May 11a climber from Lake Tahoe named Brant Hysell tagged the tree on the summit of the 3,500-foot route to stop the clock at 19 hours and 57 minutes, shaving eight minutes off of the previous fastest time, which had been set in 2013 by filmmaker Cheyne Lempe. You might think that Hysell’s mark would stand another decade, but then Alex Honnold heard about it. On May 23, Honnold returned to the valley and completed the route in a jaw-dropping 11 hours and 18 minutes, cutting more than eight hours off of Hysell’s time.

 

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“I’ve never had the SalathĂ© solo [speed] record,” Honnold the San Francisco Chronicle. “When it was my friend who held it, it would have felt weird to go and dunk on him. But if it’s someone I don’t know, it’s like, game on!”

So, what’s all the fuss about? Why were Hysell and Honnold so set on this record and the route? We have a helpful explainer below to hopefully address all of your questions.

Why Choose This Route?

Even though it lacks the mainstream recognition of The Dawn Wall and The Nose, the Salathé Wall is one of the oldest routes up El Capitan. It was originally established by Yosemite legends , Tom Frost, and Chuck Pratt in 1961. The trio climbed the route in nine-and-a-half days, using only 13 bolts for protection. That style was remarkable for the era, which was characterized by siege tactics like drilling hundreds of bolts into the rock to make upward progress. Warren Harding, by contrast, drilled 300 bolts on his 47-day odyssey climbing the first-ever ascent of El Cap, via a route called The Nose. While The Nose goes up the center prow of El Cap, the Salathé Wall meanders up the east face, taking a 500-foot longer path to the summit. Free climbing The Nose is much more difficult, but if one were to aid climb each route, the Salathé is just as hard.

The Salathé Wall was the first route on El Capitan to be free climbed after Todd Skinner and Paul Piana climbed the entire route without pulling on gear in 1988. Steph Davis made the first female free ascent in 2005.

Just How Difficult is the Salathé Wall?

Done as a free climb, the most difficult sections of the route are rated 5.13b on the Yosemite Decimal System scale. Not only is that out of reach for most climbers, this extremely strenuous stretch of climbingÌęcomes at the very top of the route, just a few hundred feet from the summit. Most climbers choose to aid climb much of the SalathĂ©, free climbing the occasional easy pitches and taking an average of three-to-four days to climb the route.

To Honnold, who free soloed vast swaths of terrain on the Salathé Wall and roped up for just the few very difficult sections, the day seemed to be just a good workout.

But Not Everyone Is as Psyched as Honnold

Brittany Elyse, Hysell’s girlfriend who supported the climber’s bid for the speed record, took to social media on May 27 to complain that Honnold “couldn’t let someone else have attention for more than a week.” She conceded that “Records are meant to be broken, but it’s not cool to go take it from someone, make it unattainable for basically anyone else a week after Brant worked really hard to get the record, and it sat for 10 years with no one interested just because you can.”

Honnold was able to crush Hysell’s speed record in part because he free soloed vast swaths of terrain on the SalathĂ© Wall, roping up just to tackle the hardest bits of the climb.

“I’d love to see how fast he could do salathe if he properly rope soloed it and did all the work that takes,” Elyse said on Instagram.

 

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Why Is This Speed Record Significant to Honnold?

Honnold and his partner, Sanni McCandless, welcomed their second child, Alice, in February, and since then he has stayed close to their home in Las Vegas to climb. In a recent interview with șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű,ÌęHonnold said he was still searching for his next big expedition project, and in the meantime he was climbing just for himself—i.e. not climbing in support of an adventure film or documentary project. In the interview Honnold shot down a few large-scale projects that we proposed: Himalayan mountaineering, Pakistan’s Trango Towers, among others. Instead, he said he wanted to be a dad, enjoy family life, and tackle climbing objectives that presented personal challenges. It sure looks like the SalathĂ© Wall checked those boxes.

The post Alex Honnold Just Smashed a Speed Record on El Capitan. Here’s What to Know. appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Proving the old adage that age is just a number, a 93-year-old man recentlyÌęreached the 8,800-foot summit of Half Dome at Yosemite National Park.

Everett Kalin, a retired theology professor from Oakland, California, finished the difficult hike on Tuesday, July 18,Ìę. He reached the top with the help of his 57-year-old son, Jon, and his 19-year-old granddaughter, Sidney.

They carried supplies so that Kalin only had to tote his water bladder.

“I guess I was pleasantly surprised when I got up there. I did not feel that I was huffing and puffing so much as we went up,” Everett Kalin told ABC News. “It felt pretty good.”

In the months leading up to the climb, Kalin trained by walking up the stairs in his 17-story Oakland apartment building, and by taking regularÌęwalks around Lake Merritt,Ìę.

“He’s stubborn as a mule. When he sets his mind to something, he’s going to do it,” Jon KalinÌętold SFGate. “He kept proving me wrong every step of the way.”

A video that Sidney posted of her grandfather reaching the summit has more than 15 million views on TikTok. In the 12-second clip, the 93-year-old pauses for a moment to steady his footing. Then, he and his son take a few triumphant steps to the top. The hikers behind him clap and cheer as he celebrates his accomplishment.

July 18th, Everett Kalin became the oldest known person to climb Yosemite’s Half Dome at 93 years old. Words cannot describe how proud I am. Opa, it was an honor to take on this trip with you. I hope this stands as a lesson to everyone that you are never too young or old to achieve your dreams.

The trio spent three days in the park, according to SFGate. They started in Curry Village, then camped overnight at Little Yosemite Valley. On the second day, they went to the top of Half Dome and back down over a 13-hour period. On the last day, they descended from Little Yosemite Valley to the valley floor.

Described as an “exciting, arduous hike,” the 14- to 16-mile round trip to Half Dome “is not for you if you’re out of shape or unprepared,”Ìę. Every summer, park rangers rescue hundreds of people who cannot complete the trek.

There’s no way to know if Everett Kalin is the oldest person to summit Half Dome, because the park does not keep records on the ages of hikers, a Yosemite spokesperson said.

Speaking from his home in Oakland the next day, KalinÌętoldÌęSFGateÌęthat he wasn’t even feeling sore. “That was fantastic. Just super,” he said. “When you’re 93, it’s a little extra special.”

Isabella Rosario is an associate editor atÌęșÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű.ÌęShe is based in southeast Iowa.

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șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű my window in Mariposa, California, in the Sierra foothills, I can see that the leaves have turned. Yosemite National Park and the surrounding mountains are an incredible year-round destination, with dustings of snow in winter and plenty of river access to cool off during hot summers. Spring and autumn are practically perfect for trekking the best hikes in Yosemite. Winter is a quiet and peaceful time to be on the trails, too.

The valley offers some of the greatest vistas in North America, or even the world, with the verdant Merced River dotted by meadows and encircled by massive walls—up to Middle Cathedral at 1,700 feet, Half Dome at 2,500, and El Capitan at over 3,000—and a huge variety of hiking trails to see views of them.

The area was once known as the Ahwahnee Valley, and the original inhabitants were the Ahwahneechee. By the late 1700s, most of Yosemite was inhabited by the Miwok, and in the 1800s, Paiute and others. Their lives changed in the mid-1800s with the Gold Rush, and many were killed or displaced. In the 1900s, most dispersed.

In 1890, the area was designated as the country’s third national park. Today, 4.5 million tourists visit annually from around the world. Most, however, don’t make it more than a mile down many trails, so if you go out a ways it feels like you have the place to yourself. Or yourself and some others: you’ll likely see ravens, Stellar’s jays, and if you’re lucky, coyotes and black bears.

Trails and walks in the park may be short and feasible for people of all ages, or they may climb thousands of vertical feet, offering incredible views of changing plants and trees. From the Valley floor to its rim, trees transition from black oaks, incense cedars, and Douglas firs to Jeffrey pines, with their longer needles and larger pine cones. Sugar pine trees at higher elevations grow cones so enormous that they’re visible from a distance, over a foot long and weighing down the branches. Granite slabs reflect the sunlight, and Half Dome, isolated at the far end of the valley, commands the view.

My favorite time to hike in Yosemite is during the peak of winter, January and February, when no one else is around. Tree branches hang down due to heavy snow, the long sweep of Glacier Point Apron is coated in white, and the roaring Yosemite Falls are visible through the clouds.

The trails listed below are in order from west to east as you drive up Highway 140, then back west. As a Valley local for decades and a former Yosemite hiking guide, I have compiled this list of the best hikes in Yosemite, in my opinion, in concert with those recommended by my guiding mentor Ira Estin from , which offers hiking outings in Yosemite.

Below, a lucky 13 sampler of the hikes that Estin and I frequent for their beauty and accessibility. (Check conditions and before you visit. See more on safety below.)

1. Hite Cove

Distance: 6.5 miles round trip

Difficulty Level: Moderate

This area was home of the Ahwahneechee people for more than a thousand years and later the location of the famous namesake hard-rock gold mine. In the mid-1800s, the Ahwahneechee people—specifically his future wife, who would eventually be known as Lucy Hite—showed John Hite the location of a potential mining operation on the South Fork of the Merced that would make him a millionaire. In time the mine was deserted, and in 1924, a fire burned the structures to the ground. What remains are scattered rock walls and old mining equipment.

is a great hike every time of year except for the peak of summer, when it is closed for fire danger and would be blistering anyway. The poppy bloom peaks during March and April, bringing the hillsides alive with an explosion of orange. This hike starts 21 miles east of the town of Mariposa on Highway 140, at the confluence of the South Fork of the Merced and the Merced, outside of Yosemite National Park but in the Sierra National Forest. The trail snakes up a steep, narrow canyon, passing poppies, lupines, redbud, sky pilots, and baby blue eyes. The final view overlooks the side of the old mine. If on a hot day (which happens as late as October) you’d rather not commit to the challenge of the whole canyon, Estin says you can get a trip highlight right out of the trailhead: “The first half mile has ten times more flowers than the rest of the trail.”

2. Incline Road

Distance: 28 total miles, but broken up into short sections of 2 to ten miles each

Difficulty Level: Easy

From 1907 to 1945, the Yosemite Valley Railroad carried passengers and freight along the Merced River Canyon for 28 miles, though not clear into Yosemite Valley. Just outside the valley, in El Portal, passengers had to dismount from the train and take horses and buggies on another road 14 miles into Yosemite Valley. There, after the rough journey, they reached their reward, starting with the overlooks showing them Bridalveil Fall and El Capitan, while Half Dome stared down on the Valley floor and Yosemite Falls flowed across the park.

Long ago, the old railroad ties on , located just outside the park in the Sierra National Forest, were ripped up, leaving a wide trail that bends and turns as it parallels the Merced River. This mostly flat path, a great place to walk, has west and east access points, including Briceburg and at the end of Incline Road accessed from the trail on the North Fork of the Merced. Choose either of these starting points for a hike as short as two miles or as long as a dozen-plus. There are also plenty of sub-trails leading to the river, making nice detours. This whole trail is an excellent poppy-bloom viewing area in spring.

3. Wildcat Falls

Distance: .125, or an eighth of a mile, one way, .25 miles round trip

Difficulty Level: Easy

is a must jaunt, perfect for families and kids because it’s a short walk that leads to a small, stunning waterfall you can approach. “If you take your shoes off or wear river shoes, you can walk right up to it,” Estin says. “It’s also a great spot to take photos of your kids playing in the water.” Wildcat Falls—which only runs in spring and early summer—is near Cascade Falls, but if you get to Cascade you’ve gone too far. You reach Wildcat Falls via an unmarked turnout on the left on Highway 140, 2.7 miles east of Arch Rock park entrance station at Arch Rock, Yosemite. The turnout allows parking for several cars, and while the trail is not marked, it’s easy to see.

4. Cascade Falls

Distance: .25 to .5 one way, less than 1 mile roundtrip

Difficulty Level: Strenuous

Cascade is the first significant waterfall visitors encounter when entering the park. Though only 500 feet tall, the waterfall spills out of the wall with so much force that over the millennia it has created a huge swath of smooth river rocks below. Some of them are so slippery they feel like glass and squeak underfoot. There isn’t a defined hike to reach the falls. But people want to get close to them and find a way, walking and crawling over the rocks. I have done this dozens of times, too, but beware that it requires river hopping and grabbing tree branches to keep balance.

Estin has a better idea for a way to the falls that is less direct but also less taxing in that it avoids the slick rocks. “There is a trail 200 yards upstream from the parking at the bridge where water from Cascade Falls flows through to meet the Merced River,” he says. “It’s unmarked and unmaintained, but it’s the best way to reach the falls. You may have to hunt for it, but once you find the trail it leads right there.” This trail cuts through the trees and climbs up and to the east side of the mouth of the falls, where you can look down on them. Though only half a mile, it’s steep, so it packs a punch. “I only take people up there who are competent, as there is some rock scrambling involved,” Estin says. It’s a short, one-way adventure trail that can be reversed at any time if it’s too much.

This stop is usually the first for people who have just been traveling for hours, and the bridge area has ample parking and nearby restrooms.

5. Four Mile Trail

Distance: 4.8 miles one way

Difficulty Level: Strenuous

This iconic trail is steep, with an elevation gain from 4,000 to 7,200 feet. Starting with views of Yosemite Falls, the rewards hikers with a changing landscape, as it switchbacks up past Sentinel Rock and ends at Glacier Point, which offers spectacular views of the Valley below, including of El Capitan. At Glacier Point there is a cluster of buildings with a gift shop, water fountain, and restrooms, and an overlook of the east end of the Valley, from which you can see Liberty Cap, Nevada Fall and Yosemite Falls in the distance.

From Glacier Point, visitors can reverse the trail, or make it a loop by continuing down the Panorama Trail (described below). However,Ìę is temporarily closed until May 2023, so for now if you go up you will have to walk back down the same way or on the Panorama Trail. When Glacier Point Road opens again, you can have a second vehicle parked at the top or arrange for a shuttle down to the Valley. By car, be sure to stop at the trailhead 6.5 miles away on the way down to see one of the most magnificent overlooks in the park—it stares right over at mighty El Cap. You can hike 2.2 miles to Taft Point from the trailhead when the Glacier Point Road is open. Otherwise you can gain Taft Point by hiking the Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point, then taking the Pohono Trail another 3.4 miles.

6. Panorama Trail

Distance: 8.5 miles

Difficulty Level: Strenuous if going up, moderate if going down

Passing Illilouette, Nevada Fall, and Vernal Falls, this wandering, circuitous path takes visitors along the east end of the Valley rim. In addition to bringing hikers back from Glacier Point to the Valley, the connects to the Half Dome Trail (and Little Yosemite Valley), Clouds Rest, and Tuolumne Meadows to the east. As a National Park Service website notes, “Some of Yosemite’s most iconic natural features can be seen and experienced along this trail.” Estin hikes this trail often because, he says, “It’s spectacular—you see three huge waterfalls and views of Half Dome and Yosemite Valley.” The top of the Panorama Trail is accessed from Glacier Point, which you reach via hiking, arranging a shuttle, or leaving a car (see road closures above). From the Valley floor, the Panorama Trail is accessed via Happy Isles.

7. Lower Yosemite Fall Trail

Distance: .25 mile one way to the Falls, .5 mile roundtrip, or a 2-mile round trip walk from Yosemite Village

Difficulty Level: Easy

This quarter-mile paved trail from Yosemite Lodge to the base of Lower Falls is perhaps the most traveled path in the park, and is wheelchair and stroller accessible. The only caveat is that the last 75 feet are steep enough that a wheelchair would need assistance. “You have to push someone up there, which I’ve done many times,” Estin says. In total, the trail gains 50 feet in elevation. As you hike in, views of Upper Falls (1,430 feet) filter through the trees, and once there, you get a direct view of the 320-foot Lower Falls. Additional benefits of the is that at the start of it are flushable toilets, picnic tables, and an ice-cold drinking fountain. I like it because from the viewing area along the footbridge that directly overlooks the Lower Falls—which also peers up at Lost Arrow Spire—I can scramble upstream and walk right up to the base of the Lower Fall. The National Park Service advises staying on the paved trail and says “Scrambling off-trail in this area has led to serious injuries.” From April through June, you can see a nighttime moonbow here between 9 p.m. and midnight during a full moon.

Continuing past the bridge, the trail wanders through the trees, passes large boulders, and exits by the government stables.

8. Upper Yosemite Fall Trail

Distance: 7.2 miles round-trip

Difficulty Level: Strenuous

The not-to-be-missed, arduous 7.2-mile , started by the master early trailbuilder John Conway (who also designed the Four Mile Trail) in 1873 and taking until 1877 to complete, is accessed by the historic climbers’ located to the west of Lower Falls. This trail is downright hard, ascending 2,700 feet via 60 switchbacks and on slick granite steps. But it’s tough to find a more scenic trail in the park: this one offers the sights of Half Dome, Sentinel Rock, and the Tuolumne high country. From the top of Upper Yosemite Fall, a 15-minute hike from a marked trailhead takes you to providing unobstructed views of the Valley.

9. Vernal Falls

Distance: 2.4 miles round trip

Difficulty Level: Strenuous

From the , it’s just shy of a mile to reach the bridge that marks the start of the Mist Trail and its rainy and wet sections, especially when the falls are peaking. At Happy Isles visitors can refill water bottles from a fountain, throw on a poncho, and prepare to get soaked for 20 minutes hiking to the base of the fall. Many will stop at the bottom of Vernal Falls (317 feet), rather than continuing on the staircase carved out of granite rocks that winds up the cliffside above. Hand rails help visitors keep their balance but be careful, as the rails get soaked during peak season (April to June). The trail continues from the top of Vernal Falls to Nevada Fall (594 feet tall) and eventually Half Dome, seven more miles (), and Clouds Rest, at nine more miles. By June, the waterfall ebbs and the mist recedes. The Mist Trail closes in winter due to frozen mist and snow.

To reach the start of the trail to Vernal Fall at Happy Isles (shuttle stop 16), catch the bus from Curry Village or walk for 20 minutes along the road or a parallel dirt path. (For traveling short distances like this, it’s often faster to walk than it is to wait for the shuttle.)

Vernal Fall is 1.6 miles round trip from the footbridge to the base of the fall and 2.4 miles round trip if you go to the top. Nevada Falls is 5.4 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 2,000 feet.

10. Half Dome Trail

Distance: 16.5 miles round trip

Difficulty Level: Strenuous

Despite a permit requirement and seasonal closures due to snow, this trail brings people to the park from all over the world. Starting at Happy Isles at 4,000 feet, it climbs to 8,839, gaining 4,800 feet. The tops out at the Cables route, where in 1875 George Anderson painstakingly pounded in metal spikes to reach the summit, then considered impossible to attain. The park service issues 300 permits per day, with 225 for hikers and 75 for backpackers, by . This hike is strenuous and beautiful, as it overlooks everything—cliffs, trees, and the little city of lights that make up the Valley floor below.

The last 400 feet of the Half Dome trail ascends the Cables route, opened in 1919, which is too steep for many (including the author’s mom, who has been frequenting the park since the 1970s).

To break up the long hike, some people camp at Little Yosemite Valley, which I recommend as it’s near water, spacious, and scenic. Permits are required.

11. Mirror Lake

Distance: 2 miles round trip

Difficulty Level: Easy

This one-mile, one-way hike from the Ahwahnee Hotel to follows a paved road and a parallel trail. Though called Mirror Lake, it only fills in April and is a sandbar for the remainder of the year. Once hikers reach the seasonal lake and sandy beaches, all great for kids for swimming, they take in the sights of willow trees and stunning views of Half Dome and Tenaya Canyon, which leads all the way to Tuolumne Meadows. Mirror Lake can also be a loop hike by walking past the Snow Creek Trailhead, crossing the Merced River and hiking back on the south side, which is about the same distance.

12. Snow Creek Trail

Distance: 9.4 miles round trip

Difficulty Level: Strenuous

Once you pass Mirror Lake, the path splits. The left fork climbs up the —“the most strenuous hike in the Valley,” as one longtime local, Paul Carrol, told me. (Continuing straight past the lake takes you up Tenaya Canyon.) Despite its steep, demanding nature, the Snow Creek Trail is still a top pick for many. Tucked in the eastern end of the Valley floor and laden with switchbacks, the trail offers epic views of Half Dome as it climbs from the Valley floor to the rim. The hike can be connected to the Upper Yosemite Falls loop, which at 18.8 miles makes for a backpacking trip instead of a day hike.

The top of Snow Creek rewards you with a postcard-worthy view, especially at sunset, from right below North Dome across the valley to Half Dome.

13. Tuolumne Grove

Distance: 2 miles round trip

Difficulty Level: Moderate

A quarter mile east of Crane Flat is parking for the , comprised of 25 trees, and one of three ancient Sequoia groves in the park. The other two are the Merced Grove, with 20 trees, located six miles west at Crane Flat and accessed via a three-mile round-trip hike. And then there’s the Mariposa Grove, the most popular and home to the largest sequoia tree in Yosemite, the 209-foot Grizzly Giant, among more than 500 mature trees. Though the Tuolumne and Merced groves are close together, the Mariposa Grove, as it’s near the south entrance, is a 1.5-hour drive away (40 miles).

Several of the Tuolumne Grove trees are over 100 feet tall, and one is a tunnel tree that you can walk through. “One of my favorite guiding activities is to go and walk or crawl through the fallen tunneled-out tree,” Estin says. “A fire hollowed it out, and you can walk inside it for 50 to 100 feet.”

The paved path to the Tuolumne Grove is a mile downhill and is closed to cars. Just be prepared for huffing and puffing as you hike out, as you’ll gain 500 feet of vertical over merely one mile.

Know Before You Go

Watch for poison oak, swift rapids, slick rock, and burning sun. Bring plenty of water and pace yourself, as on many of the best hikes in Yosemite the terrain is steep and unforgiving. Though it rarely rains here six months out of the year, when it does it’s often heavy. Bring a rain jacket.

Many of the trails pass over stone steps polished by countless shoe prints. The rocks are smooth and may be slippery. Wear good lug-sole hiking shoes, and you can improve traction by choosing sticky-soled approach shoes made by climbing companies such as La Sportiva, SCARPA, and Five Ten.

Learn more about hiking safety in Yosemite .

The post The 13 Best Hikes in Yosemite Valley appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

We’ll be talking about the winter of 2022–23 for years. Epic snowfall blanketed much of the western U.S., creating the best ski season in memory. So far that snowpack is delivering one of the best spring rafting seasons in decades.

But all that precipitation and increased snowpack also left a lot of destruction in its path, including damage to the infrastructure in some of our national parks, with projected flooding from the spring thaw prompting temporary closures in others. For example, in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, in California’s Sierra Nevada, the record snowfall and heavy rains led to rockfall and road damage, causing closures throughout the park.

“It was an intense winter for us, and we’re still plowing snow and working hard on road construction,” says Sintia Kawasaki-Yee, chief of communications with Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. “It’s going to be a different spring [than usual], with some areas closed.”

Other major events include the closure of the famous Narrows hike in Zion, flood warnings in Yosemite, and campgrounds still under snow at Grand Canyon.

“It’s been challenging, but I don’t want people to think they shouldn’t come to the parks,” Kawasaki-Yee says of Sequoia and Kings Canyon. “There are still things to do. They just need to be prepared and aware of certain closures.”

All of that snowpack means water tables are replenished to some degree, and more water is flowing through the West’s parched river basins. Lake Mead and Lake Powell, both of which sit on the Colorado River, are already seeing a rise in lake levels. And park employees are working diligently to clear the snow, repair road damage and get things open.

Here are seven national-park delays and closures that are a direct result of extreme weather, as well as our advice for how to deal and find alternatives.

Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Record-setting snowfall has delayed the spring opening date of Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, Wheeler Peak Campground, and popular hikes like the Alpine Lakes Loop inside Great Basin National Park, as portions of the park are still buried. The roads, campgrounds and trailheads within the higher elevations of the park typically open at the end of May, but the park service expects a delay until July 1. Park management also says hikers should be cautious of flash-flood conditions as temperatures warm. Get current conditions

Our advice: Wheeler Peak Campground might be closed, but Baker Creek and the Upper and Lower Lehman Creek Campgrounds are open on schedule. If you can’t hike the high terrain, consider going underground— are operating as usual.

Yosemite National Park, California

In Yosemite, Big Oak Flat Road (Highway 120) is closed from the park boundary to the Merced Grove while crews repair cracks in the roadway up to four feet deep and 200 feet long from recent storms. The park expects the road to be closed until mid-June and possibly into July, which means visitors coming from the west will have to take an alternate route to access Yosemite Valley. The Mariposa Grove Road is also closed due to storm damage through May and into June. Visitors wanting to reach Mariposa Grove will have to hike two miles each way, with a 500-foot elevation gain. The park is also closing Lower and North Pine Campgrounds starting May 15 due to potential flooding from snowmelt. There’s no current timeline for the campgrounds to reopen. See conditions

Our advice: If you want to explore the Valley, Highways 140 and 41 are still open from the west. If you’re looking to camp in the Valley, Camp 4 campground is open, first-come, first-served until May 21, at which point you’ll need advance reservations. Upper Pines Campground is also still open and requires reservations.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Grand Canyon has had to delay the opening of the North Rim until June because of record snowfall. The North Rim saw more than 250 inches of snow this winter, burying the Grand Canyon Lodge, necessitating plowing and facility repair. The North Rim campground will open June 9, while the North Kaibab Trail will be closed until June 1 for trail reconstruction due to rockfall and landslides. Current conditions

Our advice: You’ll have to be patient if you’re set on exploring the North Rim. Until the park service can clear the snow, the South Rim is your destination, with plenty of options for hiking and camping. We say bring your bike and pedal Hermit Road, which has more than half a dozen scenic overlooks, and is closed to all vehicles (except park shuttles) from March 1 to November 30.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California

Roads inside Sequoia National Park suffered damage from the winter storms, closing all but six miles of the Generals Highway, the main access road, within the park and preventing access to the giant sequoias at this time. The Giant Forest, Wolverton Snowplay Area, Lodgepole, Wuksachi and Moro Rock Areas are closed until at least June 9, while Crystal Cave and Mineral King Road will be closed throughout the summer because of road damage. Cedar Grove, inside Kings Canyon, is also closed due to severe road damage on Highway 180. Management doesn’t expect the road to reopen until fall. The park service updates road closures frequently and maintains a map of current road status within the park. Check conditions

Our advice: The Foothills Area of Sequoia, which is accessed by the first six miles of Generals Highway, is open, and has its own system of hiking trails and camping at Potwisha Campground (reservations required). The wildflowers are going off in this section of the park this spring, but there are no large trees. Park management is recommending visitors go to Grant Grove, in Kings Canyon National Park, to see the giant trees.

Zion National Park, Utah

In Zion, the popular Narrows hike, through a slot canyon along the Virgin River, is closed indefinitely due to the unusually high snowmelt and the flow levels in the Virgin River. The park service closes access to the Narrows any time flow levels exceed 150 cfs, and this spring levels have not dipped below 600 cfs. Emergency responders have already had to rescue one woman from the Virgin River’s Grotto area, in April.

Meanwhile, Zion Canyon Scenic Drive has been reduced to one lane because of road damage caused by rockfall, which caused a fissure in the road, and Kolob Canyons Road is closed beyond the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center for the same reason. See updates

Our advice: The shuttle is still operating on Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, so your hiking plans are still intact. While you wait for the Narrows to reopen, try to score a to hike the Subway, a strenuous 9-mile round trip hike through a slot canyon on the Left Fork of North Creek.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah and Arizona

Here’s some good news: The winter’s snowfall and subsequent melt is raising the water level of Lake Powell, inside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. As water levels have receded on the lake during the last 20 years, park management has had to close a number of boat ramps, severely limiting boater access. But this spring, the opposite is happening; Glen Canyon recently announced the Bullfrog North Boat Ramp, in north Lake Powell, is operable again for houseboats and larger vessels. More than a dozen ramps and access points remain inoperable because of low water levels, but spring runoff has already raised the lake level by 10 feet. Check for updates

Our advice: Take advantage of the higher water while you can. Launching on Lake Powell can be easier at the higher water and you can paddle deeper into narrow gorges like Antelope Canyon and Lone Canyon.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Arizona and Nevada

While all that snow in the mountains is helping replenish Lake Mead’s coffers (lake levels had risen by three feet as of May 1 and could rise several more by the end of July), the summer heat is expected to put a crimp on hiking plans in the recreation area. Lake Mead has already announced seasonal closures to strenuous areas and trails from May 15 to September 30, citing a sharp increase in medical-emergency calls each summer. To prevent potential distress and tragedies, the park service is closing the following areas: Goldstrike Canyon, White Rock Canyon ad White Rock Canyon Trail, Arizona Hot Springs and Arizona Hot Springs Trail, Liberty Arch Trail, Lone Palm Trail, Sugar Loaf Trail and the Lone Palm and Sugar Loaf surrounding areas. See updates

Our advice: Take to the water. While the Goldstrike Canyon and White Rock Canyon Trails are closed this summer, the hot springs at the end of those trails are not. In fact, they’re accessible by boat from Lake Mohave. Just limit your soak time. You know, because it’s hot outside.

Graham Averill is șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű magazine’s national parks columnist. He continues to be fascinated by how this winter’s epic snowfall is impacting outdoor recreation well beyond the last of the flurries.

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