You will drive past the sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells. Do stop. If you have an hour or two, check out Mosaic Canyon just west of Stovepipe. A short drive on a well maintained dirt road takes you to the canyon mouth. The walls look like polished marble in places. DV will be hot and very dry. Drink lots of water and sports drinks. Dehydration is a real threat here.
Know that climbing Half Dome requires a permit from the park service. See the Yosemite website for details. The granite in between the cables is a bit slick from thousands of pairs of boots. Consider wearing a climbing harness and a short length of rope to clip into the cables. Make a fall physically impossible. Bring a good pair of gloves.
Drive Tioga Pass Road 25.5 miles east of Crane Flat to the Porcupine Creek trailhead for North Dome. It's an 8.8 mile round trip hike to a view point where you can see the face of Half Dome across the valley floor. Spectacular.
There are several groves of big trees in Yosemite. The Mariposa Grove will be very crowded. Parking will be at a premium and you will likely have to park at a distance and be shuttled in. Parking at the shuttle point can also get full. The Tuolumne and Merced Groves are a bit less busy, but have smaller parking areas and no shuttles.
Good luck!
Last edited by RichardK; 03/04/20 08:58 AM.
