Summit by Moonlight: A 4-Day Half Dome Backpacking Adventure

You set off from Yosemite Valley before dawn, headlamp cutting a pale tunnel through the pines as the valley exhales mist from the river. Underfoot, the trail is a steady, honest grade that loosens the city tension from your shoulders. On this guided 4-day backpacking route, the travel feels deliberate: long stretches of talus and dogwood, a nightly camp beside a riffle of water, and a final morning when the cables to Half Dome hum with the weight of climbers ascending into a light so clean it feels almost invented. This is a trip that rewards patience and simple, physical persistence. The technical high point is the cable ascent, but the richest moments often come at camps when the Merced River dares you to linger and the forest hushes into something like counsel. The itinerary starts in Yosemite Valley, threads through Little Yosemite Valley and Sunrise Lakes country, and stages the summit move for optimal light and safety. The full approach to Half Dome from Yosemite Valley is commonly 14 to 16 miles round trip with roughly 4,800 feet of elevation gain to the summit; the four-day backpacking schedule breaks that climb into manageable days and covers roughly 25 to 30 miles total depending on campsite choices. Beyond the numbers, the terrain tells the park story in granite and glacier-sculpted ridges. Half Dome itself is a monolith of Cretaceous granite, its sheer face exposed by millennia of glacial exfoliation and jointing. Native Paiute and Miwok people knew this landscape long before it became a national park; for them the domes and falls were woven into origin stories and seasonal travel routes. The modern history of Yosemite brings names like John Muir and George G. Anderson, who made the first recorded ascent of Half Dome in 1875 by drilling wooden pegs to climb the face. Today the cables replace those primitive aids, allowing hikers with steady nerves to scramble the final, exposed section. Cultural texture lives in the valley communities too. Park rangers, backcountry stewards, and guides who grew up in nearby towns add stories about seasonal snowpack, historically significant climbs, and the quirks of Yosemite weather. Guided trips, like this offering, handle logistics many independent hikers find onerous: wilderness permits for overnight camping, Half Dome cable permits when in season, and the bear canisters required in the backcountry. The tour price also reflects those inclusions; the listed starting price is about 2150 USD per person and includes guided leadership, camp meals, and some comfort provisions. Practically, time your trip for late spring through early fall when cables are up and the weather is stable; the operator runs select dates from late May through October. Expect trail surfaces that vary from packed dirt and granite slabs to scree and roots. Day four often delivers the summit—either for sunrise or sunset depending on the schedule—and with it a view that compresses the park from vertical cliffs to the meandering Merced River below. Safety and preparation are straightforward but nonnegotiable. Sturdy backpacking boots with good traction, a properly fitted pack, and daily water discipline will make the trip. On the cables, gloves and a calm, steady gait matter as much as raw strength; if exposure makes your stomach tight on a good day, consider whether a guided ascent is the right choice for you. The guides that lead these tours bring not only route knowledge but also skills in pace setting, campcraft, and emergency protocols. For photographers, dawn light on Half Dome skews cool and clean; bracket exposures on the summit, and carry a lightweight tripod for campfire-lit starscapes. For food, the difference between a tired, gray camp and a restorative evening is often a well-provisioned meal; guides in this program emphasize fresh, satisfying camp cuisine rather than dehydrated monotony. If you go, leave space in your schedule the day after the trip for gentle recovery and valley exploration. Grab a coffee at Degnan's Kitchen, stroll the meadows near Yosemite Falls, or make reservations for a post-hike dinner at the Ahwahnee Dining Room to celebrate. In short, this four-day Half Dome backpacking adventure delivers an honest, human-paced route to one of North America’s most iconic granite summits. It’s not a casual walk in the park but it isn’t mountaineering either; the payoff is a clean-lined summit, an intimate sense of place, and nights spent under a sky that reorients scale. If you can carry your gear, sleep on good ground, and accept a little exposure, the climb up the cables is the kind of achievement that reorders priorities long after the boots are put away.