Red Peak Pass Loop

Check in to Curry Village within spectacular Yosemite Valley anytime after 5pm. Meet your guide and group at 6pm on the porch of the Mountain Shop in Curry Village for a short meet-and-greet and trip orientation. Dinner tonight is on your own at one several local restaurants.

After an early breakfast on your own, you’ll meet your guide at 9:00 am on the porch of the Half Dome Village Mountain Shop. There, we’ll do a final gear check and pack our backpacks. Afterwards we’ll hop on a private shuttle for the 1-hour transfer to the trailhead. Then it’s time to lace up our boots and hit the trail. Today sees us traveling into the Illilouette Creek drainage, where we’ll camp along the banks of the Clark Fork below the towering Mt Clark (11,522’).

6 miles, Elevation: +1171’/ -1306′

From the Clark Fork, we’ll climb gradually all day under the shadow of the imposing peaks of the Clark Range. Below Red Peak, we’ll turn toward the main ridge, eventually arriving at the spectacular Ottoway Lakes. We’ll have time to swim and clean up beneath the ice fields of the upper mountain basin. This is where, in the late 1800’s, John Muir himself discovered the first “living glacier” of the High Sierra.

8.5 miles, Elevation: +2900’/ -433′

Today we’ll hit the trail to tackle what is surely the most challenging part of our route: Red Peak Pass. At 11,200’ the pass grants us access back to the northern part of the Clark Range and into the Red Devil Lakes Basin and it is also renowned as the highest point on-trail in Yosemite. We’ll travel through alpine meadows of the upper lakes basin, eventually joining the Merced River below Triple Divide Peak (11,611’). We’ll make camp there, among the flowering meadows and Lodgepole Pines.

8.5 miles, Elevation: +2080′ / -2703′

Leaving our alpine meadow, we’ll spend today descending along the designated “Wild and Scenic” Merced River. Along the way we’ll encounter plenty of wildflower meadows, waterfalls and swimming holes to distract us. In the afternoon, we’ll arrive to the Merced Lake area where we will make camp.

10 miles, Elevation: +430’/ -2274′

After another hearty breakfast, we’ll pack up and continue following the trail downstream. You’ll notice how the river is much more substantial here after absorbing the flows of the many side creeks and drainages of the upper basin. Roaring whitewater and rushing cascades dominate our day as we head toward Little Yosemite Valley. We’ll pitch our tents there for the final evening, and we can enjoy a late afternoon swim at the beach along the Merced River.

8 miles, Elevation: +682’/ -1818′

We’ll be up and out of camp early today and, donning our packs one final time, we’ll follow the trail to Yosemite Valley. The final stretches of our route are as exceptional as the rest, past the rushing Vernal and Nevada Waterfalls along the famous Mist Trail. Expect to exit the trailhead by about lunchtime, where hot showers and cold drinks await.

5.5 miles, Elevation: +673′ / -2802′

*Half Dome Variation: permit pending
Beginning early in the morning, we’ll eat breakfast and start our hike to the summit of Half Dome (8,845′). Half Dome is a side trip from the trail and well stash our backpacks and hike up with just the necessities. After a few miles of gaining elevation with the fir forests, we break above tree line for our first look at the famous Cables Route. After a bit more hiking we’ll make the straightforward climb up the final stretch to Half Dome’s summit. Spectacular views await of the Sierra high country and down into Yosemite Valley far below. Not to be missed is a peak over the edge from The Visor, perched 4,700ft above Tenaya Canyon. After taking in the beauty of Half Dome’s summit, we’ll come back down to our packs, grab a quick lunch and hike all the way to Yosemite Valley (4,035′). We will have breathtaking views of Nevada and Vernal Falls and the Merced River along the way. We will end our trip back to Curry Village by 3-5pm (lunch on the trail is included).

Mileage: 12 mi, Elevation Gain and Loss: +3239’/-5387′