Half Dome Backpack

Yosemite National Park is one of the first wilderness parks and most popular in the United States. Yosemite is best known for its waterfalls, but within it’s nearly 1,200 square miles you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more. While there we will be backpacking through the park starting at the Rafferty Creek Trailhead in Tuolumne Meadows and make our way to Merced Lake camp (14 miles, 1400 ft elevation gain) for our first night in the wilderness. The next day we attempt to summit the iconic Half Dome (14 miles, 2800 ft elevation gain) and spend a night at Little Yosemite Valley reminiscing on the past few days. The next day we will take the Mist Trail past Vernal and Nevada Fall on our way to the Valley Floor where we can shower and get a hot meal at a valley restaurant. We'll spend on last night in the park and the next day head out of the park we will make a couple stops for some final Yosemite Views before returning to CSUSB. 

Trip Cost     
SRWC Member: $180
Faculty, Staff, Non Enrolled CSUSB Student, and Alumni Association: $210
Affiliate: $225
Sponsored Guest: $240
         
Pre-Trip Meeting / Sign Up Deadline
July 15, 2025 @ 6pm

Activity Level
4 - Epic

Trip Departs From
CSUSB Adventure Center (Student Union South room 114)

Itinerary 
Day 1: Let’s get ready for an adventure of a lifetime! We will meet at the SRWC at 8:00am, gather our gear and begin the drive (about 6.5-hour drive). Along the way, we will stop for lunch (not included), gas and restroom breaks. We will arrive at our Campground near Mammoth Lakes to set up camp and eat some dinner. At night we will make some final preparations for our backpack trek the next day. 

Day 2: We will wake up early to have a yummy morning breakfast and hit the road. We will travel 11 miles today, starting at Rafferty Creek Trailhead and ending a near Babcock Lake.

Day 3: We will start our day early, pack up camp and begin our 11-mile day along the John Muir Trail to the junction with Sunrise Lakes Trail. 

Day 4: We will wake up for some breakfast, and take a side trip to half dome. 5 miles round trip. 

Day 5:   We hike the Sunrise Lake trail 9 miles back to the Tioga Pass road where we will retrieve our van. We will also stop for dinner along the way home (not provided) and arrive back to the SRWC around 10:00pm.