[pct-l] Yosemite & HalfDome

[Stephen Clark]

A maximum of 300 hikers are allowed each day on the Half Dome Trail beyond
Little Yosemite Valley. Typically about 225 day hikers and 75 backpackers
each day.
This season, like last year, permits will be distributed by lottery via
Recreation.gov. There will a single preseason lottery with an application
period from March 1, 2013, to March 31, 2013, and also daily lotteries
during the hiking season. Backpackers should apply for Half Dome permits
with their wilderness permit. So, you may be able to get your Half Dome
permit along with your thru permit, in which case you would need to be
there on the day your permit is valid.
Approximately 50 permits will be available each day, by lottery, during the
hiking season.  These daily lotteries will have an application period two
days prior to the hiking date with a notification late that night. (So, to
hike on Saturday, you would apply on Thursday and receive an email
notification of results late on Thursday night).
Therefor if you wish to do Half Dome when you get to Yosemite, and win the
daily lottery, you will need to take at least a 3 Zero Days there (one if
you don't win).
Last year, mid-June through August, an average of 86 permits were available
each day via the daily lottery. About 21% of lottery applications were
successful, on average. This means that more than 400 individuals, on
average, applied each day for the daily drawing.
If you think about it... 300 persons a day up the summit makes it much like
Interstate 5 through L.A. at rush hour on a Friday. I've been there, I've
seen it, and it's a lot of stop and wait.
Personally, I would wait until the end of my thru hike, come back to
Yosemite in late September when a larger number of permits are available on
weekdays (due to fewer initial applications in the March lottery),
providing a much better chance of success.
Snake Charmer

On Wed, Feb 20, 2013 at 2:05 PM, Jennifer Zimmerman
<jenniferlzim at gmail.com>wrote:

> I would also be curious to know this since we plan to resupply in Tuolumne
> and it would make a fun side trip.  I've read journals where hikers will
> stop for a zero and climb the Dome, but it's never been clear to me how
> they get a permit.  Haven't the regulations changed sometime in the
> last few years?
>
> Thanks!
> JZ
> On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 11:00 AM, patrick griffith <
> patrickjgriffith at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > Hi All,
> > I am trying to work out the logistics of taking a side trip to Half Dome
> > when I pass through Yosemite, but am confused by the permit webpage. The
> > main problem at present is I won't know when to reserve a permit as that
> > could be out by a few days if not weeks depending on trail condtions. Has
> > anyone had this problem before, and know if there is a solution?
> >
> > Patrick
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