Like most people who applied for Half Dome day hike permits via the early season lottery - I got denied/not selected.
Fortunately there is a better way which is ultimately more reliable and better experience -> backpacking with Half Dome eligible permits!
medium.com/p/you-didnt-...
#Yosemite
Call the real world and tell them you are not coming back. Solved!
Tunnel View this morning. A winter wonderland ☃️
#Yosemite
Opus or Sonnet? If I had to choose I would much rather go on that trip with Opus!
Lies
Yes! Thanks! I have been making these for a few years and have gotten better with practice. Its always a treat to look at the footage in the morning because i dont really know how it will look. Its like opening a present 🎁 ✨️
Thanks! 🫡🌠
Definitely! 🫡
Thank you 🫡
Thanks! Yes 😃🏕🏞
Stary night and moonrise over Half Dome basecamp.
🌠🏕🏞✨️
#Yosemite
Summited Clouds Rest yesterday.
It was a perfect bluesky day.
We did not see a single other person on the trail. Had the whole summit to ourselves.
The angled view of Half Dome from here is quite unusual, in a good way 😎
Another great Yosemite day!
#Yosemite
Waterfalls all looking great now. Was on top of Clouds Rest this afternoon and there is still lots of snow in the high country.
The 1864 Yosemite Grant protected two places: Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove.
The National Park idea started here, among 500 giant sequoias most visitors barely scratch the surface of.
My new trail guide covers every route from 30 minutes to the full day.
🌲
#Yosemite #NationalParks #Hiking
1,500 year old coastal redwoods 🌲
Henry Cowell State Park
Yay! I got selected for my first-choice again for Yosemite Conservancy Work Week Trail Crew! 🥳🎉
Doing trail work side by side with NPS...in the Mariposa Grove 🌲🌲🌲🫶✨️
This will be one of the highlights of my year!
Can't wait 🙂
#Yosemite
Alcatraz Night tour 😀
I brought my completed Jr Ranger book with me twice last year and no park staff available to help me.
Today a very helpful NPS Volunteer reviewed my book and swore me in. 🫡
Ya'll would love my artwork on the last page of the book. 🤓
#NationalParks
Want to hike Half Dome without dealing with the lottery?
I’ve got 6 trips with permits already secured.
Not “we’ll try to get permits”
Not “dates may change”
These are real, confirmed trips.
See live availability + book instantly → yosemite.life/2026-backpac...
My favorite trail in all of the 63 National Parks: The Mist Trail
This guide tells you all the various routes, including my preferred route and justifies why - if you can only hike one trail in Yosemite - it should be the Mist Trail. 🏞️🌈✨
yosemite.life/articles/mis...
#Yosemite
Without a doubt visitation will be higher. It is now 4th most visited NP. Last year it bumped RMNP which is somehow keeping their reservation system intact
Your right. They will keep at it. If shipped off, the bear may still find its way back 🤷♂️
In the article I wrote about a bear that charged me in Kings Canyon (near Roads End) - it also had multiple ear tags. And was clearly a well known bear to Rangers. 🐻
Wild! Those bears for sure act that way because they are already getting wired for human food. They already got <something> before using those tactics described on the note.
I once saw two people at LYV walk away from their open bear canisters to go hike half dome. I moved them into a bear box.🤦♂️
The #1 question I get asked when I livestream in #Yosemite backcountry -> "what about bears?" or some version of a bear question
Fear and uncertainty it seems is the starting place for the questions
In this article I outline why bears should not be feared, but respected + how to stay bear safe 🐻🫶
Just a routine sunday evening sunset in Yosemite National Park
Glowing rocks and all
🌄✨️
#Yosemite
🫶 So many great view points and hiking destinations in Yosemite. virtually endless 😃
What is "the best" view point in Yosemite? Is there a "best"?
There is no single best.
That is an impossible task to say one place is better than any other. There are so many.
OMG Point is definitely a contender and hardly anyone goes there.
Check out my trail guide for your next Yose visit!
🏞️
Commercial Guides have to go into the same early season Half Dome lottery as everyone else. And we cannot enter the daily lottery.
For wilderness permits we are also limited to the same quota as everyone else. There is no separate pool for Commerical. All my permits come off the same daily quota.
Do you want to stand here on top of the Half Dome summit?
You will need a special permit. It is one of the hardest to get in the system.
My guide outlines how to get one and strategies for increasing your odds.
Fyi- you have 2 weeks to get your lottery app submitted! Act now 🫡🏞
Yesss! 🌈
