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The Journey Continues DESTINATIONS

NOVEMBER 13, 2021 / KEVIN AND KATHY

EL CAPITAN – YOSEMITE
NATIONAL PARK

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Hiking El Capitan in Yosemite

National Park
Hiking El Capitan, the largest single granite rock on earth, was one of the biggest
highlights of our trip to Yosemite National Park. This 16 mile route took us past
Yosemite Falls and through some beautiful forested Yosemite backcountry.

Hike Date: August 14, 2021

Stats
0 0 ft 0 0
MILES ELEVATION GAIN HOURS MINUTES

Route

Segment Total Route Description

Distance Distance

0 mi 0 mi Start at parking lot across from Camp 4

3.2 mi 3.2 mi Upper Yosemite Falls Trail to juncture for Upper

Yosemite Falls

0.3 mi 3.5 mi Upper Yosemite Falls Trail to the top of the falls

0.3 mi 3.8 mi Upper Yosemite Falls Trail back to the juncture

0.6 mi 4.4 mi Continue following signs toward Eagle Peak and El

Capitan to trail juncture for left turn

2.3 mi 6.7 mi Turn left, continue to juncture for Eagle Peak

1.8 mi 8.5 mi Continue to the top of El Capitan

4.7 mi 13.2 mi Retrace route back to Upper Yosemite Falls Trail

3.2 mi 16.4 mi Upper Yosemite Falls Trail back to parking lot

Map
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-

Gaia GPS | © OpenStreetMap contributors

 El Capitan and Yosemite Falls



15.1 mi
 8 hrs 18 min  4,444 ft
0 View topo maps, GPX, and photos

The Yosemite Valley Hiking Map from the National Park Service may also be useful
for your planning.

El Capitan is the largest single granite rock in the world and was one of the biggest
draws for us to visit Yosemite National Park. There are two hiking routes to the top of
El Capitan. We took the route from Yosemite Valley starting at Camp 4 as it is the
more interesting route and gives the option to visit the top of Yosemite Falls. We
climbed what seemed like a never ending rock staircase to Yosemite Falls, then
made our way over to El Cap. The total hike was 16.4 miles and about 4,500 feet of
elevation gain, almost 3,000 of which came within the first 3.2 miles of the hike.

To beat the heat, we started hiking in the dark at 5am. We parked in the lot across
the street from Camp 4 because it does not require any permits and also has
bathroom facilities. From there, it was really easy to cross the road and start from
Yosemite Falls Trailhead. If you hike this, don’t make the mistake of starting at Lower
Yosemite Falls Trailhead – that will only take you below the falls, not to the top to
connect with the trail to El Capitan.

Upper Yosemite Falls

Our headlamps guided us through the darkness as we started up Yosemite Falls
Trail. The first 3.2 miles of this hike are almost exclusively rock stairs, with just a few
sections of flat trail in the middle. We climbed switchbacks back and forth steadily
for about a mile and then caught the first views of the day at a little overlook. The
sun was just beginning to rise, lightening the sky so we could see the silhouette of
Half Dome over Yosemite Valley.

Starting in the dark Hiking by headlamp Switchbacks before sunrise

Half Dome at sunrise

The trail started getting a bit sandy, with small grains of dirt and dust covering some
of the stairs, making it a little slippery, but still manageable. We continued going up
rock stair switchbacks until we met a relatively flat section and saw our first stop of
the day, Yosemite Falls, above us. Unfortunately, the water flow was not as strong as
usual due to the immense drought in California. But, it was still incredible to stand
underneath this massive cli" face and know that we were about to hike up to the
top of the falls.

Rock stairs on Upper Yosemite Falls Trail Yosemite Falls

We entered a section of trail that was more shaded by the trees and the bugs really
started to swarm us. Not sure if it was just this section of trail or the time of day, but
we moved very quickly to get away from all of the nagging and biting bugs. We
emerged from the trees and could see that the rock stair trail headed directly up the
center of a cleft in the cli"side. Seeing exactly where we were hiking really helped
motivate us in the last mile of steady rock stairs. While it was di#cult, this trail was
really fun and incredibly beautiful – made even more special as the morning sun lit
up the cli" face with glowing orange hues. After finishing the climb, we were really
proud of how strong we felt. At the top, we turned right at the trail juncture and
made our way over to Yosemite Falls on Upper Yosemite Falls Trail.

Climbing the last mile of rock Cli!side glowing in the morning Yosemite Falls sign
stairs sun

To get to the falls, we descended some large rock stairs and then made our way
down a very narrow path, holding onto a metal handrail to a rock platform enclosed
with a metal fence. From there, we caught views across Yosemite Valley to Sentinel
Dome, one of our previous day’s hikes with maybe the best views of our whole trip,
and got super close to the top of the falls. We relished being the only ones at the
top of the falls still so early in the morning.

Stairs and handrail down Rock platform atop Yosemite Top of Yosemite Falls
Falls

View from the top of Yosemite Falls

Continuing to El Capitan
Knowing that we still had 13 miles more to hike, we went back to the juncture and
continued on the trail following signs toward Eagle Peak and El Capitan. After the
juncture, the landscape completely transformed. All of a sudden, we were walking
on dirt trails surrounded by tall trees. We gained a bit more elevation, then the trail
flattened out and we meandered through a couple of miles of beautiful wooded
areas.

Trail sign by Yosemite Falls Beautiful wooded trail

Then, we came to the juncture for Eagle Peak, where apparently there is an
incredible view of the valley. Wanting to get to the top of El Cap, we decided to skip
the half mile trail to the view and continue on to our primary destination. Just after
the juncture, we lost a fair amount of elevation, dropping down into the woods.
Then, we began climbing again, skirting a mountain, then popping in and out of
wooded areas and more open rocky sections. Unfortunately, during this entire part,
the bugs were absolutely terrible. It was extremely hot with the sun rising overhead
and we were just swatting insects away from our face left and right. We definitely
swallowed a couple too.

Descending further into the woods Open rocky section

Then, we made it to the end of the treeline and in front of us we saw an entirely
open rocky field shining under the hot sun. Emerging from the trees, we really
started feeling the heat of the day and smelling the strong odor of the wildfire
smoke. It felt like we were hanging over a campfire; it was so strong! All that smoke
also made for a very hazy day, obscuring some of the incredible views from the trail
and the top of El Cap.

Hiking over open terrain Hazy view back toward Half Final stretch to the top
Dome

Atop El Capitan
When we finally made it to the top of El Capitan, we were both sweaty messes – hot
and tired from the sun exposure over the last mile or so. But we were also overjoyed
to know where we were standing! We enjoyed the moment, took some pictures,
and rested for a bit under the shade of a tree.

Made it to the top of El Capitan Filled up by views like this

Once we recovered from the heat, we decided to walk down toward the edge of the
cli". Like most high points around Yosemite Valley, the top of El Capitan is domed. In
fact, it felt like a really flat open rock landscape in some areas so you can walk
down a moderate grade toward the edge where climbers would finish scaling the
granite wall. We jokingly looked for where Alex Honnold might have finished his
Free Solo climb. After walking as far as we cared, we returned to the top, took in
another view of Half Dome in the hazy distance, and prepared to head back to the
valley floor.

Open top of El Capitan Half Dome in the haze

Looking down toward the edge As far as we went toward the edge

Descending
For the route back, we retraced our steps and made pretty quick time through the
forested section to the top of Yosemite Falls. The sun was beating down and really
made the green hues of the foliage and moss shine. On a quick logistical note, there
is a little seep spring shortly before the top of El Capitan where hikers could refill
water. We wouldn’t really count on it because of the drought and carried all the
water we needed from the beginning. It was almost dry, just a little wet muddy spot
next to the trail when we passed it.

Returning through open Small seep along the trail Walking through the forest
sections

From the top of Yosemite Falls, it was 3.2 miles down the steep rock stair
switchbacks back to the valley floor. By this point in the day, now just after noon, it
was sweltering! We could feel the heat radiating o" the baking rocks underfoot and
the cli"side. And there were so many hikers just heading up the trail – we were so
glad we started this hike as early as we did. It would have been a lot more di#cult
with such heat the whole way. We enjoyed the great views of Yosemite Valley and
Yosemite Falls, now in full daylight, feeling good, but also tired and hot and ready to
be done.

Yosemite Valley sign Descending the top of the switchbacks

Yosemite Falls View of Yosemite Valley Steep switchbacks on Upper

Yosemite Falls Trail

El Capitan Meadow
We finished this epic hike with plenty of time left in the day to relax and recover. We
opted to cool o" in the Merced River by El Capitan Meadow and really enjoyed
looking up at where we just hiked with a huge sense of accomplishment.

Since we loved the views from El Capitan Meadow so much, we decided to come
back there the next morning to take pictures around breakfast time as the sun was
coming up. Here are a few highlights:

El Capitan Meadow

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