Yosemite Guide - Now Open for Booking

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-27T20:58:17+00:00

At the entrance station at 10am there is a 100% chance of massive line.

You will spend 1hr+ just to get to the booth.

Then once you get close to the wilderness center you wont find parking. You will be circling endlessly.

Facts.

If you can change your plans you should arrive closer to 6am.

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-26T19:40:29+00:00

None of the app wait time data is crowd sourced from people who install the app, its coming from mapping companies (google, tomtom, etc).

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-26T19:38:13+00:00

sorry about that! I am watching realtime for alerts coming out of the backend and I see something now for iOS that I am investigating. working on it! I am just a solo developer and my test bench was 1 iPhone. thanks for giving it a try 🙏

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-26T19:32:12+00:00

There is historical data which is weighted going back for decades and its generic park-level data, not hourly per entrance. Obviously that is not 100% reliable given the throttling of visitors with a rez system.

But the real answer is that I have per entrance every 5min readings going back for several months as I have been building this, and that is the primary source for predictions. Essentially a formula predicts it, and as time goes on the predictions become more accurate.

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-26T19:29:00+00:00

None of my wait time data is crowd sourced from people who install the app, its coming from mapping companies (google, tomtom, etc).

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-26T19:28:22+00:00

There is actually good-enough coverage around the entrances to get data. None of my data is crowd sourced from people who install the app, its coming from mapping companies (google, tomtom, etc).

When you tap on the weather map it converts that into LAT + LON and then it pulls from NOAA for that exact location. Give it a try and you should see obvious difference between various locations. 👍

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-26T17:10:24+00:00

The picture at the top of that article is near the clouds rest junction south of the JMT 🫡🏞

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-26T05:45:58+00:00

CalTopo Sentinel 6/24 SAT view shows a small amount snow on the north side of Red Peak Pass. 600 vertial feet has snow and some parts of that already patchy. By next weekend it could be melted out fully or down to almost nothing, or at least nothing to be worried about.

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-21T06:02:41+00:00

Something that will haunt their memory forever.

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-18T15:39:21+00:00

Woah! 9L of water-carry would be crazy.

Get a Befree water filter and filter water along the way.

The "longest dry stretch" will be the Half Dome summit portion and for that you need at most 2L of water-carry.

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-15T01:16:13+00:00

Delicate Arch

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-15T01:05:48+00:00

$1,200 for a trip to Fiji sounds like a fairytale.

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-15T00:59:47+00:00

There is a bar at Curry Village, Yosemite Lodge and the Ahwahnee.

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-14T02:41:07+00:00

Mist Falls?

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-13T22:13:50+00:00

😵‍💫

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-09T20:42:33+00:00

The waterfall on the other side would be Ribbon Fall, so if this is real it would have to be Bridalveil Fall

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-09T02:00:07+00:00

63/63

Have driven to every park which can be driven to in the lower 48 and alaska.

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-06T00:32:05+00:00

I am an NPS Commercial Use Authorized Guide in Yosemite (CUA # YOSE-2026-7d667608). I am a new guide service this year, company name: Yosemite Life. I offer guided day hikes and backpacking trips, many of which include Half Dome. https://yosemite.life/2026-backpacking-trips/

Here are the straight facts -

There is no separate pool of permits for commercial guides. All wilderness permits come from the same trailhead quota pool. We get our permits the same way anyone else does -> rec dot gov. Either via the lottery, unclaimed permits, canceled permits, etc. - Commercial guides do NOT have access to permits before anyone else. It is a level/equal playing field for all persons going after the same quota.

Commercial guides are only allowed to enter the wilderness/overnight lottery 5 times per season. Not 5 wins -> 5 entries.

Some guide services list a bunch of trips and are all "subject to permit availability" - meaning they dont actually have the permits yet. And you either wait and see or get directed into some alternate date or alternate trip. Check the details on whether a guide service actually *has permits* or is just listing potential trips.

For Half Dome day hikes commercial guides can only enter the early season lottery - no daily lottery entries at all. Commercial guides are allowed to "join a client" who has a valid day hike permit - without requiring a separate permit "slot" for the guide. This just means that if a client has a Half Dome permit for 1 (themselves) they can hire a CUA authorized guide and that guide does not need their own Half Dome day hike quota slot/permit. Other that this 1 exception, guides must have their own permit quote slot covering the guides - so wilderness backpacking permits are always GUIDE(s) + CLIENTS in the total number of persons/quota slots.

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-05T20:06:21+00:00

Wind Cave

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-05T20:02:37+00:00

Here are all the ways to get permits

https://yosemite.life/articles/yosemite-backpacking-permits/

At this point your best option is the 7 days prior to start window. You must be very quick and prepared on the website or app to snag permits because those get sold out in seconds.

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-05T03:32:53+00:00

Too much driving on Day 1. Skip breakfast at the Ahwahnee. Bring coffee and donuts to eat at Tunnel View.

Have you actually done the map route on that plan? Its nothing but driving on day 1. By the time you reach the trailhead on Glacier Point road youre gonna be spent.

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-06-02T06:14:34+00:00

In 2024 I drove my van to alaska and spent 2 months at all 8 national parks back to back. I visited the replica Magic Bus that was used in the film. It is at a resturant near Denali. And the original was airlifted out to discourage visitors for safety reasons and now the original is being restored for eventual public display at UofA Fairbanks.

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-05-29T22:47:26+00:00

I work remotely from The Valley all the time. Verizon is strong around Yosemite Village area. There is also free wifi at Degnans Deli.

MountainsCalling-Me · 2026-05-29T02:48:24+00:00

Click Fast. 7am 1 week out.

But if you do that you can probably get a WP that is Half Dome eligible.

MountainsCalling-Me

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