🪨 Half Dome — The Full Dossier

8,839 ft · Sierra Nevada · CA

Four vertical cards profiling Yosemite's most iconic granite dome — from valley floor to summit cap.

Caption (Image Post Body)

8,839 ft of bare granite rising straight out of the valley. Half Dome doesn't ask for permission.

Card 1 shows the full elevation cross-section: three distinct life zones compressed into 4,800 vertical feet — valley oaks at the bottom, lodgepole pines clinging to the sub-summit slopes, then nothing but rock and sky.

Card 2 is the plant rundown: Black Oak → Jeffrey Pine → Red Fir → Lodgepole Pine → Alpine Sedge. The elevation bands hit fast once you're above 7,000 ft.

Card 3: who lives here. Black Bears at every zone. Peregrine Falcons nesting on the sheer northwest face. Yellow-bellied Marmots holding court on the Sub Dome talus.

Card 4: the logistics. Class 3. 14–16 mi round trip. 4,800 ft gain. Permit lottery — don't skip that part.

Cables go up late May, come down mid-October. That's your window.

Which card are you saving first?

Card Descriptions

Card 1 — Elevation Cross-Section

Full profile from Yosemite Valley floor (~4,000 ft) to summit (8,839 ft / 2,694 m). Three vegetation zone bands with geometric isometric illustration: Valley/Montane (4,000–6,000 ft), Upper Montane (6,000–8,000 ft), Subalpine (8,000–8,839 ft). Alpenglow gradient sky: sunset orange to deep indigo-purple.

Card 2 — Vegetation Zone Detail

Five species rendered as flat botanical illustrations on solid-color panels:

Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) — 4,000–6,000 ft, Valley Montane
Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi) — 6,000–8,000 ft, Upper Montane
Red Fir (Abies magnifica) — 7,500–8,500 ft, Subalpine
Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) — 7,000–8,500 ft, Subalpine
Alpine Sedge (Carex sp.) — 8,500–8,839 ft, Alpine

Card 3 — Signature Wildlife

Five species in flat geometric 5-panel grid:

Black Bear (Ursus americanus) — All zones, 4,000–8,839 ft — raids backcountry food caches
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) — Cliff zones, 7,000–8,839 ft — nests on sheer granite faces
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) — 4,000–7,500 ft — browses valley meadow edges
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) — 5,000–8,000 ft — camp thief, loud sentinel call
Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris) — 7,500–8,839 ft — sentinel of Sub Dome talus

Card 4 — Best Season & Difficulty

Route: Half Dome Cables Route (Sub Dome Trail)
Class: 3 (cables assist final ~400 ft)
Distance: 14–16 mi round trip
Elevation gain: ~4,800 ft
Best months: May–October (cables installed late May to mid-October)
Permit: NPS Day-Hike Lottery required
Trailhead: Happy Isles / Mirror Lake, Yosemite Valley