In June 2021 I spent several days backpacking south out of Tuolumne Meadows on the John Muir Trail through Yosemite National Park. The route itself is beautiful, but the two side trips are what made it worth doing: Half Dome and Clouds Rest.
Half Dome
Half Dome is the one everyone knows: the cables, the line of hikers waiting their turn, and the famous view from the top. The cable route goes up steep, exposed granite, and a permit is required. Standing on top is as good as the photos suggest.
Clouds Rest
Clouds Rest gets less attention, and I think it has the better view. The summit is a long granite spine you walk the length of, with Yosemite Valley falling away on both sides. At 9,926 feet it was the high point of the trip.
The numbers
All in, the trip covered about 40 miles with roughly 7,500 feet of elevation gain, using published route figures.
What I took away
This was the trip where I learned how much the side trips can define a route. The main trail gets you through the park; the detours are what you remember. It also confirmed that I'd rather do a little more planning to fit in the hard extras than skip them.
More of my trips, with routes and conditions, are in my field notes.