Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley Gear Checklist
Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley is the Panorama Trail with a pack on: about seven miles that drop to Illilouette Creek, climb past Nevada Fall and end at a campground you must use for the first night. The permit sets the plan, so the gear list follows what that walk asks for. Filter water at the creek, keep every scented item in a canister because bears work this valley, and size the pack for one night before a possible Half Dome day.
What shapes your gear on Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley
- Quota and first night
- The Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley trailhead has a daily quota of 6 people by lottery 24 weeks ahead and 4 more released a week ahead, with a vault toilet and drinking water in summer. The permit requires you to spend your first night at the Little Yosemite Valley campground. It is Half Dome eligible but not eligible to leave the park on the John Muir Trail.
From Yosemite National Park (NPS): Trailhead Information and Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley
- Distance and the profile
- Two trip reports give 6.8 and 6.9 miles for the day. One July party dropped from Glacier Point to Illilouette Creek, then faced a hard climb of 2.5 miles to the John Muir Trail. The top of Nevada Fall came about a mile after that, and camp about a mile and a half past it.
From Medium and Backpacking Light
- Sun and heat
- A July hiker described a hot, sunny day with a mountain breeze on the walk. A guide to the trail says the two ends are popular and the middle section thins out.
From Medium and The Outbound
- Camp and water
- The campground has composting toilets, communal food lockers and two communal fire rings just outside it. It has no drinking water. People filter from Sunrise Creek or the Merced River, which is the only water source in the area.
From Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley and Medium
- Weather in October
- An October trip met mid-30s to mid-70s F and very few other people on the trail. A July hiker found it hot and sunny, so the season changes the pack more than the route does.
From Backpacking Light and Medium
- Bears in the valley
- A ranger who checked a July party's permit at 7 p.m. warned that a bear had taken a food canister from inattentive backpackers the night before and that the park hoped to collar it. He also told them to stash packs at the Half Dome junction only with food and scented items removed.
From Medium
What the agency requires on Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley
A bear canister, or a communal locker used correctly
Food and related items must sit in a latched locker or a bear canister, unless they are within arm's reach. Lockers are communal, so keep non-food items out and leave your padlock at home. Pack out your trash.
From Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley
A permit that matches the trailhead
The Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley permit makes the Little Yosemite Valley campground your first night. No other reservation is needed to camp there.
From Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley and Yosemite National Park (NPS): Trailhead Information
A Half Dome permit if you add the summit
Backpackers need a Half Dome permit when the cables are up, even with a wilderness permit. The fee is $10 for each person, collected in person at a wilderness center on the day or the day before your hike, and the quota for backpackers is about 75 a day.
From Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome Permits for Backpackers
A way to treat river water
The campground has no drinking water. The Merced River is the water source, treated with a filter made for giardia, by boiling or with iodine. No soap goes in the river.
From Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley
A plan for waste and trash
A composting toilet serves the campground. Away from it, waste goes in a hole six inches or deeper, 100 feet from water and trails, and toilet paper and hygiene products go home with you.
From Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley
No camping on the Panorama Trail
You may hike the Panorama Trail but you cannot camp on it or near Illilouette Fall.
What hikers carry on Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley
A water filter, with water in the pack for the climb
Two hikers on the 2016 walk stopped at Illilouette Creek and filtered drinking water before the long climb. The campground has none, so they used Sunrise Creek once at camp. One hiker started the day with only 1 liter in the pack.
From Medium and Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley
A canister, even with lockers at camp
The Little Yosemite Valley lockers are shared and limited, and the ranger's story of a stolen canister the night before shows that bears work this camp. A 2016 party was told to keep every scented item in the canisters, never in the packs stashed at a junction. The park says lockers may be full in busy places and encourages carrying a container anyway.
From Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley, Medium and Yosemite National Park (NPS): Bears & Food Storage While Backpacking
Warm layers and a down jacket
An October couple met mid-30s mornings and carried down jackets, long underwear and sleep socks. A July hiker had warm sun and a breeze on the same stretch, so the shell and layers depend on the month.
From Backpacking Light and Medium
A day plan for Half Dome
A 2016 party planned to climb Half Dome the next day without full packs, and the ranger said most backpackers leave theirs at the junction of the John Muir Trail and the Half Dome trail. Keep food in the canister, not the pack.
From Medium and Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome Permits for Backpackers
A paper map as a backup to the phone
A 2016 pair carried two paper maps and two navigation apps and used mainly the paper maps. An October couple carried a topo map but did not need it on the well marked trail.
From Medium and Backpacking Light
A light shelter and cook set sized to three days
An October couple started the first day with 20.5 pounds of base gear, 7.5 pounds of food and fuel to last three nights, and a double-wall tent. Their shelter and kitchen set the weight, not the trail.
From Backpacking Light
A hat and sun cover for the middle of the day
The July party started at 10:57 a.m. and met a hot sunny day on the climb from Illilouette Creek.
From Medium
15 people can go on one permit. Split this list between them so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley
Camp chairs and a lantern string
An October couple brought two camp chairs and small lights for the evening and never used the chairs. Their report counts them as luxury items.
From Backpacking Light
A heavy pack for one hard day
One hiker weighed in at about 36 pounds with a liter of water and four days of food. He still found the climb past Nevada Fall tough and was winded when he reached camp.
From Medium
Food in the pack at the junction
The ranger warned that anything scented left in a pack stashed at the junction can draw bears. A bear had just taken a canister at camp.
From Medium
Counting on the Panorama Trail for a campsite
Camping is not allowed along the Panorama Trail, and the permit makes Little Yosemite Valley the only first night.
From Yosemite National Park (NPS): Trailhead Information and Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley
Gear questions for Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley
Where do you camp on the Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley permit?
The Little Yosemite Valley campground, on your first night. No other reservation is needed to camp there, and there is no camping anywhere along the Panorama Trail.
From Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley and Yosemite National Park (NPS): Trailhead Information
Is there drinking water on the Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley route?
Not at the campground. The Merced River is the water source and must be filtered, boiled or treated with iodine. Hikers on the way in filtered water from Illilouette Creek before the long climb.
From Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley and Medium
Do you need a bear canister on the Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley route?
You need an allowed canister or a closed and latched locker. The campground lockers are communal, and the park says to keep them food-only with no padlocks. The park adds that lockers may be full in busy areas, so a canister is the safer choice.
From Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley and Yosemite National Park (NPS): Bears & Food Storage While Backpacking
Can you climb Half Dome from the Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley permit?
Yes, with a separate Half Dome permit when the cables are up. The trailhead is Half Dome eligible, and the park quotes about 75 backpacker permits a day at $10 per person.
From Yosemite National Park (NPS): Trailhead Information and Yosemite National Park (NPS): Half Dome Permits for Backpackers
How long is the Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley hike?
Trip reports give about 6.8 to 6.9 miles to the campground, with a drop to Illilouette Creek and a climb past Nevada Fall.
From Backpacking Light and Medium
Sources
- Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley · Yosemite National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Trailhead Information · Yosemite National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Bears & Food Storage While Backpacking · Yosemite National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Half Dome Permits for Backpackers · Yosemite National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Yosemite: Panorama Trail, October 8th - 10th, 2010. · Backpacking Light, Andy Duncan · Forum thread
- JMT 2016 Journal, Day 1 of 25: Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley, Rookie Mistake, and a Bear Warning · Medium, Dara Naraghi · Trip report
- Panorama Trail · The Outbound, Todd Gordon · Blog