RATING |
|
 |
DISTANCE |
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2.2 miles round-trip |
HIKING TIME |
|
1.0 hour |
ELEVATION GAIN |
|
240 feet |
HIGH POINT |
|
7,500 feet |
EFFORT |
|
Easy Walk |
BEST SEASON |
|
June to October |
PERMITS/CONTACT |
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Yosemite National Park fee required |
|
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($20 per vehicle, valid for seven days), |
|
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(209) 372-0200, www.nps.gov/yose |
MAPS |
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Yosemite National Park (download at www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/brochures.htm) |
NOTES |
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Dogs and bikes prohibited |
From Taft Point’s high promontory, you stand at the edge of a 3,500-foot dropoff and marvel at the geologic drama of Yosemite Valley.
From Highway 41 in Yosemite National Park, turn east on Glacier Point Road and drive 13.2 miles to the Taft Point/Sentinel Dome trailhead on the left.
It’s not so much the sweeping vista from Taft Point that you remember, although certainly the point’s vistas of Yosemite Valley and its north rim are stunning. Instead, what sticks in your mind is the incredible sense of awe, perhaps mixed with a little fear and a lot of respect, that you felt as you peeked over the edge of Taft Point’s 3,500-foot cliff.
The Taft Point Trail starts off innocently enough from the same trailhead as the Sentinel Dome Trail (hike #72 in this guide). Take the path to the left through a dense forest of Jeffrey pine, lodgepole pine, and white fir. In the first 0.25 mile, you pass a large pile of white quartz, its orange and gray veins visible upon closer inspection.
Continue through the forest and cross a couple of small creeks, including one that is surrounded by dense corn lilies and grasses. At nearly 1.0 mile out, the trees disappear and you begin to descend along a rocky slope. The trail vanishes on the granite; just head toward Yosemite Valley. In a few hundred feet, you reach the edge of the cliff. You expect to be able to see some distance down, but nothing can prepare you for how far “down” it is.
Walk a few hundred feet farther, contouring along the edge of the cliff. Head for the metal railing you see at the high point on top of Profile Cliff. Keep an eye out for The Fissures, wide-open cracks in the granite that plunge straight down to the valley below. One of The Fissures has a couple of large granite boulders captured in its cleft; they’re stuck there waiting for the next big earthquake or ice age to set them free.
Profile Cliff's overlook caps off the trip. Its railing, a meager piece of metal, performs an important psychological job by removing some of the fear of peering 3,000 feet straight down. Clutch it tightly while you gawk at the view. If you have kids with you, be sure to keep a firm hand on them.
At 7,503 feet in elevation, Profile Cliff is approximately the same height as 7,569-foot El Capitan, which is directly across from you. If you happen to be at Taft Point at sunset, you may notice flashes of light on El Cap’s vertical face; those are the headlamps of rock climbers preparing to bed down for the night on tiny rock ledges.
Also in view is Upper Yosemite Fall across the valley, the Merced River cutting in front of El Capitan, and tiny cars parked near the meadow by its side.
A metal railing keeps hikers safely back from the dramatic edge of Taft Point’s Profile Cliff.
Another 100 yards west is Taft Point proper, which has even better views of El Capitan. There is no railing here, but the clifftop is broad enough that you can locate a safe, and view-filled, picnic spot.
To make a longer day out of your trip to Taft Point, you can easily combine this hike with the trail to Sentinel Dome (hike #72 in this guide). Choose from either hiking out and back on both trails (4.4 miles), or making a 5.6-mile loop. To make the loop, hike back on the Taft Point Trail for 0.5 mile, then bear left at a trail junction. Follow the Pohono Trail for 1.5 miles to the Sentinel Dome cutoff, then turn right and follow the trail uphill to the dome. To finish out your loop, circle back to the parking lot on the Sentinel Dome Trail.
