High Sierra Topix

Can someone please tell me how far, approx, it is from the Porcupine Creek trailhead to Yosemite Valley via North Dome and Yosemite Falls? We're considering doing this as a day hike. Considering it's downhill, sounds like it wouldn't be too big an issue. Only trick is getting a spot in the Valley and taking the shuttle to the trailhead, right? Is this possible? Thanks.

It's about 12.3 miles. I personally don't know where the shuttle that goes from the valley to Tuolumne Meadows stops along the way or if it does at all.

Shuttle will stop anywhere you tell the driver to.
Long day hike but do-able, (snow may be a factor though) - do not miss the arch.

There is a free Tuolumne Shuttle Service, but only goes till Olmsted Point.
The only option available is the following: http://www.yosemitepark.com/Activities_ ... adows.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I hope you planning to do this hike in July or later.

I plan on doing this in August. 12 miles is ok, especially if it's mostly downhill. Thanks.

To clarify the post from Maverick...if you are taking the bus back to Yosemite Valley, Porcupine Creek/Flat is before Olmstead point...and before the trail the Lukens Lake. On our website there's a post about the hike we did as a day-hike, from Porcupine Flat to North Dome and back...and we met a few people who were hiking this as a shuttle hike to or from the Valley.

And yes--that arch is wonderful, as is the view from near the arch of the Clark Range.

You want either the hiker bus or YARTS. I would call and make sure the one you select will stop on demand before reserving a spot (the hiker bus) or showing up (YARTS doesn't take reservations). Or find a friendly person to drop you off.

There are two ways to get to the Valley from Porcupine Creek via North Dome. I assume you meant to continue from North Dome to the Yosemite Falls trail. You can also go back up the trail and take the trail to Snow Creek to descend. Tioga Road may not be open. In that case why not consider the North Rim Traverse from the Valley? You can either start at Camp 4 and go up the Yosemite Falls trail (clockwise) or start at the Mirror Lake trail and go up Snow Creek Trail (counter-clockwise). I have done it as a long day-hike and a 2.5-day snowshoe in winter. There is camping on Snow Creek and Yosemite Creek. If you are willing to carry water a little bit, there is drop-dead scenic camping on the buttress just before Snow Creek goes off the edge and camping on sandy benches above Yosemite Point. In mid-June this year you will hit snow in the upper part of the traverse so need to be good at navigation because the trail is not evident and it is easy to get lost up there.

WD wrote "Tioga Road may not be open".
OP wrote that they intend to do the trip August, Tioga will be open easily by then, and
snow will also not be an issue.

My plan would be to camp in the valley somewhere, take one of the shuttles or Yart bus to the Porcupine Creek trailhead (I think that's what it's called), hike to North Dome, then to Yosemite Falls and back into the valley...in one day. 12 miles relatively downhill shouldn't be much of a problem.

On another note... if I have a wilderness permit for a given trailhead on a Friday and have it marked as 2 days in the wilderness but change my mind and decide to do two day hikes instead (Friday and Saturday), can I use the wilderness permit to camp in the backpacker's campground in the Valley on the Friday night?