Hitesh.
The Half Dome cables, straight up into the sun
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California · Sep 2026

I Decided & I Arrived

1,850 Miles, One Hyundai Kona, and the Cables of Half Dome

Watch the California stories

A 16-day self-drive loop from the Golden Gate through Napa, Lake Tahoe, Tioga Pass and Yosemite, across the Mojave to Las Vegas and Hollywood, then home through the Big Sur fog.

Some road trips are a drive. This one was a test. Over 16 days in a white Hyundai Kona, we drove a 1,850-mile loop through every kind of landscape the American West has: San Francisco in morning fog, Napa's vineyards, Lake Tahoe's alpine shores, the high road over Tioga Pass, the empty Nevada desert, the lights of Las Vegas, the studio backlots of LA and the cliffs of Big Sur. At the center of it all was one day I'd wanted for years: hiking the Mist Trail past Vernal and Nevada Falls, then pulling myself up the vertical cables of Half Dome to stand right on its edge.

Total distance
~1,850 miles (about 29 hours behind the wheel)
Duration
16 days (September to October 2026)
The ride
White Hyundai Kona
Highest road
9,943 ft (Tioga Pass, Yosemite)
The Half Dome day
About 28 km round trip (14.28 km each way), 7 hrs 46 min tracked, 1,553 m of climbing
Biggest milestone
Summiting Half Dome on the cables

Route

9 stops

USA Self-drive Self-drive Self-drive Self-drive Self-drive Self-drive San Francisco Golden Gate in the fog 1 Napa Valley Wine country 2 Lake Tahoe Alpine lake sunsets 3 Mono Lake & Tioga Pass Tioga Pass, 9,943 ft 4 Yosemite & Half Dome Half Dome cables 5 Las Vegas The Strip 6 Los Angeles Studio backlots 7 Big Sur & Highway 1 Highway 1 cliffs 8 Monterey & back to SF Pacific coast 9 CALIFORNIA & NEVADA LOOP 16 days · Hyundai Kona · ~1,850 miles N HOW WE TRAVELLED Self-drive · Hyundai Kona THE ROUTE Tap a stop to jump to that day 1 San Francisco Days 1 to 2 · Golden Gate in the fog 2 Napa Valley Days 2 to 3 · Wine country 3 Lake Tahoe Days 4 to 5 · Alpine lake sunsets 4 Mono Lake & Tioga Pass Day 6 (drive day) · Tioga Pass, 9,943 ft 5 Yosemite & Half Dome Days 6 to 8 · Half Dome cables 6 Las Vegas Days 9 to 10 · The Strip 7 Los Angeles Days 11 to 13 · Studio backlots 8 Big Sur & Highway 1 Days 14 to 15 · Highway 1 cliffs 9 Monterey & back to SF Day 16 · Pacific coast

Tap a pin to jump to that stop.

Day by day

The itinerary

  1. 1 Days 1 to 2 San Francisco, CA Jet Lag, Fog & the Golden Gate

    We arrived jet-lagged to a city still waking up, with the Golden Gate Bridge half lost in fog. We spent leg-day-level hours climbing San Francisco's steep streets, took the long way to Coit Tower for the skyline, looked out at Alcatraz from Pier 39, and climbed inside the USS Pampanito, a World War II submarine that made six war patrols in the Pacific. Then we picked up the keys to the Kona and the loop began.

    “Me not the one who's jet lagged. This city is still waking up.”
    The Golden Gate Bridge lit up at night through the fog Alcatraz and the bay from the slopes below Coit Tower Leaning on the rail at the waterfront, Alcatraz behind Golden Gate towers fading into the morning fog
  2. 2 Days 2 to 3 Napa Valley, CA Vineyard Roads & a Long Lunch

    Our first easy drive took us into wine country, with rolling vineyards and quiet back roads. We stopped for lunch at Mustards Grill (local wine, lemon-garlic chicken and their famous lime tart) and then turned east toward the mountains.

    “Next stop: Napa. On the menu: local wine and zero rush.”
    Lunch at Mustards Grill in Yountville, Napa Valley
  3. 3 Days 4 to 5 Lake Tahoe, CA/NV Pine Forests & Sunsets You Stop the Car For

    The road climbed into the Sierra pines until Lake Tahoe opened up in front of us. We stayed at the Marriott Grand Residence Club and spent our evenings on the sand watching the sky turn pink over the water. Fun fact: the Chevrolet Tahoe is named after this lake.

    “The kind of sunset you just stop for.”
    Emerald Bay and Fannette Island, Lake Tahoe Looking up a giant Sierra pine near Lake Tahoe
  4. 4 Day 6 (drive day) Mono Lake & Tioga Pass Vista Points on the Roof of the Sierra

    We dropped down the eastern Sierra, stopped at the vista point over Mono Lake, then climbed Tioga Road to nearly 10,000 feet. Through granite tunnels and past snow-edged pines, we drove straight into Yosemite.

    “Mandatory vista point clicks. Mono Lake below, Tioga Pass ahead.”
    Mono Lake from the vista point on the way to Tioga Pass
  5. 5 Days 6 to 8 Yosemite & Half Dome The Mist Trail, the Cables & Standing on the Edge

    We based ourselves at Yosemite Valley Lodge, right under El Capitan and Half Dome. On the big day we started up the Mist Trail past Vernal and Nevada Falls, through miles of forest that had us questioning our life choices. Then came the granite shoulder of the sub-dome, and finally the cables: two steel lines up a near-vertical rock face, with nothing to go but up. I'd brought the wrong gloves. A stranger who couldn't make the climb gave me theirs, and they carried me to the top, where I left them for the next adventurer. Standing on the edge of Half Dome, I wrote myself a note: whenever doubt creeps in, remember you're stronger than any obstacle in front of you. Afterwards we soaked our legs in icy Tenaya Lake, which was pure cryotherapy, and my shoes were finished.

    “I decided & I arrived. 28 km round trip, 1,553 m up, and the Half Dome cables at the end.”
    The Half Dome cables, straight up into the sun Sitting on the edge of Half Dome above Yosemite's high country Liberty Cap and Nevada Fall from the Mist Trail An icy recovery dip in Tenaya Lake
  6. 6 Days 9 to 10 Nevada desert & Las Vegas, NV From Granite Silence to Desert Neon

    We left the Sierra for the empty Nevada desert, with miles of straight blacktop, sagebrush and endless sky. As the road says, just when you start to belong somewhere, you have to keep moving. That night we were walking the Las Vegas Strip under the High Roller.

    “The road whispers your name, and you have to keep moving.”
    The white Kona in the empty Nevada desert The Las Vegas Strip under the High Roller
  7. 7 Days 11 to 13 Los Angeles & Santa Monica, CA Studio Backlots & Childhood Nostalgia

    Driving the I-15 into Hollywood felt like the Need for Speed and GTA maps I'd memorized as a kid. At the Warner Bros. Studio Tour we stood face to face with Scorpion from Mortal Kombat and sat on the Central Perk couch from Friends. We also made a side trip to Disneyland. We ended the LA leg soaking up the sun at Santa Monica Beach and the pier.

    “The One Where They Go to LA.”
    On the boardwalk at Santa Monica Pier Santa Monica Beach with the pier behind Mojave pit stop on the I-15 toward LA
  8. 8 Days 14 to 15 Big Sur & Highway 1, CA Whiteout Fog & Blind Faith on Every Curve

    The second-to-last drive was the most dramatic. We drove Highway 1 north through fog so thick we could barely see the next bend, trusting each curve as it came. When the fog lifted, rocky coves and crashing surf appeared below us.

    “Driving through the unknown, with blind faith on each curve.”
    Surf and sea stacks on the fog-wrapped Big Sur coast Wildflowers above the Big Sur coastline
  9. 9 Day 16 Monterey, Campbell & back to SF Universe Embraced & the Circle Closed

    We took it slow on Monterey's coast, arms wide open to the Pacific, then drove back through Silicon Valley via Campbell to San Francisco. We returned the Kona tired, sunburned and 1,850 miles richer.

    “Universe embraced. 1,850 miles of experience, and back where it all began.”
    Arms wide open to the Pacific on the coast near Carmel and Monterey

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