Originally Posted by
darthbimmer
I'm not sure what you mean by moderate, but two absolutely stand-out hikes that are less strenuous than Half Dome are:
1. Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. Approx. 7.5 miles roundtrip, elevation gain of 2700'.
Stunningly beautiful, and as you note, a much less arduous hike than Half Dome. Still a lot of work, though. Well worth it.
As it happens, I just put in today for the Half Dome cables lottery. Every day the lottery closes at 1 pm PDT for passes two days later. The lottery costs $4.50 (win or lose), and if you win, an additional $8 is billed to your card. Looks like the odds are between 10-50%, weekends being tougher to get. Lottery results emailed in the wee hours the morning before permit day.
The Half Dome hike is a full day, strenuous undertaking. You don't have to be in great physical shape, but I wouldn't recommend it to those who are physically unfit.