We started out a bit late, around 7:15, drove to the Trailhead to park, downed a bottle of Starbucks each and hit the paved trail where we encountered a strange man in a button-down who seemed a bit bewildered when we asked for directions to the Half-Dome path...
We managed to find our way thanks to Mr. B's directions (and Adam's ability to recall them from memory). Half Dome...Ready? Go.
Preparing for the journey:
We headed up to Vernal Falls and then on to Nevada Falls, trading the backpack and stopping for Trail mix and Jolly Ranchers along the way.
The first falls were so intense that it seemed like a rainstorm! The stairs killed me but I was so excited about the climb!
Falls...
At the top.
Wet.
Keep. going. up.
After we passed the falls, the trail headed into the woods where we ran into an older couple that was also headed to Half Dome. Just before that, we realized what scavengers the animals in the parks have come to be when a squirrel and a bluebird eyed us like buzzards as soon as Adam dropped some mix. Then we were entertained as tehy fought one another for some nuts that Keith tossed to them.
Me: "Jolly Rancher down!"
Keith: "...awwww...and I was really excited about that one!"
We got electrolytes by adding powerade to our water (which we killed entirely too much of on our trip up).
Adam looks like a dwarf amongst these trees.
One of many rest stops.
Tree-hugger.
Yup...
Who gets a phonecall at the top of a mountain?? This guy...
After about 8.2 miles, or slightly less, we reached the steep stairs which led to the thinking rock.....a name that we fondly gave to a boulder that we sat upon, ate lunch, , and used to ponder the chances of an untimely death should we choose to climb Half-Dome without the poles and planks which ease the climb...and were in the process of being placed for this summer.
The views were incredible.
It was warm once we left the shade of the trees
and as you can tell, we were ready for a rest.
and rest we did...waiting for the final, short, steep leg of our climb to be prepared for us.
We watched as one of the more experienced climbers...it took him 17 minutes. On Keith and Adam's super-lack of sleep, we decided it would be a terrible idea, not to mention my lack of upper body strength. Oh, and falling off a mountain wasn't so high on any of our lists.
This was the dude that braved the danger and climbed without the planks...mad props.
The "Thinking Rock..." it just kept gathering more members.
Half-Dome...the giant. Those dots? Those are people...
When the team finally got everything in place, our thinking rock group dispersed, including the older couple, a guy on a business trip break (who would eventually drop his camera and break the lens), and a guy from Kenya with his girlfriend. I was the 1st girl in line...to go with the whole setup. The wait was about 2 hours in the sun. We really enjoyed the hiker lifestyle and how friendly and willing to talk people are. It's really neat to laugh with complete strangers.
Once on the rock facade, I got on a roll using my arms and shoulders and remembering repelling techniques from the Niagara Climbing Center which reminded me to sit back and give my feet a good surface area and my legs most of my weight. It took the boys a bit longer, but they are taller, and Keith had the pack...and perhaps a fear of heights? The guy in line behind me helped out by testing the one-cord vs. 2-cord method and shared it was easier to go on one side hand over hand.
We finally made it to the top (mind you, it was only a 5-10 minute climb in reality)...after hours of stairs and trails and waiting. Parts of the Dome were snow-covered, even in the beating sun. We made a new friend...a marmot...which we lovingly called "Dinner" and promptly left when Adam found him a bit too overwhelmingly curious!
Keith almost watched the kid from behind me plummet to his death but he caught himself on a stable rock at the edge.
Adam and I went to the edge (as shown) and sat at a rock there. The views were awesome. We could see waterfalls crashing down mountains on multiple sides, and the valleys stretched out below. It made the world feel really huge, and us, in comparison, so tiny.
All of the "thinkers" made it to the top...even the old couple. They even offered to let us stay with them at their camp site if we had decided to stay tonight.
Finally, we decided to head down. I toko the pack. The boys were being protective, I was being stubborn and adventurous.
The pictures can't describe the height, or the angle of this thing at all...ahh.
Once we got to the trail, our knees started to hurt. I let the boys finish the water, thinking that there was a fountain at the mid-way bathrooms. I was wrong.
When we got to the lack of drinking fountains, I went into "zombie-mode." I essentially hadn't had water in 4 hours and my brain was fried. I traipsed downward, alone for most of the walk from what I remember, along John Muir path. I must give Adam kudos, though, for realizing that we took a wrong turn and ended up on the path that went another 20 km in the wrong direction.
We finally got close to the bottom. I got water but was still out of it. Keith finally recognized and had to yell at me to get me to snap out of it enough to eat some sugar and get myself going again. Still wasn't quite all there. I feel dumb, now, but I didn't even know something was happening until afterwards, so I guess there isn't much to feel that way for except maybe I should have realized before the water issue that I needed to eat something at least.
Well, we got back to the car...16.4 miles or so after we left. Met a guy fromt eh Catskills who was practicing for a climb at Mt. McKinley this summer...very cool. Hopped in the car and headed to an open field so we could get some shots of Half Dome from below...we were up THERE.
Keith drove us out of Yosemite and we stopped in a small town for dinner where nearly all fo the restaurants were closed at 9, or 10, or whatever time that was... Luckily, we made it within seconds of one closing and the manager let us in. A while after dinner I took over driving all the way to Keith's house in San Jose where I promptly greeted the Buckleys before hitting the shower and now I'm ready to pass out. I feel good.
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