Half Dome

lol my legs killed and I was tired but as soon as I got high enough to feel the sprinkles of the waterfall on my face…It was so worth it. It was GORGEOUS and so worth the pain!

A sign about half wayup in the Merced River reads: “If you fall, you will die.” Epic!

I cried with wonder. One of those places that confirm that god is not only compassionate but an amazing artist!

last year june 4th me and a few friends hicked up halp dome 18 mile round trip 4000 ft evelavation change we did it in one day . i loved it, i hated it .it was the hardest thing i have ever done but the most amazing at the same time i would say do it. were going back again this year but in 3 days not one….lol

I ran up from the valley floor one morning, climbed the stair thingy peaked out and jammed back down to the bottom. I started at midnight and after spending some good time at the top came back to the car in early afternoon. Yosemite is a trying place, big hikes, big walls and big challenges. A surprisingly large number of people go to the top of Half Dome.

Awhile back I climbed the Nose and wanted to climb Half Dome as a training climb but couldn’t find anyone to do it with; so i ended up soloing the Leaning Tower instead. It’s great to be on top of Half Dome when climbers top out and Yosemite never disappoints.

We just did the hike to the top of Half Dome. We hiked up and camped in Little Yosemite Valley (LYV) for 2 nights as part of the hike. Camping in LYV offers several advantages over doing the entire hike from Yosemite Valley in one day. First in breaks the hike up into to tough but very manageable hikes. Second, camping in LYV puts you halfway there and allows you to beat the crowds on the day of your climb to the top. This is a big deal because climbing the cables is already scary and tough but gets even more so if you are stuck behind some slow or panicked people. We were on the trail by 6:30 and were at the top by 9 AM. There were only 3 people on the cables when we were climbing. On the way down, we had big smiles on our faces as we passed dozens of people who looked tired and intimidated by what they still had before them. We were back in camp by 2 and could see about 50 people up on the cables! The day before some guy passed out on the Cables and caused a massive delay for a bunch of people. Camping in LYV takes a bit more planning. The campground and trail are the most popular backcountry destinations in Yosemite. But its a beautiful hike and once you’re up there, you’ll be relaxed, able to enjoy the scenery or a dip in the beautiful Merced River. Its a much better schedule than the majority of people trying to do a very tough 17 mile round trip in 1 day.

But to look up at it — my young self I’m sure even more overawed than most adults by its looming beauty — is to marvel. I think I heard the story of the ‘face’ in the dome many times that weekend; certainly it’s remained with me as I think back on it. I can’t wait to have pictures of my own of the dome, once again.

Nothing like a 7 mile hike to motivate oneself to climb the steep rock holding on to nothing but cables. Probably wouldn’t have made it any other way, but after hiking all day, there was no WAY I wasn’t going to make it up to the top.

This hike is a must for any person who can do it, don’t debate over it, just go!! I’ve made the trek up Half Dome three times, each being just as amazing, if not more, than the last. It is a long and physically demanding hike, but well worth the effort. The view you get can only be fully appreciated by the feeling of accomplishment once you are at the top, not just a postcard. IT IS A MUST DO!!

To hike Half Dome is a major accomplishment for me. I’ve never done something so physically demanding before, and I probably won’t again for a while.

I woke up at 5am to leave with my group so that we could set out at 7am. I kept up with the front of the line for a while, but I was out of shape then (and I’m even worse now), so after about one or two miles I fell to a slower pace with a group of 5 or 6 of the 40 people I was at Yosemite with.

We had an interesting time talking and hiking and taking pictures and taking our time getting up the mountain. With about 2.5 miles left to go, most of them decided they probably wouldn’t make it to the Dome in time (it was probably about noon or so at that time, and it looked like thunderstorms were brewing) and decided to turn back. After everything I’d seen and how far I’d gone, I couldn’t imagine turning back, and so I pushed on.

The cable climb was one of the more frightening parts of the hike, but I figured since the hundred or so other people there could do it (no, no joke — that’s a low estimate, too), so could I. I was so, so grateful that I’d finished. The view from the top is absolutely breathtaking, as cliche as that sounds. I almost decided to stand on one of the higher rocks up there and scream just from the joy of having done it.

The walk back was no picnic, but it was also immensely fun. I took an alternate route back down and went past the falls, and I felt like my heart would explode from the joy of such natural beauty everywhere I turned (of course, at that time I was also severely sunburnt (I ended up with a series of blisters on my shoulders), extremely tired, thirsty and beginning to develop nasty blisters on the soles of my feet).

I don’t think I’ll ever forget that trip. I am so, so glad that I went, and I hope I can go again when I’m in better shape to better enjoy what I saw.