Yes, Half-Dome done me in. You would figure that one who has been to the top of Mt. Whitney five times would consider hiking Half-Dome a "walk in the park." Over the last two years, I have heard people planning on hiking the Dome. I say, "If you can hike up Whitney, then Half-Dome shouldn't be a problem." I got a real dose of reality today. It is not that easy.
This was my first visit to Yosemite National Park in over 30 years. Pam and I left for Yosemite National Park at around 4:30 a.m. just outside of Coarsegold, CA.
6:30 am: We start the hike. We planned on a 5:30 a.m. start but due to my poor planning because I did not think it would take that long to get to the trailhead. I was wrong. Then again, there are people on the road who do not know what the turnouts are for to let other drivers by. We followed at least 3 slower vehicles that finally decided to pull over. We park the car at Happy Isles parking lot and head off into the wilderness. Instead of taking a left, we took a right and went to the end of the Happy Isles area. Oops. We double back and get on the "right" side of the Merced River which is the Mist Trail.
7:18 am: We reach Vernal Falls Bridge before making our way up to Vernal Falls. There is a water fountain here as well as restroom facilities. This is where the High Sierra Loop Trail begins. Pam and I are excited to be hiking this trail.
7:30 am: I help Pam slip into a shell to shield her from the mist of Vernal Falls and I decided not to don mine. Although a bit chilly at this time, I got a good soaking from the mist, but it sure felt good. The trail is steep with at least a thousand steps in between. There is a section along the trail that is limited to one-way traffic.7:45 am: Finish the "rock climb" going up past Vernal Falls. The trekking poles provided extra pushing power up the stone stairway.
8:31 am: We reach Nevada Falls.
8:54 am: Half-Dome/Merced Lake junction.
9:40 am: Pam and I noticed a four hikers up ahead of us taking a picture of something off trail. When we reached the party they pointed out that there was what appeared was a western diamondback rattlesnake under a dead branch. This was my first encounter with a rattlesnake at 7,000 feet in elevation. From this point on every step up or step down over anything got a quick scan.
9:50 am: I believe this sign is misleading. It was a very long 2 miles considering the "99 Steps" required just to get to the cables. The risers high and the tread narrow and precipitous. At the Steps, I had to stop and rest every tenth step. Very demanding especially since we had been ascending steadily since the sign.
11:30 am: This is how it looked when we got to the cables. Where did all these hikers come from? On our way up, we encountered few hikers. We passed a few and a few passed us. I kept thinking to myself that this should be a great day to make it to the top. Such was not the case. As Pam and I prepared for our ascent, something was cascading down the granite slope. At first I thought it was a rock and yelled, "ROCK!" As the object got closer it was someone's cellphone walkie-talkie. Well, it is now part of Yosemite Valley.
12:00 pm: I decided to turn around. At the rate we were going up the cables, we would get to the summit around the cutoff time leaving no time to take it all in. As I paused on the granite, my calves would become fatigued. Pam and I would rest on the 2x4s at each stanchion as we patiently waited our turn to make it up. All the hikers worked in unison. As one pair move up, the other pair moved as well. A couple of hikers who aborted their summit attempt came down on the left side. On my way down, I slipped. Luckily I held on to the cables preventing me from slipping any further on the slick granite. A fellow hiker grabbed me by my pack as well. I have a nice bruise on the inside of my right arm but nothing else.
3:00 pm: Mules and horses on the John Muir Trail. Some hikers were a bit impatient. Some hikers tried to slide by the mules. Luckily none of them were spooked causing harm to hiker, rider and mule. One woman was told to stay away at least 15 feet from the last horse but she kept getting too close. I shouted at her to keep back. The cowpokes were courteous to stop the train at one of the switchbacks to allow us to pass by without further incident.
4:30 pm: We reach the car. Before we finished, we stopped by the bridge to freshen up and to replenish our water. I used my SteriPen for the very first time. I guess I will find out in a couple of weeks how well that ultraviolet system works. Tired, weary and dirty, we had fun. The parking lot was crammed full of cars. I had to maneuver ever so carefully to get out. I wished getting out of the park was easier than getting out of the parking lot. It was bumper-to-bumper traffic in the valley. You would swear it was rush hour on Interstate 5.
Half-Dome from the back side on the left as we made our way back down on the John Muir Trail.
Nevada Falls with Little Yosemite Valley in the background as seen from the John Muir Trail.
We had fun.Pack: Osprey Stratos 40
Lessons learned:
1. Never go to Yosemite during a long holiday weekend. Too many cars, too many people. It is best to go during the week.
2. Took 100 oz. of water each and that lasted us until a mile at the end of the hike. It may be best to refill, but not top off due to weight at the spring.
3. Go light, go light, go light. Next time I will pack my CamelBak HAWG for that final push to the summit to save on weight.
4. Rock shoes? That is a possiblity since they provided excellent traction on rock surfaces. Some further research will be done on this.
5. Climbing harness? I did bring one. Maybe next time.
6. Bonk avoidance. I need to eat more energy food. The peanut M&Ms provided good nourishment, but I need to add more trail mix to the fray to get more bang for the buck.
