Hiking Half Dome

Hello there! Today's post is not stamping related, so feel free to scroll on by if you are not interested in some personal pics. I'll be back first thing Monday morning with a card tutorial. For those of you sticking around, I thought I would share some photos from our hike and explain why I went missing last week. Remember when I hiked Half Dome in Yosemite National Park last year and failed to go the last 400 feet because of my fear of heights? Well, on Monday we went back so I could try it again. We had a bunch of family there, along with our daughter and good friends, Tim and Sue, although not everyone did the big hike.

In the photo above (taken from across the valley) you can see Half Dome peeking up in the center. Down in the lower right corner is Vernal Falls (you can click on the photo to see it better). We started down there below Vernal and headed up the side of it, then over to the right center you can see Nevada Falls where we also went up. We then passed behind that lower peak on the right and through the valley to approach Half Dome from behind.

We started out in the dark at 5:15am. By the time we reached the bottom of Vernal Falls it was light enough to snap this photo. (my husband, Mike took most of these photos).

Starting up the granite steps of Vernal Falls. Some of these steps are as high as my knees, so I'm glad I have my hiking poles.

Finally, we are near the top of Vernal Falls and the route gets a bit easier for a while. 

Then more granite steps as we climb the side of Nevada Falls.

The view of the falls was gorgeous as we began our climb.

As we passed Nevada Falls, we entered Little Yosemite Valley, the only easy section of the hike, and started glimpsing the top of Half Dome. Still a long way to go.

As we hiked up, out of Little Yosemite Valley, the vistas began to open up and the view was spectacular.

As we began the climb up Sub Dome, we got our first good view of the cable ascent on Half Dome. It was steeper than I remembered. 

The granite steps of Sub Dome were steeper then I remembered, too!

Eventually, the steps ran out and we had to scramble our way across the granite.

Then we reached the saddle area between Sub Dome and Half Dome. Here we took a short break to drink some water and leave our backpacks and poles behind. Mike's cousin had borrowed some safety harnesses for us, so several of us got those all strapped on. I was the only one that actually clipped in during the climb. The others were brave enough to make the climb without clipping in, but my fear of heights was kicking in big time by now.

And up we go. This was near the bottom still before it got really steep. It was very slow going up the cables because there was a big group coming down and a few of the ladies in that group were struggling, to keep their feet from slipping, and panicking. There were some guys with them that were going up and down and leading them along. It was so scary on those cables and having to wait for long periods without moving, while you see someone almost fall, takes the terror level up a notch or two.

Eventually, we made it to the top and it was worth it. It seemed like the view went on forever.

I went over to the place we thought was called the Diving Board, but it turns out it is actually called The Visor. Apparently The Diving Board is some place partway down and only accessible to rock climbers. This is a section of rock that juts out over the side of Half Dome.  I was trying for a jaunty, confident pose, but you'll notice I didn't get too close to the edge.

There are these cairns all over the place on top. It was crazy how big the top is up there. There was a lot to explore.

Everyone is so kind and takes turns taking group photos for one another. Here is our whole group, Tim on the left, next Mike's cousins Lisa and Kim, then Mike and I and another cousin, Jeff, on the right. Lisa and Kim had done the hike before, but it was the first time for Tim and Jeff. I was so happy we all made it to the top.

Another of Mike's photos. There are several rodents that seem to live on top of Half Dome. This fat little marmot was kind enough to pose for the cameral. I think he needs a caption. The first thing I thought of was, "I'm sexy and I know it." Any ideas? 

In addition to marmots, there were chipmunks and some kind of squirrel called a chicory or something like that. They were all quite aggressive in trying to steal food. One even chewed into Jeff's pack that we left sitting below. 

Time to head back down. I went down backwards, so I would be facing the rock rather than looking out. It went a lot faster going down than up, although it was a little scarier. Going down Sub Dome was pretty scary, too. 

We stopped for a rest back at Little Yosemite Valley and the guys in our group saw this bear munching on a pine cone in the river. The girls were a little further downstream, so we missed it, but we all got to see a bear on our drive back to the condo.

When we got back to Nevada Falls, we took a more gentle, but longer route down, on the John Muir Trail. Mike took this photo looking back. There are Nevada Falls on the right. The peak in the foreground is the one we hiked around and Half Dome is the distant one on the left.

Then next day we did some sightseeing. This was near Granite Peak, with Half Dome in the distance.

A few trail facts… The round trip from from the trail head was around 17 miles, but from our car was 19 miles. The elevation gain was 4800 feet and the cummulative elevation gain was over 5200 feet. There were over 300 granite steps. From start to finish we took nearly 13 hours.

Thanks for letting me share. I'll be back tomorrow with a card. I hope you are enjoying your weekend!