Half Dome from early Fall 2016
Anyone who has been to Yosemite National Park knows how hard it can be to find a camping spot in the summer time. If you haven't made a reservation months in advance you are pretty much out of luck, especially on the weekends. There are some first-come-first-serve campgrounds where it's possible to score a spot if you're there early, but don't count on it.
What I like to do on last minute trips to Yosemite is take advantage of dispersed camping off of Highway 120 right before the western entrance to the park. There are numerous fire roads splitting off from 120. Drive a mile or so down one of these roads (hopefully with four wheel drive) and take your pick of locations. Usually you'll find plenty of solitude out there. On this trip we met a group of nomads from Australia, Germany and the UK who met in LA, bought a van and are now traveling the USA. We shared some stories around a fire and before we knew it it was almost one in the morning!
Our day started before the sun even came up. Because we didn't camp in the valley the night before we still had about an hour drive to get to the trailhead. We hit the trail by 6:30 AM. It was looking to be a hot day and we wanted to make it to the summit by midday at the latest.
The views seem to get better after every turn.
The hike up is a worthy one even without Half Dome as the goal. We were lucky enough to be there on a beautiful June day. The snowpack was still melting and the rivers were flowing heavily. There is a nice mixture of terrain. It starts as a paved trail leading out of the valley from Happy Isles Trailhead. Then there is a combination of rock, dirt, sand and a few sections of man made steps. Nothing too strenuous but come prepared for 10-12 hours of continuous hiking.
This is the point in the story where things get interesting. The National Park Service website says "Since 1919, relatively few people have fallen and died on the cables." Nice. I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into until we got there. It was steep, flat rock falling off for thousands of feet on each side. The cables certainly help, but you aren't strapped in. Slip off the side and there isn't much to stop you or grab hold of. But we made it!
Half Dome cables. This shot doesn't really do justice to the experience. It's steeper than it looks!
As we were making our way up the cables Alex Honnold was making his historic free climb of El Capitan. There were a few moments on the cables where doubt crossed my mind. The human body isn't supposed to be up that high! But I had these cables to grab on to. I would be okay. Meanwhile, Alex was hanging off the side of El Capitan thousands of feet up in the air by himself with no ropes or supports of any kind. I can't even imagine the focus and control required to achieve such a feat. Hats off to you Alex Honnold! You're a legend!
We hit the top right at midday like we wanted to. We spent about an hour up there. Despite being almost 90°F (~30°C) in the valley there was still quite a bit of snow at the top.
My friend Tien celebrating the climb with a unique view of Yosemite Valley
The only (safe) way down is back down the cables. After conquering those for the second time we were on our way.
On the way down we took a trail called the Mist Trail (I wouldn't recommend this route going up unless it's a really hot day!). We quickly learned why the trail got it's name. Each of us got soaked to the core.
The variety of environments on this hike is incredible!
After 12 hours of hiking and getting soaked we were all ready to collapse. But now at least every time we look at a Mac desktop wallpaper we can say to ourselves 'I've been there!' with a sense of accomplishment.
Half Dome Village (formerly Curry Village) is a great spot to unwind and refuel after a long day of climbing in the mountains. There is a pretty decent pizza shop that is always crowded. We were all pretty beat after a long day and pizza and beer definitely hit the spot!
Thanks for joining me on this journey! I hope that I've inspired at least one of you to go out and try it yourself. Just be aware of the permit process and bring plenty of food and water. I had 2.5L with me and I probably should have had another liter or a water filter.
Happy Hiking!
