Yosemite

Half Dome

Yosemite National Park in northern California is truly a place to behold.  With giant granite cliffs thousands of feet high, huge waterfalls (3 of the 10 highest in the world) and hiking trails that take you up, up and away, Yosemite has earned its place as one of the premier National Parks in North America.  For the real adventure traveler without technical climbing interest, the most challenging – and rewarding – hike in the park (and one of the most beautiful in the world) is to the top of Half Dome, the monolith that has no parallel anywhere else on the planet.  From the valley trailhead it is 8.2 miles and 4800 feet up to the top. Starting from the parking area, the roundtrip excursion is an 18 mile, 10-12 hour hike.  Quite a “walk in the park”!  But the distance and altitude gain do not begin to tell the story of the beauty and challenge of this hike.  I have made this hike five times and on each occasion my primary feeling at the end of the day was one of gratitude for the opportunity to be involved with this spectacular part of nature.  (Secondary feelings included fatigue, triumph and the strong need for a hot tub and a beer.)

There are five distinct parts of the climb to the top:  1) from the trailhead to the top of 317 foot Vernal Falls (1.3 miles, straight up some 600+ “steps” after a long, slow vertical incline), 2) from Vernal to the top of 594 foot Nevada Falls (2.1 miles, up a series of switchbacks), 3) a gradual rise through a flat area and then up through a forest (3.1 miles, to a fork in the trail), 4) “The Hump”, not very far but a very tough climb with some steps carved into the mountainside and some scramble over granite (“only” 3/4 mile, but seemingly straight up), and, last but not least, 5) “The Cables” (see the two pictures on the next page), the last 600 ft to the top of the world at a 45 to 60 degree angle.  Stage six, if you can call it that, is the 8.2 mile return, down 4,800 feet to the trailhead and from there back to your car.

Starting early on this monster hike is a must.  Actually, many people “cheat” by camping ¾ of the way up and making the last climb to the summit on a good night’s sleep.  But camping sites are limited and the “real” way to do the hike is to get on the trail by 5:00 am, (in the dark by flashlight in the spring and fall) and to the top by 10 or 11 am.  This allows reasonable time to pace yourself, enjoy the tremendous views from the summit, and still get back for Happy Hour at the world famous and historic Ahwahnee Hotel (and believe me, it is really happy hour when you complete this hike.)  There are several good reasons to start very early on this trip:  1) to take advantage of the cool morning temperatures and dark/shade before sunrise, 2) to avoid “traffic” on the trail as this is a very popular hike and 3) most importantly, to be able to encourage people who are still going up when you are coming down – being able to say, “Good morning!  How’s it going?!  Beautiful Day!!” when people still on the upward journey are struggling.  The people who thought they got an early start at 7:30 am are incredulous when they meet you on the trail and you say, “Beautiful view from the top; you’ve only got about another two hours to go!”  Encouragement (not gloating) is a must on this trip, but you are only in position to give it if you start the hike with flashlights in the pre-dawn morning.  The Half Dome hike is a very real hiking challenge in a truly spectacular location. The hiking aficionado may well want to consider having this hike on his or her important outdoor “To Do” list.