Our Hike up Half Dome - Yosemite National Park

Crystal and I were planning to hike Mt. Whitney this past weekend with a couple friends. We got permits from park services, got some new gear, and trained hard. It's the highest peak in the 48 states and the summit sits at 14,400 ft, hike-able via an 11 mile trail. However as the weekend approached, the snow still hadn't melted from the trail, and the last, steepest portion of the trail was closed. This would force us to climb the "chute" to the top, which would require crampons, ice picks, and helmets. Gear and skill sets we just don't have (yet). So last minute we changed our destination, and planned a trip to Yosemite to climb Half Dome instead.

Half Dome is a famous peak in the Western states which sits at about 8,500 ft. It's an 8.5 mile hike from Yosemite Valley, and is a total elevation gain of about 4,700 ft.

It was intense.

Tim, Eric, Crystal and I camped Saturday night just outside of Yosemite National Park in Stanislaus National Forest. We packed up our campsite at 4:30 AM and drove into Yosemite to the trail head. We started off on the trail at 6:00 AM to get an early start because the hike is expected to last 10 - 12 hours. Not to mention there are fewer people in the park so early, and the weather was only going to get hotter.

Here's a picture of us just as we started out along the trail.

Most of the valley was still in shadows because the sun wasn't high enough in the sky to peek over the mountains that seem to explode out of the valley floor. Notice the waterfall cutting through the rocks back in the distance.

The snow pack in the Sierra Nevadas are at the highest levels in many, many years. This lends towards amazing swollen rivers and waterfalls throughout the park. Here's a picture of Crystal at the first water crossing on the trail. In the back where the water cuts through the forest you can see the edge of a waterfall.

Here's the whole group a little further along the trail. Half Dome is the peak in the background that is washed out in the photo. Again, we were taking pictures in the shaded areas, where the peaks of the mountains were out in the morning sun.

Crystal and me with Half Dome in the background.

Nevada Falls is in the background of this photo. Our trail would take us along the edge of this ravine and ultimately along the top edge of Nevada Falls.  

This photo is taken at the top of the falls. You can see how the water level is even beyond the viewing area on the left. The river was extremely swollen (and LOUD!). If the camera swung around to the left, you'd see the top of the falls as it drops in to Yosemite Valley...

... and that's where this picture was taken. There's a footbridge across the top of Nevada Falls to get hikers across the river safely.

I was really amazed at the lack of safety measures around the park in general. I can't believe people are able to stand right on the edge of the falls, without railings, supervision, or warning signs posted everywhere. I like the feeling of freedom out in the wilderness and I think that's what the park services try to foster.

But, of course, there's a few jokers in every crowd that can make things dangerous! 

Nevada Falls roughly marks the halfway point to the peak. The second half of our ascent started off nicely with a deer walking the path ahead of us. Unfortunately, a lot of the animals (especially the birds and squirrels) in this area of Yosemite are accustomed to humans (and their food).

Here's a few pics as we get very close to the last, and hardest, part of the ascent. You can see that the view is getting a little more impressive as we climb in altitude.

The final section of the hike to the top is a STEEP rock section. From the earlier photos, you can see that Half Dome is exposed rock. To hike this last portion, the trail makes many switchbacks and climbs at a very steep angle. At this point, you've hiked roughly 8 miles up, and very exhausted. This is the "eat your heart out" part of the hike... Here's Tim working his way upward.

Eric and Crystal as we climbed the last part to "Sub Dome". Sub Dome is a little part of Half Dome, just below the summit (see drawing below).

Crystal, Eric and me on our way up to Sub Dome. Many stops for rest were essential in this area. Our legs were shaking, our lungs were burning, and our hearts were racing! 

Here's a Post It note diagram of the summit of Half Dome. We are currently on the left side of the diagram, just below Sub Dome.

Here's a picture of us on Sub Dome, with the summit of Half Dome in the background. Notice the little ant looking things climbing the final portion? Those are people using the cables to climb the final portion to the summit.

Cables (literally 1" thick steel, wound cables) are setup along the final ascent to the summit. It would be impossible to hike the final portion without them. During peak season, park rangers set the cables up on 2x4s to help hikers get to the top. Once the cables are officially installed, you need a permit to go up. This is simply to restrict the number of people because it can get too crowded, causing unsafe conditions. Because we were there the week before the cables were officially installed for the season, we didn't need a permit, but all we had to work with were the cables laying on the rock face. Some people were still attempting the cables, picking them up by hand (there's a small pile of gloves at the bottom to protect your hands and provide additional grip as you go up).  As I mentioned before, we were so tired at this point (getting to Sub Dome) that we weren't sure we could safely make it up the cables without them being fully installed. So we rested for about 20 mins and watched people attempt the final ascent. Out of about 10 people, we watched maybe 3 make it to the top in less than 15 mins, 3 go halfway and turn around, and 4 take their time and get partially up. At that point, we started to feel the sun on our skin and knew that either we get going up the cables, or get down to the treeline to get some shade (below Sub Dome). We decided we had come so far, and rested long enough, that we should try the cables. The group agreed that if we felt unsafe, there's no problem turning around. So off we went - crossed the saddle, picked out gloves, and started the ascent...

Here are some pics from the climb up the cables. I gotta give credit to Crystal for managing the camera during the climb...

Every so often we were able to stop for a breather and let our muscles cool a bit on a crack or rock ledge. This was one such occasion.

Finally, seven and a half hours after we started - the view from the summit!

I have to be honest, my eyes welled up with tears when I got to the top. I can't fully explain why; something about the relief of finally making it to the top, coupled with the majestic views of God's creation, and the clean, crisp air - it was almost a religious experience (I even took the time to pray).

The view South...

... and East (that's Eric)...

Notice the rivers and waterfalls.

... North (and C)...

... and West (Eric looking towards Yosemite Valley where we started our hike).

Notice the layer of snow still on top of Half Dome. The summit is so big you could practically play a game of football up there (of course, it's not recommended in case someone gets pushed out-of-bounds).

The four of us on the summit with Yosemite Valley in the background.

An attempt at a panoramic shot. West to East.

And as all things in life, what goes up, must come down. (and this time I had the camera...). The guys on the right are coming up. They started the upward climb 10 mins before us with a harness and friction holds. I think their use of equipment was slowing them down and probably didn't make them much safer, as they had to continuously hook and unhook their harnesses from one cable to the next. We made it up and down before they even got up.

You can see little tiny people on Sub Dome near the little snow patch. That's where the first picture with the cables in the background was taken from.

We made it back safely to the bottom of the cables and a fellow hiker took this picture for us in the saddle.  You're looking at four very fulfilled humans.

Us.

We ran into a group of about 10 twenty-something hikers when we got back down to Sub Dome. They had watched us climb up and descend back down the cables. They were contemplating the climb like we had done. Our advice to them: do it! It was easier than it seemed from the bottom looking up, and completely worth it!

This is the extent of the warning signs on and around Half Dome.

We descended Sub Dome and got back into the forest. This is where we sat and ate lunch and took a few more photos from high up on the mountain.

Here's Tim with Half Dome in the background. It took us about an hour and a half to get from here to the summit, and about 20 mins to get from the summit back to here.

Fast forward.... Back down at Nevada Falls in the daylight. Half Dome is the mountain on the left with just a little portion of Sub Dome visible.

Crystal and Me from near Nevada Falls. At this point it was late afternoon and there were SOOOO many people on the trail. We were really booking it back into the Valley, going down is much faster than going up (but not necessarily easier - in fact, it was painful) and everyone else around us was like meandering around. It was a strange experience. Here we were, intense hiking for like 9 hours at this point, and getting back into civilization where people are running around with their kids, yelling, laughing, playing... It's not to say we weren't enjoying ourselves, but at this point we were like, "GET US OFF THIS MOUNTAIN!"

Notice the water that fell on us from up above, which is why the trail is named "Misty Trail".

This is the final picture we took, before putting our heads down and really nailing out the last mile and a half.

We made it back into the Valley 10 hours after we left. Our feet, ankles, calves, knees, thighs, and hips were all beat. It felt amazing.

This was (by far) the most incredible, strenuous hike we've ever done. I was so proud of the group, of Crystal (who actually hadn't slept well, or at all, the night before the hike), and of myself. This isn't a hike you can do in one day without proper preparation. But if hiking is something you like to do, get in shape and do Half Dome. You won't regret it. Looking back, I can't believe that we almost didn't take on the cables. It easy enough, and the feeling of simply making it to the summit (and ultimately back down) safely on the cables is something I'll never forget. Thanks to the three amazing people I got to hike this with. We all kept each other motivated through the challenging areas, the dangerous areas, and enjoyed a magical experience together. I hope you enjoy looking through these photos one billionth as much as we enjoyed taking them.

"There is pleasure in the pathless woods; there is rapture on the lonely shore; there is society where none intrudes by the deep sea, and music in its roar. I love not man the less, but Nature more." - Lord George Byron


Oh, and one other thing that we noticed - we're only like a three hour drive from Yosemite! We had been once before, but didn't realize the potential of what was really in our "backyard". You can be sure to see more posts about our trips to Yosemite in the future....