Yosemite Valley in August (and the rest of summer) is a nightmare…overrun with tourists who seem more interested in the lunch buffet than the scenery, barely make use of the trails and either a. let their kids run wild with no regard for others or b. keep their kids on those horrid backpack leashes. And the few that actually do decide to get out of their cars and go for a hike are so ill-prepared, wearing flip-flops or hiking without water, it’s no surprise there are so many deaths in the park. The most frustrating part of it is that the majority of the people don’t seem to appreciate that they are in one of the most stunningly gorgeous valleys in the world. My first two visits to Yosemite were much different, the first during November and the second during a rainy May, before the crowds came in. I knew the crowds were crazy during the summer, but I was still in shock as I experienced it. From what I’ve heard, Yosemite is trying to come up with a park management plan that will spread out the concentration of visitors from the valley and into some of the other (equally amazing) parts of the park. Hopefully they work this out soon!
As mentioned in an earlier post, the main purpose of this visit to the park was to summit Half Dome. I’d been wanting to hike it for years, but never had the opportunity. In an effort to reduce crowds, decrease bottlenecks at the cables and improve safety all-around, the park has instituted a permit system for the hike over the past couple years. Four hundred permits are issued each day and you obtain them several months before the trip. For certain days, the permits can be gone within a minute of becoming available.
One of my dad’s closest friends lives within a couple of hours of the park and was able to meet up with us. He didn’t have a permit, but would at least be able to hike to the base with us and then hope that someone had left a spare permit with the rangers. We met up with Steve Wednesday afternoon at the base of Bridalveil Falls. Steve had been nice enough to bring three bikes and after checking into our canvas cabin (campsites are impossible to get during the summer) in Camp Curry, we went for a ride. We explored the valley and did what we could to stay away from the crowds. We had a light dinner and made it an early night…tomorrow would be a very long day!
Everything that I had read prior to the trip said you should start the hike as early in the morning as possible to beat the heat and the crowds. I think we woke up at 4:30 in the morning and were setting off by 5. We all admitted it had been a pretty restless night due to a combination of excitement and anticipation. The shuttles don’t run that early in the morning, so we had to walk an additional mile (added to the already 16 mile RT hike) just to get to the trailhead. But it was flat and probably a good warmup.
In the couple of months leading up to the hike I had been training ( as much as you can do in flat Florida) by walking on a steep incline on the treadmill and using the stepmill. My dad, on the other hand, had not. This had been a concern from the time he said he would go.
I’ll be the first to admit it, this hike is HARD! It starts out at a moderate incline for the first three-quarters of a mile. Shortly after crossing over the bridge that gives you your first view of Vernal Fall, you begin to climb what seems like a never-ending series of steps. Hewn right out of the side of the mountain, the steps are very irregular. Both the rise and the tread can very from a few inches to almost two feet. As we approached the top of the fall, the steps grew slick from the mist created by the powerful water.
Once at the top of the Vernal Fall, we got a short break from the stairs as we crossed over a smooth rock slab. The reprieve didn’t last long though…a few minutes later we were back to climbing stairs, stairs and more stairs. By the time we reached the junction of the Mist Trail and John Muir Trail, we had been climbing stairs for nearly two hours straight. We took a well-deserved break. The worst of the steps was over until we reached the base of the sub dome.
The trail leveled out for a bit when we reached Little Yosemite Valley. We filled up our water from the Merced River as it would be the last easily accessible water until we came back down. We continued up a series of steep switchbacks until we reached the point where the Half-Dome trail splits off from the John Muir Trail. At this point Steve went at his own pace and I stuck with my dad.
After another LONG 1.5 hours we finally reached the base of the sub dome. The last half mile or so we got above the tree line and had a spectacular panoramic view of the area. It was truly breathtaking. I was drained and I could tell my dad was exhausted and possibly dehydrated. To top it off, it was now almost noon and there was essentially no shade the rest of the way up. After showing our permits to the rangers stationed at the base, we sat on some rocks and tried to eat something for a little energy. Food was very unappealing but I forced a sandwich down.
The break was too short but we had to keep moving. The steps to the base of the cables were steep and irregular. It’s pretty nerve-wracking because besides being completely exhausted you feel very exposed. Some steps were covered in granite sand that made them slippery. During the ascent of the sub dome, I nervously watched my dad. He had such will power but seemed pretty weak. Finally the steps ended and we had to scale a smooth portion of the sub dome to get to the cables. At this point I got a little frustrated because the only way you know where to go is by watching the route descending hikers take. At the moment we arrived there no one was descending. I just wanted to be there and I didn’t know which way to go. Finally someone came over the top and we saw the route.
And then we were there. At the base of the cables. When they finally came into view I just stared in awe. After all of the reading I’d done, pictures I’d seen and videos I’d watched, they were so much steeper than I had imagined. It looked so daunting, but I’d come this far. I sat down and just stared at them. My dad came up, sat next to me and after a minute he spoke. He told me that he couldn’t make it. He then begged me not to do it, said that he couldn’t bear to watch me climb them. He was upset. I was upset. It was very emotional. In the end, I agreed not to go up. I knew it would pain him too much, not to mention the fact that I had a feeling I wasn’t brave enough to attempt it on my own!
We sat and contemplated for a while longer and took a few pics where we tried to look as happy as possible. As we began the descent, I went through many different emotions. I was sad. I was angry. I tried justifying that it was better safe than sorry. I told myself I would never do it again, that I had lost my chance. A few minutes later, I told myself that I would do it one day. Then I cycled through all of those feelings again. By the end of the hard, nine mile walk down I finally had accepted it. I took it for what it was and the experience my dad and I had together. As tough as it was for me, I knew it was even harder for him. The fact that he pushed himself so hard really meant a lot.
This was a challenging day. I know it’s great to be able to say you climbed Half Dome in one day, but at the same time you can barely appreciate your surroundings as you are sweating, panting, exhausted and only concentrating on getting your footing right on the next step. The views really are spectacular if you can take some time to enjoy them. One day I do plan on getting to the top of the cables and hopefully my dad will be there with me!
(And yes dad, I’ll admit now that I probably didn’t need to lug my heavy camera around for 18 miles….The little one would have done just fine.)
alison's adventures in wonderland 