Dumb, dumb thing to do.

After climbing up to 8,842 ft., one tends to do the dumbest things sometimes. Would I do it all over again? Without a doubt.

Did I leave the stove on?

I was doing quite alot of constructive thinking out here. Revelations, really, to be exact. Did I leave the stove on at home? How do I get back down now? What was my second grade school teacher's first name? Why did I forget to bring my chair? Would I have made a good lawyer if I had studied in college like my mom had told me? What is Dianetics about anyways? Is Tom Cruise its leader? Does he make a shit-load of money from it?

We summitted! (8.2 miles travelled)

Needless to say, the bird's eye views were simply spectacular... "Dum-da-da-dumm, Go Fozzie, go Fozzie, go Fozzie, go, go, go Fozzie!... guitar please..."

At the Cables (8.0 miles travelled)

We asked a fellow hiker to take this photo of us. He had come all the way from Japan to do Half Dome.




The cable climb is 70 to 75 degrees steep. It requires mostly hand grip and upper body strength to pull your body weight up.

Zooom IN to see the actual cables.

The Steep Switchbacks (7.8 miles travelled)

This is where your balls are sized. You'd be surprised how many people of all ages and fitness levels decide to abort the climb here. There's ALOT of loose gravel on these rocks. I personally despise the switchbacks more than the cables. If you're scared of heights, this is the place you'll confirm it. Hiking shoes with good traction are highly recommended. There was a strong-built man that turned back half way up the switchbacks. He was wearing Sketchers sneakers.

Two Parts to Half Dome (7.4 miles travelled)

At this point, there are two difficult parts to get to the top of Half Dome. The first part are the very steep switchbacks. The second, the cables. We rested a few minutes before embarking on this. It gave us time to assess the magnitude of what we were about to do, and to hope that the other person would say, "let's turn back." No one did. Damn human ego -- why do we have it?

There it is! (7.0 miles travelled)

The first real view of the rock we're going to climb. We didn't know whether to be happy or to cry. A little bit of both would be an accurate description. Onward.

Half Dome 2.0 (6.2 miles travelled)

This is where you start feeling the leg muscles begin to faintly burn. To make things worse, the terrain begins to get a bit more difficult, and the heat begins to hit you. The closer you get, the harder it gets physically and mentally. (don't let that smile fool you.)

Entering Bambi's Land (5.7 miles travelled)

Here we are in Bambi's land. This beautiful doe took us by surprise. For a minute, we thought it was a plastic Christmas decoration in the bushes because it didn't move for a long while. We were only about 10 feet away from her, and we were happy we didn't scare it away.

Water! Agua!! 水!!! (4.6 miles travelled)

This stream is the last filterable water source before we take the Half Dome Trail. So it's time to refill our empty liter bottles. About 4.5 liters of water are required per person for this hike. The sparkling water here actually tastes like it has half a squeeze of fresh pine nuts. This has made me feel like I am one-with-the-universe again. It's 10:05 AM and we're on track.

Mist Trail and JMT Intersection (3.7 miles travelled)

There is a little toilet at this point where the Mist Trail and the John Muir Trail intersect. It was time to piss for everyone. According to the sign here, we still have 4.5 miles to Half Dome.

Behind our shoulders (3.0 miles travelled)

At this point, the top of Nevada Falls is just to our right (not shown in photo). It's 8:45 AM and we've gained some good altitude by now.

Vernal Falls (1.0 miles travelled)

We had decided before the trip to take the Mist Trail going up and the JMT (John Muir Trail) coming down. From these stairs, we have about 0.5 miles to the top of the falls.

Half Asleep for Half Dome (0.0 miles travelled)

We woke up with our cell phone "alarm clock" at 5:30 AM. Our breakfast consisted of instant oatmeal and instant coffee. After checking this and packing that, somehow, we didn't leave camp until 6:55 AM. We decided to walk to the Happy Isles trailhead instead of using the Free Hybrid Bus System (it doesn't start to operate until 7:00'ish). It was 1/2 mile to the trailhead. We each downed half a liter of Gatorade before reaching the trailhead (important to get early hydration).

This photo marks the beginning of our Half Dome climb.

Calculations:
- Upper Pines Camp to Half Dome: 17 miles round-trip
- Half Dome Summit: 8,842 ft
- Total elevation gain: 4,796 ft (in one day)
- Cable climb: 900 ft (yyyikes!)