Half Dome!

Finally got the chance to do Half Dome.  One of my bucket list items!!

As part of preparing for the Rim-to-Rim, I decided that it was time to do one of my bucket list hikes - Half Dome.  I mentioned this to a number of people, including Gary and Greg who are doing the Rim-to-Rim with me.  Almost everyone that I asked said they wanted to do it - including my brother and family who were planning a trip out from Utah.  Very quickly we were up to 18 people!

The first step is getting enough permits.  I asked everyone who is going, along with their non hiking spouses, to apply.  We ended up with 17 submissions (we had a few people under 18 applying, so with non hiking spouses, that got us to this number).  For more, go to the Half Dome Permits page.  Long story short, we ended up with 3 permits, just enough.  All of the submissions really paid off.

The next step was to make sure that everyone is ready.  This is a challenging hike.  It is 14-16 miles with about 5,000' of climbing. And to end it all off, you have to go up the cables to get to the top of the dome.  The group planning to go were all in pretty good shape. But most for this kind of hike.  So I shared as much information as I could on the hike, what others say about it, etc.  I think it was eye opening and really helped.

Here is the list that I shared with all of our hikers

• Water.  The recommendation is that you bring a gallon.  If you have a 3L CamelBak or similar, you should bring a bit more with you.  That's what I do.
• Electrolytes.  It is a good idea to add something to your water or include a drink with electrolytes.  I am a fan of Cytomax, but there are lots of other choices. I don't like to mix this in my CamelBak.  I instead carry a bottle or two that have it pre-mixed.
• Food.  You will need to eat.  Bring something that you have been eating on other hikes.  This is not a great time to try out something new.  I am a Cliff gel and bar fan.  I will bring some extra just in case.  I recommend eating regularly.  I like to eat every 45 minutes - 1 hour.
• Hat.  We will be on the trail for a long time, sometimes in the shade and sometimes in the sun.  Might be worth bringing a hat. I look really bad in a hat but will be wearing one - sorry.  I will put lotion on as well.
• Layers.  The temperature will vary a lot.  Best to bring layers so that you can take off or put on depending.
• Sticks.  The down is hard on the knees.  I will bring mine and will carry them on the up but use them on the down.
• Gloves.  You will need gloves for the cables. There are some at the beginning of the cables, but they are old and worn.  I recommend that you bring your own. I found a good article on gloves by a guy who has done half dome 40 times http://hikehalfdome.com/?s=Gloves. I went ahead and bought pairs for me and my kids. They are $6.12 on Amazon.
• Harnesses.  I don't think you need these, but do what makes you feel safe.  If you are thinking of bringing a harness, read the post from the same guy who wrote the one above.  Use a real mountaineering harness, a homemade system could be worse than none at all http://hikehalfdome.com/?s=Harness.

Everyone that hiked was well prepared.

We started the hike  just after 6:00am.  The weather was great.  Almost everyone wore shorts and t-shirts and we were fine.  We parked in the trailhead lot in Curry Village.  We all started off together, but pretty quickly started to spread out.  Some of us met up along the way, and did all see each other at the top (all but two who decided not to go up the cables).  We then left the top separately and met back up at the bottom.

A few things of note.

• We had a few people cramp.  Bring electrolytes.
• We all drank a lot of water.  You need a gallon or more.  There is no water (unless you filter) up the trail.
• Poles were definitely helpful on the down.
• Go early.  It gets busy in the afternoon.  And especially busy at the waterfalls on the way down.

This is a GREAT hike.  I am so glad that I did it.  It was hard, but with training, not impossible.  It took us about 4 hours to make it to the top and another 3 hours to make it back down.  The beginning up the falls was hard.  The sub-dome, up the zig zag was the hardest part.  The cables were intimidating but actually not that hard. We all spent time on top enjoying the incredible view and the accomplishment.


There are so many great hikes in Yosemite that I have not done.  I think that I will check a few of them off first, but will definitely do Half Dome again!

Training #3 - Pacific Crest Trail, Sonora Pass to Leavitt Lake

The next training hike I want to share is Pacific Crest Trail, Sonora Pass to Leavitt Lake.

I have been looking for more good training hikes, and given that I spend a good deal of time up in Twain Harte, wanted something reasonably close by.  This hike is about an hour away, up highway 108 to Sonora Pass.  It is 18-20 miles, starts at ~9600', and spends the full hike between that and maximum of 10,900'. There is a lot of elevation gain and loss along the way. Not an easy hike!

There are good places to park near the trailhead (38.327835, -119.63723), which is marked with a Sonora Pass sign.  Across the road is a parking area with camping and picnic tables.  And along the road there is room for a number of cars as well.

The hike starts out with some trees, wildflowers and stream crossings as you work your way quickly up above treeline.  From here, you really feel like you are in another world.  The views of the mountains are awesome.  The peaks are rugged.  The trails are rough and rocky.  There is snow left even after the mile winter that we had - some of which you get to cross:)

As you hike along you are likely to run into backpackers who have been on the trail for months.  Most that I ran into were making their way from Mexico to Canada.  They all seemed pleased to see a "day hiker" as that meant they were close to the  highway.  One asked me if there was a town close.  Seems that he had been thinking of a Coke for the last few days, and had been dreaming about a human sized piece of French toast!

I did this hike two weeks ago and again last week. I was totally unprepared last time.  I didn't have my CamelBak backpack, poles, hat, jacket or Cliff bars. I wore two tee shirts, shorts, took along three water bottles and two peanut butter sandwiches, and put all of this in a drawstring backpack. I didn't have a full charge for my phone and lost battery charge before completing the hike.  I didn't have my backup battery to recharge along the way.  Not too smart, but everything worked out ok.

This time had all of my regular hiking stuff, and was given a inReach Explorer two way satellite communicator with navigation for Father's Day.  The hike was great.  Much less stressful, although long.  The climb out from the lake was a tiring.  The way back was really nice!