Road Trip Parte Dos

Here is the recap of the hike up Half Dome. This little jaunt of 16 miles was quite the test of strength and determination. I had already hiked out of my camp for 10 miles, and the Half Dome hike gains 4,800 vertical feet in 8 miles up and then 8 back down. I was plumb tuckered out by the time I got to the top and probably didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have if I wasn’t a little dehydrated and my quads cramping every step I took. But it was still a spectacular site to behold and worth the effort.

I entered the famous Yosemite Valley on the El Portal road and was immediately struck by the amazing cliff faces, the famous El Capitan rose above the valley and beckoned me to climb it one day, just another thing to add to my list of things to do. The things I add these days seem to all require lots of gear that I don't have, but hey its out there and so is REI. The valley was carved anciently by glaciers and left this amazing gorge of cliff faces and waterfalls.

The Trail passed two splendid waterfalls, Vernon and Nevada Falls. They were super small compared to there early spring size. You can see the darker brown rock behind the falls that show the massive size they get earlier in the year. This is Vernon Falls. This is me on the top of Half Dome; a lovely mother took my picture of me on the crazy “diving board of death.” There were tons of cairns on the top of the dome as well; I added my own little addition to many of them. Then the cable trip back down ensued with my crazy Belgian friends, Casper and Rico.

Nevada Falls

So that is the second volume of my journey! After I hobbled down the 8 miles from the top of Half Dome, I went to San Jose and stayed with some friends and started my journey down the Pacific Coast Highway. Yosemite was amazing and I will certainly be returning one day to explore the vastness that I only saw from a distance.