Yosemite and Half Dome

[Don]

In the Sierra Nevada mountains of California there is a very famous valley called Yosemite. It is well known for its spectacular granite walls and, in spring time, its waterfalls. Perhaps the most famous peak is called Half Dome. There is a trail from the valley to the top of Half Dome, which is something I've wanted to do for a long time.



This is a view of Yosemite taken last October. The Merced River flows along the valley floor, which is quite flat. On the right you can see Bridalveil falls, which has almost dried up. In the center, there is a dome shaped mountain rising above the valley floor. That is Half Dome!



Here is a closer view. It is a long way from the valley floor to the top of Half Dome, so you have to be fairly crazy to try it as a daytrip. But then, this is California, and crazy people are plentiful here.

[Don]

Here's a closer view of Half Dome, taken in May when there was still a little snow. The trail to the top is only open May through October, when the snow has gone. You probably think that the route to the top would go up the right hand side. After all, the left hand side looks far too steep for anybody who is not a serious rock climber. You would be wrong. Because of cliffs, the right hand side is inaccessible. The route to the top goes up the steeper side. However, it is not an ordinary trail.



This second view is shot from Sentinel Dome, which is only a short hike from the Glacier Point road. This was taken shortly before sunset.

[oinone]

one word. whoo..

[phil]

   Spectacular shots, Don.

   always loved this one by Ansel Adams...
   
   

[Don]

Thanks Oinone and Phil! Yes, the Ansel Adams shot is a classic photograph!

Ok, so the top is a 4800 ft (1600 m) climb from the valley floor. You start early. I started at 6:30, just as the sun was rising, but others on the trail had started at 3am. The first section is actually very scenic, passing two waterfalls on the Merced River. In May, when the snow is melting, they are spectacular, but by October they are all but dried up.

Then comes a long hard climb through a pine forest. It was here that I really started to notice the altitude. I had driven up from the Bay Area the day before, so I was not used to it. The thinner air really did slow me down a lot. Finally the forest thins out, and the trail zig-zags up the mountain. "It's wonderful," people coming down assured me. "Don't let the cables psyche you out when you first see them, they are great," said another.

I had heard of "the cables." How bad could they be?

Finally, after a very long, very hard hike, I saw them

"Oh my god, those are steep"!!!!! 



This is hard to believe, but they are actually steeper than they look in the photographs. The slope is at least 45 degrees, probably 60.



Two steel cables, supported by metal poles, with a piece of wood every 10ft.

[Don]

The first two pictures make the slope look a lot easier than it really is. This picture is the closest I came to capturing just how steep it is. The remarkable thing is that, with the cables, you don't need any special climbing equipment to make the ascent. You just need a pair of gloves, and if you didn't bring your own there is a pile of used ones at the start.

[Gary]

That looks scary to me. 

Cool pics Don.

[corky]

WOW ..... fantastic pics Dearest Don....probably very extreme emotions for you ...

[Waltzed Wryter]

Wow, Don! Thats very brave of you doing that. These pics are breathtaking just seeing them, I would imagine being there would literally take your breath away, huh?

(Especially on the way up that crazy-fainty looking "ladder" to the summit)

And, although I do love nature and hiking (not rock/mountain climbing) in general, I think I'll just stick to viewing those sunrises and sunsets.  

[Waltzed Wryter]

Hmm...also...

I'm wondering if one could actually, truly get something from this rugged journey, or any other mountain for that matter...would it be as feeling as the following...

(from the last two stanza's of that personally unresearched Emily Bronte poem)

I'll walk where my own nature would be leading:
It vexes me to choose another guide:
Where the gray flocks in ferny glens are feeding;
Where the wild wind blows on the mountain side.


What have those lonely mountains worth revealing ?
More glory and more grief than I can tell:
The earth that wakes one human heart to feeling
Can centre both the worlds of Heaven and Hell.

(Hmm...?? Now, I'm sure anyone could get a feeling from that steepish, excuse me, hellishly-frightening "oh-my-god!!" ladder climb, thats for sure...but there seems to be a lot of heightened distractions for a certain positive enlightenment...'Am I alive?'...Yes, your alive, man... yep, yep)

[Don]

Ok, I kinda got distracted and forgot to finish this thread. I did make it to the top. Going up those cables was not the most sensible thing I have ever done, but it certainly was memorable. In many ways, the cables are a relic of the crazy, bold risk-taking pioneer culture which California once was. They are also surprisingly popular.

The hardest part is passing people going the other way, because then you have to let go of one of the cables. 'We're going to have to make a deodorant commercial,' said one lady I passed.

Here are some pictures from top.

[Artemis]

also WOW....
cant imagine..