In the Beginning

I have made one previous trip to Yosemite. The second summer I knew my wife (2002) we took our first real road trip together, which we started with several days in Yosemite National Park. One of my goals of this trip was to hike up Half Dome. At this time no permit was required to hike half dome. We took the first shuttle bus of the day to the trailhead and headed out.

This turned out to be my longest hike to date, almost 17 miles. My memory of the hike in is a bit blurry; the only thing that really sticks out in my mind was what I called the “never ending forest”. I never thought I would get out of it. My wife made it to just below the cables, before she decided she had gone far enough, as she is not a lover of heights. As I went up the cables she took a nice nap, waking to find a coyote napping just 10 feet from her at one point. 

The view from the top of Half Dome filled me with joy. I had spent many years rock climbing and to me Yosemite, and especially Yosemite Valley, had always been hallowed ground. Being and Environmental Science major in college, I spent many hours reading John Muir so to finally be there was a very special moment in my life.

On this trip I think I am going to bypass the trip up Half Dome. Part of me says “Been there, done that”, but more importantly I only have so many days complete this hike. While Half Dome only adds 4 miles or so to the trip, I think it will tire me out more than I want to be during my first couple of days. Next time through  the JMT, when I bring my wife and son here with me, and take 3 weeks to complete it, we’ll all take the detour together.

Hike On!