John Muir was reportedly the ninth person to scale Half Dome in November 1875 using a rope placed by a man named George Anderson. George intended to build a wooden staircase to the top and charge tolls to use it. In those days South Dome was the popular name for Half Dome. I’m sure Muir would be happy that Half Dome is still not easily climbed. His words:

“I have always discouraged as much as possible every project for laddering the South Dome, believing it would be a fine thing to keep this garden untrodden. Now the pines will be carved with the initials of Smith and Jones, and the gardens strewn with tin cans and bottles, but the winter gales will blow most of this rubbish away, and avalanches may strip off the ladders; and then it is some satisfaction to feel assured that no lazy person will ever trample these gardens. When a mountain is climbed it is said to be conquered — as well say a man is conquered when a fly lights on his head. Blue jays have trodden the Dome many a day; so have beetles and chipmunks, and Tissiack will hardly be more conquered, now that man is added to her list of visitors. His louder scream and heavier scrambling will not stir a line of her countenance…”

The first real mountain summit that I “conquered” was Mt. Lassen, 10,462 feet (3,189 meters) in Northern California. After that I attempted to climb Mt. Whitney in California, at 14,505 feet (4,421 meters) the highest peak in the 48 contiguous United States. I failed to reach the summit on three attempts (I cancelled a fourth attempt before starting out due to inclement weather). My one big climbing success was reaching the summit of Mount St. Helens, 8,365 feet (2,550 meters) in Southern Washington. While not as high as Mt. Lassen, it was much tougher going (more altitude gain from the trailhead, more rock hopping and loose volcanic ash to negotiate).

After getting back down from Mount St. Helens well after dark and totally exhausted, I seem to recall telling Kathy that if I ever suggest climbing another mountain, tell me “no!”. I guess I forgot about that or maybe the ghost of John Muir kept telling me I should try and scale Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, one of his favorite places.

Half Dome is a huge granite monolith that was once dome-shaped but has since been worn in half by weathering over millions of years. Its peak is 8,836 feet (2,693 meters) above sea level and about 4,800 feet (1,463 meters) above the Yosemite Valley floor. Some adventurous rock climbers actually climb the sheer face but most people take the longer and “safer” route around the back and up the side.

The route starts on the valley floor and follows the fairly steep Mist Trail, so named because you walk though the mist created by Vernal Falls, 317 feet (97 meters), or the slightly longer but less steep John Muir trail, both taking you about a third of the way to the top. Along the way, you follow the Merced River up passing above first Vernal Falls and then Nevada Falls, 594 feet (181 meters). After you reach Nevada Falls, the trail levels off leading you into Little Yosemite Valley. From there, the switchbacks begin until you reach Sub Dome where the trail is as steep as the Mist Trail with a lot of steps cut into the granite. Finally after Sub Dome, you reach the cables that help you make it up the very steep side of bare granite to the summit of Half Dome.

The cables run 400 feet (120 meters) and are basically hand rails attached to poles stuck in holes bored into the granite. About every six feet or so, boards are bolted crossways into the granite creating steps that give you places to pause and rest. The cables and boards were erected in 1919 and hundreds of thousands of hikers have used them in the years since. Sometime in October, the National Park Service pulls out the poles and lays them down so the cables are resting on the ground. You don’t need a permit to go up after the cables are taken down and even though the Park Service warns against trying it, some people actually do go up when the cables are down on the ground.

I brought a non-locking carabiner and nylon running strap that I planned to use as an extra safety measure when going up and down the cables. I planned to hook the carabiner to one of the cables before and after each post. Most people just grab the cables with both hands but about 2½ weeks after my hike, a guy on the cables was rescued by fellow hikers when a section of the cable broke away. He somehow was left hanging on the steep granite slope but didn’t plunge to his death – very lucky indeed!

If you start at the nearest parking lot, the whole route using the Mist Trail is 15 miles (24 kilometers) round trip or if you take the John Muir trail, it’s about 17.2 miles (27.7 kilometers) round trip. Because this hike is so popular, the National Park Service started requiring a permit for the trail beyond Sub Dome when the cables are in place (normally Memorial Day weekend in May through Columbus Day in October), and implemented a lottery system to obtain the permit. They charge $4.50 to apply and if you get picked in the lottery, $5.00 for the permit fee. I lucked out and got my first choice and was able to reserve a tent cabin at Curry Village on the nights before and after my planned hike.

A maximum of 400 hikers are allowed (300 day hikers and 100 backpackers) each day on the Half Dome Trail beyond Sub Dome. Before the permit system was implemented in 2010, approximately 400 people used this trail on weekdays, while about an average of 800 people used this trail on weekends and holidays. This would cause a real backup on the cables as there is not much room to pass someone there. The trail is so popular that people were selling permits for many times the face value. The Park Service has tried to put a stop to that by requiring that the name on your government-issued I.D. match the name on your permit.

I picked a day in early June that had a full moon as I planned to start before sunrise, and on two of my Whitney climbs and the St. Helens climb, I ended up hiking back at night. The full moon definitely helped me see the trail when I came down Mt. Whitney in the middle of the night.

I started increasing my workout on the stair cardio machine at the gym several months before the hike. While I wasn’t getting any higher altitude training, at least I was getting my legs in better shape.

The day before the hike, I drove 135 miles (217 kilometers) to the Big Oak Flat entrance of Yosemite and straight up to Glacier Point, 7,214 feet (2,199 meters) which affords a great view of Yosemite Valley as well as Half Dome. I then drove back down into the valley and checked in to my tent cabin.

I planned to get up at 4:00 a.m. so I tried to go to sleep at 9:00 p.m. Well, that didn’t work very well. The tent cabins are right next to each other and not very sound proof. I could hear conversations (in English and Chinese) and snoring in the cabins all around me even after the “quiet” time of 10:00 p.m. The last time I looked at my watch, it was almost midnight and I woke up a few times before the alarm went off.

After eating some bear claws and a banana for breakfast, I drove to the parking lot which is about three quarters of a mile (1.2 kilometers) from the trail head. As I was getting out of the car, I noticed I couldn’t find my tent cabin key so I drove back to Curry Village, looked around my tent cabin and finally found the key on the ground near where I parked my car.

So between not getting much sleep and starting about 45 minutes late, I already had two strikes against me but I was determined to give it my best shot. By this time (5:30 a.m.) it was already getting light out so I didn’t need to use my head lamp. I made it up the Mist Trail in about three hours and stopped to eat just above Nevada Falls. There was supposed to be a 40% chance of rain but so far, there were barely any clouds in the sky so that was encouraging.

I continued on through Little Yosemite Valley and stopped for another snack break just before the trail turned into switchbacks again. After meeting a buck on the trail, I finally reached the base of Sub Dome around 11:30 a.m. This is where two Park Rangers were stationed in order to check permits of those continuing on to Half Dome. After the Ranger confirmed my permit with his iPad, he advised me that there was now an 80% chance of rain on Half Dome. The rain makes the smooth granite extremely slick and hikers have slipped to their deaths in previous years. Also, Half Dome attracts lightning strikes and people have been struck and killed by lightning.

While the weather still looked clear, I knew a storm could roll in quickly. I also knew that it would take me at least another hour to make it to the top and by that time, it could be raining so I decided to heed the Ranger’s warning. It was a real disappointment to make it that far but I figured it wasn’t worth the risk to go on.

Before heading down, I sat near the edge of a cliff and admired the spectacular view and watched the storm clouds roll in. It started to get windy so I figured I better head down. Going down can be even more treacherous than going up. You tend to go faster and it’s much easier to misstep and twist an ankle.

I stopped for a short rest at the Emerald Pool (the Merced River just above Nevada Falls) and saw several Scrub Jays in the trees. I bypassed Nevada Falls coming up so I decided to see it going down and then continue down on the John Muir Trail instead of the Mist trail. I hiked down the Mist Trail once before with Kathy coming down from Glacier Point and remembered that the steps could really be tough on the knees. The John Muir Trail is longer but has more gentle switchbacks.

By this time it had started lightly raining and I could hear thunder. It looked pretty ominous over Half Dome so I was glad I didn’t get caught in the storm. About an hour before I reached the trailhead it was raining hard and getting cold. Even though I had a light-weight poncho, my lower pant legs and boots were soaked by the time I got back to my car. After returning to Curry Village, I wished I had rented a heated tented cabin as I couldn’t stop shivering even after changing into dry clothes and getting under five blankets!

It rained all night and got pretty muddy around my tent cabin. I felt sorry for all the people camping in small tents that night. The weather was sunny and warm at least a week before I arrived in Yosemite and was again sunny and warm starting the day after my hike. The old adage is true – timing is everything! I’m pretty sure that if I hadn’t lost my tent cabin key and started out when I had planned, I could have beaten the weather and made it all the way to the top.

The hike took me 10.5 hours. During that time, I paused to enjoy spectacular views, wildflowers, the waterfalls and the fauna along the way. While the trail wasn’t very crowded, I did meet and talk to several hikers going up and coming down. At other times, there was no one around and I enjoyed the quiet and solitude.

There was one upside to the storm. The next morning, the clouds were still hanging low in the valley, clinging to the surrounding granite monoliths and I was able to take some black and white Ansel Adams-type photos. In my many trips to Yosemite, I’ve now seen it in all weather conditions from sunny to stormy and covered in snow in the winter. The only time I haven't been there is in the fall so I’ll have to go then to see the fall colors.

On a future visit to Yosemite, I plan to hike to the top of Upper Yosemite Fall. It is also a steep hike gaining 2,700 feet (823 meters) in altitude but only 7.2 miles (11.6 kilometers) round trip. Kathy and I have been part way up that trail on a previous hike. I would also like to hike in the high country of Tuolumne Meadows. One thing is for sure: I’ll never get tired of seeing my favorite place on earth!

Here's my 17.5 minute High Definition video of Yosemite and my hike to Half Dome:

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