Then one day, a person named Diana on the Tivo Community Forum posted this thread:
Thread
She said, "I am home safe and sound after climbing Half Dome in Yosemite yesterday. It took 3 months of planning everything from the lodging to the practice hikes to the variety of trail mix, but it was well worth it to experience the trip with my friends."
I had never even heard of Half Dome before. So I did a little research. There were Diana's pictures, of course, but I found other things as well. I put it in the back of my mind and as I ate right, as I exercised, that was my goal.
Six months ago, I made the reservations for camping at Upper Pines, only a half-mile from the trailhead. To make sure the number of people would be less, I made sure to go mid-week. I planned to do the hike on a Tuesday, with the idea that I'd have an additional day to recover before having to drive home. My pastor agreed to come along; so did another friend from church.
The Good
June 11 was our first date of camping. Because my pastor didn't arrive until 9pm on Monday evening, we postponed the hike until Wednesday so he would have plenty of time to acclimate. We left the wives at the campsite, and at 6am on the dot, we headed out.
Words can hardly express how it felt after two years to finally be on my way. A mile in, we hit the Mist Trail. Steps. More steps. Even more steps. Did I mention there were steps? The guy in the white cap is Bob, the guy he's talking to is Rob, my pastor.
That Mist Trail was aptly named, there's no way you can get past Vernal Falls without getting soaked. Believe me, even though it's only a mile in, the mist is extremely helpful. Just past Vernal Falls is Nevada falls, a good opportunity for a photo. At this point, I was still able to muster a smile. Nah, smiles were all around, all the time.
The trail at this point was rock. On the way up, Rob mentioned to me that the trail designers had to have been in love with steps. They just kept going and going and...
The restroom was a good opportunity to rest. We stopped, reapplied sunscreen and bug spray, and we could see that the sun was now reaching the trail. I put on my hat and away we went. Little Yosemite Falls was next, and gave us a good stretch of flat trail, a wonderful, wonderful site. There was also water access, which we noted for later hydration purposes.
Past Little Yosemite Valley, the trail climbed even more. I ran into a guy named Daryl who was pretty heavy, and Daryl said the trail was much more difficult than he had expected. To me, it was perhaps easier than I expected. Thanks, Diana!
All along the trail, the conservation corps were doing trail maintenance, scooping dirt over the trail divider rocks to ensure water runoff wouldn't erode the trail. I love it: hike this far only to do yard work!
Then we saw it: Half Dome, along with the cables, along with what are called "switchbacks". As Diana described them, they're really giant rock steps that are perhaps as high as two regular steps. They kept going up, I had to stop looking at it because if I hadn't, I might not have even tried ascending the switchbacks. I could post a smaller image, but to truly appreciate it, you need a full 6 megapixel image. If you have the bandwidth, check it out.
Full Res Switchbacks
If you notice, when the switchbacks end, you're still not quite up to the shoulder. No, you have to climb steep granite anyway. No supports, nothing to hold, nothign to rest on. Keep moving! There was a 10-year-old boy at this point, climbing with his father. The kid was a monster, he was unstoppable!
The cables were just as tricky. Again, you have to see the full resolution image to fully appreciate it. This is also where my workouts really, really, really helped. It was still difficult, but not nearly as much as I expected.
The cables are always there, but the poles are removed every year for the winter. When they put the poles up, they also mount 2x4's across each one. They're mounted 15 to 20 feet apart, and barely bolted together with little metal braces. The poles aren't secured as much as just inserted into 2-inch-deep holes. In fact one of the poles got pulled out as we were on the way up, and some enterprising young man in front of me actually managed to pull it back up the cable and back into its hole. At one point, one of the boards came off and went sliding dowwwwwwwwn the rock. This brought home the seriousness of the ascent. Follow the next link to see the 6mp image of the cables.
Full Res Cables
Then it finally happened: I made it to the top!
Again, words can hardly describe my elation. Almost 2 years since Diana's visit (mine was in June, hers in August). 69 pounds lost. I changed my lifestyle from 98% sedentary to daily fitness. I developed my upper body strength to handle it, and after all the effort, the reward was here. I made it to the top.
The Bad: But wait! There's more...
What's interesting is because of the focus of my workouts, some portions were easier than others. I found that climbing the steps was much easier for me than just ascending the dirt trail. I also found the cables to be easier than I expected. On the way down, things were a bit different.
I really wasn't afraid on the way down, but a girl ahead of us was. She held up the line for probably 30 minutes; she was pretty far down but we could all hear her screaming. I took the opportunity to shoot Bob, just before we got to the steep part. Heh. It's all steep, but this wasn't nearly as bad as the later portion.
They describe the cables as a 45-degree angle, but we all agreed that the 45 degrees is probably an average. There have to be some spots that are 50, maybe 55 degrees. I found out REAL quick that the face first descent isn't about using your legs & feet or even arms. It's about hand strength. My hands were my brakes as I kept my feet sideways, inching my way down. Wherever there was a pole, I had to kneel about halfway, brace myself with one hand, and reach over the pole. Then I could continue on. Every so often, the rock would drop down so not only would I have to crouch, but I would have to step down as well. Parts of the cables were loose, due to being replaced and continued on. These parts we had to descend holding onto one rope.
At the bottom, my gloves were pretty ratty. I can't find them at the moment or I'd post a picture, but each one is worn almost completely through in a straight-line pattern of the ropes. At the bottom of the cables, of course, was a pile of gloves with a big sign that read, "Gloves are trash!"
Descending the ropes was probably twice as fast as going up. The same went for the switchbacks.
As anyone who's been hiking long knows, while hiking downhill is a relief for a short time after going uphill for a period of time, but you quickly realize that it takes a toll on another part of your body: the knees. That's when hiking poles come in handy; you can probably take 20 pounds of pressure off your knees by shifting the weight to the poles through your arms.
I've had the same hiking shoes for the past year, and haven't really had a problem with them until now. I wear size 6 1/2, they're size 7. Where you really tell the difference is in the toes, that portion is pretty loose. With this hike, that caused a problem. I had also completely forgotten to trim my toenails, so for 8 miles downhill they slammed against the inside of the shoes.
I was doing pretty well until the Mist Trail. All those extra steps made me fear for my knees, and fatigued me like nothing I've experienced. The last mile after Vernal Falls, I can only describe as a death march. I had to occupy myself by counting steps: 400 from the bottom of the Mist Trail to the first set of restrooms.
Back at camp, we all greeted the wives with huges & kisses. My kids ran up to me and were actually very understanding as I removed my gear. I got a chance to take off my shoes & socks, and found out exactly why my toes were hurting as much as they were.
So that's the sordid tale. Was it worth it? Abso-frakkin-lutely. Would I do it again? Yes, although I'll wait a while. A long while. Perhaps a few years.
When we were almost done, Bob asked me what we should do for next year's "extreme" hike, so jokingly I said, "Mt. Whitney". Bob took me seriously. I told him to ask me again in 6 months.
Thanks for your patience and reading to the end! If interested, here's the full gallery, including family pictures at Yosemite:
Gallery
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