Story:
It was really a great feeling to complete this hike, having set ourselves the target to complete the Half Dome hike three months ago. In June of 2009, we started training since most of us had no hike experience. It started with buying the hiking shoes, poles and the laundry list of items. We hiked once a week or so, increasing the intensity of hike as we progressed. More friends and their friends joined us and in the end we became a group of twenty!
It was really a great feeling to complete this hike, having set ourselves the target to complete the Half Dome hike three months ago. In June of 2009, we started training since most of us had no hike experience. It started with buying the hiking shoes, poles and the laundry list of items. We hiked once a week or so, increasing the intensity of hike as we progressed. More friends and their friends joined us and in the end we became a group of twenty!
Coming to the hike, the distance we hiked was close to 20 miles because we started from Curry Village tents. The GPS log says less because I was not able to keep the app running all the time. We started from the Happy Isles Trailhead. We had planned to start the climb on John Muir trail, which is less steep. When we came to the fork, part of the group continued the hike on the Mist Trail and part went on Muir. We re-grouped at the top of Nevada falls. The Sun came out just as the Muir trail turns scenic with spectacular views of the Liberty cap and the Nevada falls. After the Nevada falls, the trail became flatter and continued to be that way until we reached the sub dome.
The sub dome was grueling. Due to its convex shape, it was really hard to anticipate the length of the journey. You got to climb what is before you and then the next switch-backs would emerge. At the end of the sub dome climb, one needs a lot of time to rest and savor the accomplishment, and more importantly, gather energy and courage for the upcoming cable climbing. Because of the view angle, the cable part looks like climbing up a vertical wall. A sideways picture of this climb would cast this in a different light and I bet, more hikers would be ready to take the challenge. Such a view is not possible unless a helicopter takes that shot for you. Anyhow, you still got to deal with the convexity and plan to climb until the next set of poles that are visible. You got to have the best gripping pair of shoes and pair of gloves on you. For me, the $2 Nitrile coated gloves from Home Depot worked fantastically well. The bottom line: the cables supported climb is not as difficult as it is sometimes made out to be.
When we were enjoying the spectacular views from the top, few thunder clouds appeared at the horizon. Being first-timers, we made a dash to the cables which were very congested because the path is two way street with a width so narrow that two hikers can barely cross. There were quite a few who were still climbing as the clouds were nearing the top of the half dome. Few of them decided to turn back and found that the return was scary and got too paralyzed too move, causing further congestion. I wonder what would it take to install another set of cables, one for ascending and one from descending! That would greatly smooth the flow of traffic and relieve the anxiety of the hikers.
Is National Park Service listening?
Tips:
Take a 4-6 liters of water (1 - 1.5 gallons).
Take a 4-6 liters of water (1 - 1.5 gallons).
Use the best gripping gloves. Try them on smooth metal rods to test the grip.
The hike is strenuous, but completable (!). You can do it!
Tags:
Half Dome Mist Trail John Muir Nevada Falls Mist
Half Dome Mist Trail John Muir Nevada Falls Mist
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