ROCK CLIMBING & CAVING

Hiking Half Dome, Yosemite

I’m going to be completely honest with you. If you do not hike half dome at least once in your lifetime, your life has been in vain. Too strong? Maybe. But seriously, Half dome is just one of those hikes you DO NOT want to miss out on. I can’t describe it any other way than telling you it is simply an incredible hike. One that everybody should have the chance to enjoy in their lifetime.

Before I get talking about the actual hiking of half dome, let me tell you a couple things about safety, preparedness, etc. Make sure to read this if you’ve never hiked half dome. Hiking half dome is approximately a 17 mile round trip, with an approximate elevation change of 5000 Ft. Obviously that’s a pretty intense day hike. First of all, you’re going to want to be in shape for this one. People of most levels of fitness can accomplish this hike, but lets face it, you’re not going to enjoy it very much if your calves are on fire, your ankles hurt, and you’re always out of breath.  Secondly, be prepared! Make sure that the night before you eat a big high carbohydrate (low fat and low protein dinner), followed by a good solid breakfast the day of. Make sure to bring a good lunch with you and plenty of snacks. I like to bring energy bars, like cliffhanger, etc. along with other snacks. Bring plenty of water. A camelback back pack with the bladder filled to the brim and two extra waterbottles should keep you going quite nicely. This could be more water than you need, but preparedness for unforseen happenings is always good. A waterfilter or iodine tablets is also something I highly recommend. Do not hesitate to fill your water up when you get the chance. And very importantly, use quality footwear.Make sure your shoes/boots are broken in and comfortable. Obviously dress appropriately for the season in which you go: shorts and T-shirt will be good for summer, along with a hat and maybe some sunglasses and sunscreen. Make sure to pack a flashlight! My group would’ve been up the creek without a paddle had I not thought to bring a flashlight the first time I went. It gets dark quickly! Also, bring toiletpaper, although there are bathrooms on the trail, you never know when nature’s gonna call. And for everybody’s sake, bury your duty far off the trail, please . Lastly, there’s no substitute for common sense, so make sure you pack that too!

The trail to half dome starts out at the Happy Isles trail head. From there you will want to take the John Muir Trail east along the Merced river. It’s pretty easy to find your way from there. The hike to Half dome is filled with some gorgeous scenery, but there are a couple acceptional sights to see. Such as the waterfalls you will pass on the way. Even though it’s not the most spectacular sight or anything, walking the plain along the Merced river is just plain cool, and I enjoy it very much! My favorite part of the whole hike other than climbing half-dome itself is the switchbacks just before half-dome. They’re part rock-climbing part hiking..   And obviously the best part is climbing half-dome itself. This will probably be the most strenous part of the hike for many as you’re going to use a lot of upper body strength to pull yourself up the cables. However anyone who is fairly physically fit shouldn’t have too much of a problem.

IMPORTANT: Check to make sure that the cables will be up before you go!   Park rangers take down the cables when they deem conditions too dangerous to be climbing in. They should be open most of the summer of 2009. Also, watch out for thunderstorms. There have been a few deaths on top of half dome as a result of lightning strikes.. Im sure there can’t be a worse place to be in all of Yosemite during a thunderstorm!

Try and leave early in the morning so you can get back before it gets too dark. Around 6 or so is a good time to leave. Of course you’ve got the longer days on your side in the summer months. Even so, I once left around that time and ended up getting back at 11 o’clock at night, Mostly because I was hiking with some rather inexperienced female hikers . And it probably didn’t help that we were all pretty sore from lots of bike-riding the day before. The moral of this story being, make sure you don’t do anything too strenous the day before.

For a bit more on yosemite and some other not so extreme hiking trails, check out: Hike hard- Yosemite

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