To the summit of Half Dome and back

This weekend's adventure took me up to Yosemite for a date with Half Dome, perhaps the most iconic part of one of the most iconic national parks in our country. The hike itself is perhaps the most challenging and rewarding day hike I've ever done: more than 16 miles round-trip with a 4800' vertical gain, ending with a 300' ascent up a steep rock race with aid of cables. I drove up Friday afternoon with the intent on getting an early start Saturday morning in order to get back by sunset (the hike could take from 10-12 hours). The forecast was for the coldest weather of the season, with lows dipping below freezing and a 20% chance of snow showers in the valley.

Yosemite is unique among the national parks I've been to in that they severely limit accessibility, especially to people without advance reservations (like me). There's thousands of acres of open space, but the only place you're allowed to camp is in one of the handful of campgrounds or, if you're lucky to arrive during business hours, get a backcountry permit. Since there was no way possible for me to get there in time for the permit, and since I didn't plan this trip 6 months ago, I ended up getting shut out of the park on Friday night and ended up sleeping in my car(!) on a Forest Service road just outside the park boundary. By the time I parked in the eerie darkness, temperatures had already plummeted to 28 degrees. It wasn't my best night of sleep, but at least I was able to catch the end of the Red Sox game on the radio before turning in for the night.

Saturday morning started pre-dawn, at 5:30am, when I started my car en route for the trailhead, about an hour up the road in Yosemite Valley. It was still bitterly cold, and I brought with me practically all the heavy clothing I had with me from San Diego. It barely sufficed. In the parking lot, I threw together a few PB&J sandwiches for lunch, to go with various other assorted snacks and water, and began the long trek. I don't recall having ever having hiked 16 miles in a day before, but I figured lots of people do this, why couldn't I?

As I ascended the trail, the sun came out and I quickly peeled layers off, switching over to shorts and a long sleeved pullover. Shortly into the hike, I came across the first evidence of snow (just a dusting), and became nervous that Half Dome would be too icy to climb at the end. The waterfalls that Yosemite is famous for came into view, first Vernal Falls and then Nevada. Before I knew it, I was at the top of Nevada falls with a great overlook facing straight down. So gorgeous! Along the way, I met numerous other day hikers, a few of whom were nice enough to take pictures of me. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- the people you meet on the trail are among the nicest you'll meet anywhere.

The middle part of the trail was relatively flat, and featured the first views of majestic Half Dome, a rocky precipice 8800' up, looking out over the entire valley and beyond. Seeing how far I still had to go, I could barely believe I would actually make it. My goal was to reach the summit by 12:30, and I was right on pace. Gradually the the trail began get steeper.

After abut 7.5 miles of strenuous hiking, the climax was in front of me, and I had never seen anything quite like it. I was standing on a rocky mound of granite, looking up at an even taller mound that had cables mounted into the rock and hikers climbing up the 20-degree incline. I was already sore and tired, and worried about my ability to continue at the most dangerous point in the trek, especially with nobody there to push me. Briefly, I thought about not doing it, but I quickly changed my mind, realizing that I couldn't come all this way for nothing. I got in line and began the slow crawl up to the top. This being the peak time of day for this point in the trail, there was substantial traffic in both directions, creating delays. Balancing on a steep rock face in a stiff, cold wind is hardly the kind of place you want to be spending extra time, but you have little choice in the matter. The only alternative -- which some people chose -- was to take the risk of going outside the cables. Not for me.

Finally! I reached the top and roamed around a bit, getting nowhere near the edge. I marveled at how several other hikers had no such fears of the void, with some actually dangling their feet over the 4000' dropoff into the valley. The 360-degree views were incredible, and photography would never do them justice. It wasn't long before I noticed storm clouds blowing in, and with it the chance of more snow, and so I decided to descend after about 15 minutes on the summit.

The hike down was very painful. The minor tendinitis in both my knees began to flare about halfway down, making every downhill step incredibly painful (and made my worry about doing permanent damage). As expected, clouds moved in and snow flurries started to fly, ushering in the end of the Half Dome hiking season. In my haste to get down, I took the steeper option, which only served to make it more miserable on my knees. The last mile, which was a gradual descent down a paved path, ended up taking more than half an hour, since I was able to take only very small steps. Some friendly hikers noticed my obvious pain and offered me some Alleve, which I happily downed. Finally, at about 5:30, I reached the trailhead again, sore and completely exhausted.

I spent about half an hour driving around in an attempt to find a camping spot in Yosemite Valley, but again I was turned away, back to my Forest Service road from the night before. On my way out of the valley, I captured some amazing sunset pictures over El Capitan (the other Yosemite icon). Going in, I was not optimistic about any noteworthy shots, but looking back now I am extremely happy with how they turned out. The lighting and colors of autumn in a national park could make anyone's photography look good, I think.

Saturday night, I decided to pitch a tent instead of sleeping in the car again. This allowed me to stretch out more, since Mitsubishi Eclipses aren't that big. Again, the temperatures dipped well below freezing, so that when I went to cook breakfast Sunday morning, my water was partially frozen. No matter, the rest of the day would get gradually warmer, and by 6:30 that night, I was back in San Diego.

Going in, I didn't know what to expect from this trip. It is certainly a long way to go for a non-3-day weekend (about 7.5 hours), and the crowds of Yosemite that scared me away during the summer were there in full force this early October weekend. Even so, the hike lived up to the hype as much as any I've ever done, and I recommend it to anybody who has the slightest interest in trying it -- you will not be disappointed!

Here is a link to all the photos from the trip.

Exploring the OC

This past weekend, Devin was able to score us some tickets to Game 2 of the ALDS between the Red Sox and Angels up in Anaheim, so I decided to head up there. I had been thinking for a few weeks of doing a one-way bike ride between his house and San Diego, and the stars seemed aligned, since Tracy was unable to come, there was a favorable train schedule, and of course, the weather forecast was perfect.

The game on Friday night was awesome. Due to traffic, we had to listen to the first inning on the radio, but the Sox were up 4-1 by the time we got to our seats. They spent the rest of the game letting the Angels creep back into it, before delivering the knockout blow in the 9th inning, leaving with a 7-5 victory. It was the second playoff game I had been to in my life (I went to a Sox/Yankees ALCS game back in 1999), and I was amazed at how loud the Angels fans get...with an assist from the ThunderStix that they all seemed to have. They really do get into it.

After a pretty mellow Saturday, I had set up to leave on my bike ride early Sunday morning. To cut some distance from the trip, I had parked my car at Solana Beach, about 20 miles up the road from San Diego. My goal was to cover about 75 miles in about 5 hours, leaving at dawn and getting back to Solana Beach around noon. Silly me decided to stay up till after 1am on Saturday night, though, meaning I got scarcely 4 good hours of sleep before the alarm went off.

The ride itself was a mixture of beauty, relaxation, pain, delirium, and a little of everything in between. The first half went wonderfully. I stopped in Dana Point, 34 miles in, to refill my Gatorade. Laguna Beach was more hilly than I was bargaining for, but it was certainly nice riding by all the beaches and businesses. It kept my eyes off the GPS and made the miles go by faster.

San Clemente is the last town in Orange County before you hit Camp Pendleton (a Marine base) and San Onofre State Beach. I made a brief wrong turn before finding the path again (there seemed to be signs for the bike route everywhere I didn't need them, but there was none here where I did need it). At this point my ride change. No longer were there any towns or businesses, and it was all just biking along a road paralleling I-5 for about 10 miles. Then I actually entered Camp Pendleton and headed more inland, taking away the distraction of the beach. It was a struggle, as I began to ache in places other than my legs, and hunger started to set in. Unfamiliar with the roads, I didn't know how long it would be before I emerged back into civilization. I decided at this point that I would end my ride a bit early in Oceanside, the first town outside of the camp.

The first business I ran across was a much-needed grocery store, which was actually a military exchange. All I craved was another Gatorade and a Snickers. I walked through the store like a zombie, went to check out, and was asked for my military ID. Oops. I contemplated pleading with the checkout lady, but decided against it, eventually heading to the other end of the parking lot to get the same treats.

Soon thereafter, I arrived at the Oceanside train depot, extremely sore in my upper body and covered in a thick layer of salt. I managed to cover about 61 miles in about 4.5 hours, and while I didn't hit my goal, this was easily my longest ride ever. Here is a link to my route. It was a very educational experience, and now that I know the route, I may just try it again with a little more preparedness and a few more hours of sleep the night before.

On tap for this weekend: Hiking Half Dome at Yosemite. Stay tuned.

It's been a quiet few weeks...

Not a whole lot new to write about recently, but the next several weekends are bound to be a bit more exciting. Here's what's on tap:

- Tomorrow, I am taking the train up to the OC to take in tomorrow night's Red Sox-Angels game (game 2 of the Division Series) with Devin. We're even tossing around the idea of going to Saturday's Game 3 of the Dodgers-Cubs series, too. Then, on Sunday, I will be biking back from Devin's house to Solana Beach (where I am leaving my car), marking my first extended bike ride (approximately 75 miles). I can't wait!

- Next weekend, I am planning on driving up to Yosemite to hike Half Dome. Unfortunately, I was unable to rope anyone into going with me (except for my boss, who is driving with me to Fresno), so it'll be another solo effort. I haven't done so much as a day hike since February, so I'm very much looking forward to the fresh air and trees.

- The weekend after that, I will be traveling up to Seattle to take care of some work around the house, and of course, to go sailing. Given the buyer's market that exists in most of the country, I'm going to give some thought into investing in another property up there for when Tracy and I move back, provided that a bank will actually loan us the money! It's amazing how much prices have fallen, and besides, I've got at least two really good tenants at my current house.

- The following weekend, my friend Kevin will be in town from Seattle. It's always a fun time when we get together, and rumor has it he's intending for us to take kiteboarding lessons when he's here. We'll have to see...

That's all for now!