Hello Yosemite! Coming from Sequoia/Kings Canyon, we entered Yosemite through the south entrance (a first for me). We could not believe how slow the traffic was! It took 30 minutes just to get through the toll booth! Since we hadn't been before, we decided to go up the road to Glacier Point. We found a camping spot (in a very crowded campground), then hiked out to McGurk Meadow. It was an easy hike with lots of wildflowers. Next, we hiked the loop out to Taft Point and the Fissures, then around to Sentinel Dome. I saw another new bird, the Cassin's Finch. We felt like we were on top of the world! It was so different to look down into the valley (from directly above) and it gave a whole new perspective on El Capitan. As the sunset hour grew close, we drove out to Glacier Point where we attended a ranger talk. It was one of the best I've heard. The ranger named all the peaks we could see and gave a little background info on each. Did you know that Half Dome isn't really half? It's actually 80%. Then he told us a story about how almost every other tourist that visits the park asks a ranger "When did Half Dome break apart?" He told us that one day, he was feeling particularly punchy (as Jay would say) and jumped over his desk, raced outside, and exclaimed "Oh my gosh, when did THAT happen?!?" He he... rangers are funny!
Strolling through McGurk Meadow
View into the valley from the fissures (Yosemite Falls in the background)
Jay at the fissures (El Capitan in the background at right)
Sentinel Dome
In front of Half Dome, Vernal Fall, and Neveda Fall (left to right)
July 18, 2006 (15 miles)
Today we embarked on our first overnight hike since the PCT debacle... We started the morning at Tuolumne Meadows and hiked the John Muir Trail (JMT) to just before the intersection with the Half Dome Trail. The hike started with a LOT of uphill (reaching a high point of 9700ft on trail) across lots of different types of terrain. There were amazing views (particularly the one that combined Catherdral Peak, Cathedral Lakes, and the Echo Peaks), lots of mosquitoes (in every meadow and stream crossing), a scary hail storm (we hid out for about a half hour under the rain fly, and when we came out, it looked like Half Dome was one fire - of course it wasn't - though there was a fire across the valley from where we were), and a mysterious animal (I didn't get to see it, but Jay said it looked like a badger, or maybe a wolverine...) Half way through the hike we started going downhill. It was about the steepest downhill section I've ever done and I really felt for the hikers coming up (they looked pooped!) Oh yeah, and I saw another new bird, a Lincoln's Sparrow. 
Starting south on the John Muir Trail from Tuolumne Meadows
Cathedral Lake
Cathedral Peak and Echo Peaks
Half Dome after the storm
July 19, 2006 (11 miles)
We woke up early and hiked Half Dome Trail to the summit. We were the second group to select gloves from the pile at the saddle and climb the cables to the top. WOW! The view was absolutely amazing! Totally worth the difficult, scary climb. I was too nervous to walk out to the edge, so I belly-crawled and managed to look straight down into the valley. I could see Mirror Lake... and a couple of climbers coming up the face! Good thing we didn't wait too long to come down, we had to side-step one group on the cables, and by the time we left the saddle there was stop-and-go traffic down to the base. One there, we packed up the tent and grabbed our packs, then continued down the JMT to Neveda Fall, where we stopped for lunch. Afterwards, we switched over to the Mist Trail, which was busier than Half Dome (almost like the lines at Disneyland), then made the final descent back on the JMT into the valley at Happy Isle.
Only 2 more miles to the summit!
Heading up the cables
Looking down into the valley (the 'Diving Board' at left, climbers on the face beneath)
Jay heads down before the crowd
View up the cables from the saddle (See all those little spots on the cables? That's the traffic...)
Further down the JMT we looked back to see a different view of Half Dome (the backside)
Looking straight down Neveda Fall
Feeling proud underneath Neveda Fall (only 2 more miles to go to complete the hike into the valley)
Jay poses at the end of the Mist Trail (Vernal Fall is in the background)
No comments:
Post a Comment