“No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life…as if into this one mountain mansion Nature had gathered her choicest treasures.” ―
— John Muir
This sight, the famous "Tunnel View" greeted me when I emerged out of the Wawona Tunnel along Highway 41. It was my first time seeing Half Dome in person.
I arrived at Half Dome Village, my stay for the first two nights in Yosemite, just before dark.
My cabin was the one in the middle. When I opened the front door and looked up, Half Dome could be seen right above me.
My home for the first two nights in California. The bear box can be seen off to the side. Luckily I remembered to put my food in it at the last minute before bedtime.
This lovely room decor in my cabin warned about Black Bears and the rodent Hantavirus in Yosemite.
Reserving a heated tent cabin allowed me to have access to electrical outlets to charge my phone and goPro.
My walking route from Half Dome Village to Yosemite Village where I went to catch my tour bus. The views everywhere I looked in Yosemite took my breath away.
Me at Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. I had never seen trees that big before, even after growing up in Maine and hiking in the White Mountains of NH.
Impressive trees at Mariposa!
Big Trees Lodge where my tour bus stopped for lunch and a walk around the Pioneer Yosemite History Center.
Our tour bus went to Glacier Point next. Here is the view of Yosemite Village from the lookout point. It was SO high!
Glacier Point. Half Dome jets out of the Valley like it is commanding the sky.
I was smiling, but inwardly freaking out about the height of the mountain behind me. It was awesome.
El Capitan. Absolutely stunning.
My funny SnapChat to my kids.
No matter where you walk in Yosemite, these are the types of views you see. Mountains, trees, rushing water, fluffy clouds, vibrant blue sky. Amazing.
One of our REI Campsites.
We would stack up our bear boxes at the edge of camp. That way, if any bears came in and tampered with them, the noise of them falling down would wake us up.
SkyPilot (a flower found in Yosemite) was the name of my individual bear box. Here it is, stacked on the tippy top.
Behind me is the back of Half Dome. I couldn't see the cables during our entire trek. I tried to squint to find them so I could see what was in store for me, but never caught a glimpse.
Hiking across a bridge to our last campsite before heading to the summit of Half Dome.
Another iconic Yosemite photo. The sky was a blue I'm not sure I've ever seen before - vibrant and crisp.
We camped next to the Illilouette River. It was a gorgeous site. Freezing cold glacier water, but crystal clear and delicious after we filtered it into our water bladders.
This little friend graced us with his presence and then urinated in the river while staring at us. It was quite funny. I remember being grateful that my water bottle had already been filtered and filled before he arrived.
I was too chicken to dip in the freezing cold river, but brave enough to dunk my head briefly. Very refreshing after 2 long days of hot hiking.
Our last campsite before Half Dome. I was elated to find out there were bathrooms!
Plenty of room for all of our tents at this site. It was busy; filled with other hikers and families. One of our trip leaders woke early the next morning and filmed a black bear at the site next to ours.
Half Dome behind me. When we hiked, it was almost always visible - taunting me and keeping it's cables hidden from view.
There are so many panoramic and iconic photos to be taken at Yosemite. Every turn was gorgeous, every view was spectacular. Each of us took a photo here as we made our way towards the sub-dome. Half Dome is behind me here, beckoning me to get closer and pull myself up.
As we hiked, the sound of rushing water was a constant and we'd often stumble upon a view like this.
The beginning of the infamous SubDome. It was a grueling hike with steep switchbacks and lots of steep elevation gains. The warning signs didn't do anything for my blood pressure!
Climbing up the SubDome. Sometime we had stairs to help, other times we'd need to walk straight up on the rock face.
The saddle of Half Dome. It is totally exposed with dramatic drop offs. A week after my trip a young woman lost her life by falling from the cables. There is literally nothing to stop you if you slip.
I'm smiling, but crying on the inside. The image of the cables scared me to death and I thought about not summiting once I saw what I would need to do to get up that beast.
If you zoom on this photo you can see people climbing up the cables behind me. Pictures don't do the scale of this mountain justice.
Half Dome in all it's glory.
And so we begin. Here is a photo of some of the first steps up the cables.
It is so steep. I had special grip gloves to help me not slip while holding the cables, but what I didn't factor in was the slickness of the actual mountain, worn away by years of people climbing the same route.
On the top of the world. Here's my group walking over to the 'football field' side of Half Dome. I felt like I was on another planet!
My nice trip leader took multiple photos of me on the top of Half Dome. I was so incredibly proud of myself for getting up there although I was, quite literally, terrified the entire time.
I was beaming with accomplishment, but also obsessing about getting down the cables the entire time I was on the summit. I didn't enjoy the victory as much as I should have because I was so scared of the return trip.
We had dinner at the base of Half Dome after returning from our summit experience. I had survived. Life was good!
The Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background. It was July, but snow capped the summits. The full moon lit our hike back to our campsite over six miles away.
I had one little bar on my phone after summiting Half Dome. I was desperate to tell Tony and the kids. I sent this SnapChat (you can see tears in my eyes; I was so emotional!) The SnapChat arrived in the kids' phones about 10 days after I returned home!
