When we visited the USA in 2015 we enjoyed our trip so much we were very keen to plan another one ASAP. We decided on a California road trip and when looking at some Virtual Caches in Yosemite I spotted Semidome Loft, Yeah, then I read what was involved to get to it and I didn't think it would be for me. Basically, a 17 mile hike with 5,000 ft elevation gain with a tricky mountaineering element at the end on perilous cables - when I put Half Dome cables into google the first thing that jumped out at me was 'Half dome cables deaths' - eek! Nope definitely not for me. Then we had to put the trip on hold for 2016 due to our house move. So once we'd booked the flights last December we started thinking again about what we'd like to do on our trip and I started looking again at Half Dome and decided to apply for permits. The permits are issued on a lottery style system, 200 are issued per day. You need to apply by March and you get to find out a month later if you've been successful. I put it out of my mind until we heard that we'd got permits. I'd watched a few videos and read a few blogs about it and realised it was a serious hike so decided on an action plan to get ready for it. We'd done some great walks in the Lake District and Peak District but it still didn't feel enough, I needed something during the week to help improve my stamina.
In April we both joined our local gym. I've never been a big fan of gyms, I've been to them on and off over the years but get bored easily but as we had a goal in mind I thought this would keep me interested ... and it did. As my fitness improved and I started to see results I was keen not to miss a session and we both managed 1½ hour sessions 3 times a week, then long walks in the Lakes/Peaks at weekends. All the while in the back of my mind I kept thinking that if it rains or there's a thunderstorm or early snowfall in Yosemite then we won't be able to do the walk. You are advised to not do the hike if there's any threat of a thunderstorm and that to be on top of half dome or on the cables during a thunderstorm is extremely dangerous as the rock becomes slick and this is where the accidents have occurred. I bought Mr Half Dome's book which detailed the hike and what to expect - this was brilliant. Our budget gym didn't have any air conditioning and at first I really struggled with the heat especially on the warmer days over the summer but I soon realised this was a good thing as it would get me used to hiking in the heat. Anyway back to the present day....
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| This is all you need for the BEST coffee when travelling |
Alarm went off at 3am and we were out by 4. A 30-minute drive to the parking and we were ready to start walking by 4.50. The sky was so clear and I've never seen stars shine so brightly.
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| Entering Yosemite National Park before sunrise |
There are signs everywhere asking you not to leave food in cars and large bear-proof containers are provided for you to lock food into. I took these photos last night when we were checking out the trailhead.
It was difficult to find our way to the start of the path in the dark but luckily we soon caught up with another couple of hikers that were also making an early start and they pointed us in the direction of the trail-head.
For the first part of the hike you follow The Mist Trail, we could hear the waterfalls but we just couldn't see them, hopefully we'll be back later with daylight to spare so we can admire them.
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| We can hear the waterfall just can't see it |
This route involves climbing hundreds of steps and it was at this point we were glad we'd concentrated on the Stairmaster in the gym.😃
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| Stark warning signs |
After a chilly start we soon had to stop and take off our fleeces. By the time we got to the top of Vernal Falls it was starting to get light and we could put our head torches away.
Soon after we caught up with a small group of hikers and it was quite reassuring that we felt capable enough to overtake them easily!
Once in Yosemite valley it seemed noticeably colder so Mark checked the temperature on his phone which connects to the garmin temperature monitor which was already showing below zero centigrade then a bit later went down to -1.3 - this is the part we found it hard to plan for - what clothing to wear/take.
Along the route we met a really friendly couple from Hungerford we enjoyed chatting with them and ended up leap frogging each other for the rest of the hike up to Half Dome.
We were keen to reach the cables before midday as we'd read that leaving it later would result in queuing and we wanted to avoid this if at all possible. So we paced ourselves and stopped only occasionally just to refill our bottles from the larger 2 litre bottles Mark was carrying.
We reached a point on the walk where a hikers were sitting and we soon learnt that we only had about a mile left before the cables and that we should re-hydrate well as this section was going to be pretty tough. Well they weren't kidding. There were many steep switchbacks in exposed 30 degrees heat sun.
We had to pause every turn to get our breath back and have a drink, there was no need to worry about holding anyone up as everyone had the same idea. This section was tough and we were glad to get to the top and reach the sub dome.
We made our way to the start of the cables and put on our grippy gloves. I was starting to get very nervous and wondered if I was doing the right thing. Then I remembered that Mark had said that if I made it to the top of the cables he'd buy me a souvenir T-shirt and patch from Half Dome village so this spurred me on.
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| Grippy gloves |
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| The view up the cables |
So, I tentatively stepped between the cables and took a hold of them remembering everything I'd read on how to get up as safely as possible. Up I went and my arms turned to jelly - great! I took a few breaths in... and.... out and tried to calm my nerves and continued on up - nothing had prepared me for just how tough this bit would be and I soon found the best technique for me. One thing I will always remember is the friendliness from everyone on the trail that day and particularly on the cable section. The people I got talking to who were passing me on their way down the cables really spurred me on and kept me going with their words of encouragement and jokes - all the way up I just kept thinking how on earth am I going to get back down!
I think anyone with an intense fear of heights would struggle which luckily I don't have but the main thing I was worried about was falling as you'd die for sure - I had considered using a via ferrata but had read that the rangers don't recommend these - they hold up the line as you would need to clip and unclip 60 times, the cables haven't been designed for use with harnesses, if you did slip you would risk serious injury to others... plus a number of other reasons.
I steadily pulled myself up pausing briefly at each board. There were a couple of very steep bits and scary ledges to step up, it took about 20 minutes to get up. It was such an amazing feeling to get to the summit, it didn't feel real, had to pinch myself a few times.
We spent a while taking photos and admiring the views and chatting to people we'd met along the way.
We had to keep in mind how long it would take to hike back down to the valley floor as after all when you reach the summit you've only completed half of the hike!
So off we went to the cables, I was a little apprehensive but but decided on which technique I was going to use and went for it. It was scarier going down and my footing did slip once and I swung round and grabbed the cable hard (some lovely bruises on my arms the next day) this did unnerve me a little but I changed my technique and this helped a bit.
By this time there was quite a few people coming up the cables and when we were about half way the small group we were following came to a stop and we learnt that someone coming up had frozen with nerves and was being talked up slowly so this held us up until they got past us then we just kept going until we reached the bottom- it took us about 35 mins going down.
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| What's the hold up? |
Once again an amazing feeling and great camaraderie with people cheering each other, so much fun. Then it was just a case of retracing our steps back down to the valley floor.
Originally we'd planned to go back down via the John Muir trail. This adds on about a mile but it misses out the steps route of the Mist Trail and is supposed to be gentler on the knees but we were keen to get down quickly and get to the shop before it closed at 8pm, we're leaving early tomorrow morning so the only option is to get there tonight. Also we were keen to see the falls that we'd missed in the dark when we'd set off.
We stopped at Vernal Falls to take photos then continued on until we were back down.
It was still daylight and we had plenty of time to browse in the shops. Then we treated ourselves to a good meal in the Curry Village restaurant - we'd earnt it. A fabulous hike and it goes to the top of the list as being the best ever, loved every minute of it.
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