Postmortem

May 8: A group of punks up to no good entered Disneyland (AKA Yosemite National Park) on a warm and sunny Saturday morning. The plan was to hit Yosemite falls as our warm up hike, go camp outside the park, and then come back the next morning for Half Dome. Gaby almost fell into a bush but was saved by Ronen. There was a very wet waterfall. And there were smores around the campfire (cute, I know). Ok, onto Half Dome...

May 9, 5:00AM: Time to get XXXtreme! We packed the 10 hiking essentials (Redbull, a few grains of rice, headlamps with half dead batteries, etc..) and hit the trail. Jokes aside, Half Dome is a legit full day and should not be taken lightly. We were more than prepared in terms of gear, fitness ability, and daylight. No harm, no foul. The very beginning of the hike is worth noting. It is absolutely gorgeous going through the Mist trail. I highly recommend checking this trail out in May or early June when the water level is highest from the snow melt. It dries up quick, do not wait!

May 9, afternoon: From this point onward to the final ascent there is not too much worth calling out. There are plenty of general hiking guides and reports out there you can follow along. For this entry we will focus on the final slab climb. The park service installs wooden steps and metal poles typically by Memorial Day weekend. So the trick is to go the weekend before when snow is gone but the cables are "down". The cables are still attached to the rock face and can be harnessed into for safety. It is about 400ft of vertical. There are many advantages of doing it this way. Aside from it being more technical/challenging, there are far fewer people and you do not need a permit which can be very difficult to get. The harness setup is usually done with two separate lines for safety. Most people use a carabineer on one and a prusik knot on the other. It is definitely the most secure option since the prusik will tighten if you slip, but it also requires more effort as you go up. We were all confident in our abilities and went with two carabineer lines like a typical via ferrata. If you fell it would hurt but you would still be caught. The slab is steep but sticky with the right shoes. The exposure keeps things spooky but you will be ok.

Going off season is a great way to turn Half Dome into a solid weekend warrior's adventure with a group. We try to go every few summers at this point. On my list is to combine Half Dome with Cloud's Rest all in one day. To be continued...