End of a Journey - Some Final Thoughts

I need to remember…I MADE IT!

The next morning, we all slept in. I was able to crawl out of bed at 7:30, and more or less stand upright and limp to take a shower. I was surprised I could even move - every part of my body started checking in: Calves - cramping; Thighs - we are here, really aching; Hamstrings - Owww, what did you do to me; Hands - I hate you, we cannot stop cramping; Head: massive headache and you deserve it; Back: sore, but not that bad. Feed me more Advil please! Feet - bruised with black toes, you are going to pay for this.  Was this fun or not. Then I remembered that I did make it to the top, so at least I had that going for me. Woo-hoo.

I had a huge (I hate using that word now) breakfast - eggs, pancakes, ham, which filled a small part of the void left from my idiotic self-imposed fast the day before. We drank coffee and laughed a lot, and then it was time to pack and head out. I had fantasized the day before about getting another hike before we left. Not. I could barely walk. I looked for an appropriate t-shirt in the general store, but oddly enough, they do not carry a “I Hiked Half Dome” shirt in Yosemite. I had to order one online.

I thought about buying these

The trip home was uneventful, and fast in Craig’s luxurious 26 cup-holder mini-van. I may never make fun of them again. Not that I’ll consider buying one though. After Craig dropped me off, and my wife had a chance to hear some of my adventure…..enough to just shake her head and go back to work, I headed over to my health club to soak in the hot tub for a while. It did not help. We had a dinner, some wine (Yay!), and I crashed pretty early.

My last really stupid decision in a string of many, was to go to work the next day. I was limping, mentally and physically exhausted, and there I was, getting up at 5:30AM, and heading off to work. I had a presentation to prepare and give around noon. By that time, I was ready to nod off, and I zoned out in the middle of my talk. Words just stopped flowing in mid sentence. I would have been better off showing slides of Half Dome. Better yet, I should have stayed home, which is where I headed to right after the meeting.

Dehydration and exhaustion is serious business. It took me a few days to get to the point where I felt right again. I worked from home the day after, rested, ate a lot, and drank a lot of water, and felt great the following day. Another lesson learned.

So here I am, the end of the blog, and the end of the journey which started when I submitted an entry to the Half Dome Permit Lottery many months ago. With all the screw-ups, I am still absolutely thrilled that I made it up (and down) the cables. Pushing myself mentally to do it at the Sub Dome was much more difficult than the physical effort, and I’m proud of myself for getting past my usual negativity. Yeah, the glass is always half empty for me. Even if I did not take my usual 2000 photo’s, and did not use the GoPro, I’ll have memories that will last a long time - after all, as you get older, you retain your long term memory, so I can revisit the trip over and over again. Better than Youtube.

So am I glad I did this. Absolutely. Will I do it again. Absolutely not! I recommend Half Dome to anyone who loves to hike, and/or is looking for a real challenge. Just a few suggestions:

• Backpack in and camp, unless you really enjoy a long hike. You can sleep in, and start at a reasonable hour, and expend a lot less energy getting to the top.
• If you are fearful of the exposure, wear a harness and clip in to the cable, especially on the way down. No risk, no fear.
• Bring food that you like to eat. And a lot of it. And fill up your water bottles at every opportunity.
• And finally, enjoy the view at the top. It's amazing!

A few last photo’s of the old-men on Half-Dome team.