The Long Way Back

Most of the articles, books, blogs and what not that have been written about the cable route, describe the descent as worse than the climb. I’d have to agree since you have less control with gravity pulling you downwards, and little friction on the granite to keep you from sliding down. I actually had an easier time of it though, with two simple tricks. First was to remove the fear factor by wearing a light harness, and clipping onto the cable. No chance of falling out of the cables if you slip. The second was to treat this like a rappel - I just faced the top, gripped one cable, and slid down from pole to pole, stopping only to clip to the next stretch of cable. Except for the places you had to step down or switch to a new cable, it was almost fun. Really.  I was down in about 20 minutes, with much less effort than going up. from the top. Piece of cake.

Once down to the saddle, we had to head back up a short distance to the top of the Sub Dome again. Crap. That hundred or so feet seemed a lot higher now - and why were my legs so sore? Craig had already headed down to the shade trees below the dome, so Garry and I just bushwhacked our way down until we found the step-trail. I was very, very careful, since I was really tired - this is where you are most risk for taking a bad fall, so I used one hiking pole for balance, which helped a lot. It was a long way down from the top, but we made it without incident.

We found Craig at the bottom, high-fived in celebration, and then started down the long trail to LIttle Yosemite Valley. I did manage to enjoy the great views until we hit the forest trail.

Once past the nice view above, we stepped into the forest above Little Yosemite Valley, and headed down the rocky trail. I was low on water, and very low on energy. We eventually came to a spot where there was a small spring of clear, cool water and stopped to refill. I refilled my small bottle, but did not bother to refill the bladder since I figured I had enough to get me down to Nevada Falls. Duh. Must have been early onset of dementia. We trudged along, and somewhere along the way I made a mis-step and felt that awful twinge in my lower back, which I decided to ignore. Advil might have helped at that point. So, on and on the trail went. Craig and Garry moved on ahead while I continued on down to the junction at Little Yosemite Valley - just another mile or so on a relatively flat trail to the falls and more water. It was a really looonnnngg mile - I was thirsty, fatigued, and in pain from my back which was beginning to spasm. I was looking for a glimpse of the outhouse at every rise in the trail, since that was just above the falls. Where the f*** was it? Finally, I dragged myself up the last rise, and had .2 miles to go to the falls. Craig spotted me, and called out to get my attention - I dragged myself down to a rock, pulled my pack off and promptly keeled over onto the gravel, knee first of course. The same knee that I banged up months ago when I tripped on the trail at Pinnacles National Park. Another bloody knee, but at least I keep reusing the same scar.

Garry brought bottle after bottle of water to me - I drank a quart, and filled up the bladder this time. I was really, really weak and in a lot of pain from my back - I swallowed a couple of Advil, which helped over time. After washing off my knee, we headed back down - it was already late in the day (7PM), so there was not much daylight left. The odds of us having a celebration at the bar were slim.

It’s about 4 miles down to the the camp, with 2000 feet of elevation loss. The trail does not seem that rough or steep on the way up, but when you are listing to starboard with a bad back, and fading rapidly, the endless rocky sections and swtich-backs were agony. I was leaning heavily on my hiking sticks, so the first thing that went were my hands which started to cramp. Very unpleasant.

My pace was really slow - fortunately, I had lots of water, but my legs were burning and my lower back was starting to spasm. Craig walked behind me, and was constantly grabbing my pack whenever it looked like I was about to keel over. The trail is just an endless series of switchbacks, at least that is the way I felt. It soon got dark enough where we needed to use headlamps.

I really did not think I was going to make it down under my own power, and both Craig and Garry came to the same conclusion. I probably looked like crap at that point, keeled over to one side and sweating profusely. Garry volunteered to go down the rest of the way and find a ranger, or just call 911. They helped me down to a nice, angled chunk of granite, and I stretched out on the trail. Garry handed me a few more Advil, and headed on down. It was pitch black dark, so I kept my headlamp on to light up the area, and we settled in to wait for help. This was really depressing - aside from missing out on a nice dinner, wine, and ice cream, I was facing the embarrassment of being hauled down the last mile or so on a stretcher.

More to come in the next post.

The Stairway to Heaven

As I mentioned in a previous posting, I made a number of stupid mistakes on the way up, which resulted in major problems on the return. The first was breakfast, which is probably the most important meal of the day. I bought a couple of breakfast yogurts, one with oatmeal mixed in, the other with granola. Other than that, all I had was a point of orange juice. After getting dressed, I opened up the oatmeal yogurt which looked awful, had no taste, with a pasty,grainy consistency. Absolutely unappealing. I managed to swallow a few spoonfuls, and tossed the rest. Aside from the OJ, that was it for breakfast. Dumb.

We headed off at 6AM - a bit later than I was hoping for, but still reasonable if we could do the round trip in 10 or 11 hours. The first mile of the trail is paved and follows the Merced, so the grade is fairly gentle. A nice way to stretch your legs, and get into a good stride. After crossing the bridge, the trail splits - left goes up the Mist Trail and right goes up the John Muir trail which bypasses Vernal Falls, and exits out to the top of Nevada Falls. The trail is steep, rocky, with many switchbacks along the 4 miles to the top. As we climbed, I found myself falling behind the others, but we still made pretty good time. The views of Half-Dome in the early morning were spectacular (insert picture).

Once we made it to Nevada Falls, which is as far as I have gone in the past, we took a break and refilled our respective water supplies. I just filled my smaller bottle, thinking that I had not drawn much out of my 3 liter water bladder in my pack. Another very big mistake. After resting for a bit, we headed out through the Little Yosemite Valley, a deceptively easy, gentle stroll along the Merced, on a sandy trail. I was not feeling well by then, but we still made relatively good time until the end of the valley where the trail started up through the forest towards the Sub Dome. This is where the climb really starts, since you have half the distance remaining, with over 2500’ feet vertical to go. The trail is more difficult, with a lot of rock steps and rougher terrain, and more switchbacks to deal with. We finally reached the ranger check-point before the trail splits off to Half Dome. The ranger checks for the permit here….and I did remember to pack it. Woo-hoo. The ranger asked if we had enough water, which at the point, I did not, and recommended that we eat salty foods, which I did not have with me. After chatting with the ranger about a bear he was chasing out of the area, we headed on up the forest trail for the remaining 3.5 miles.

The trail continued on up through a series of switchbacks, with not much in the way of views of Half Dome. I was pretty much thinking that I would get to the Sub Dome, and give up - my confidence was about at rock bottom then, along with my energy levels. Did I think to stop and eat something. Noooo. After the long walk through the forest, we were suddenly out in the open, with incredible views of the Sierra...and a clear view of the Sub Dome. Yikes. You can barely see the cable route creeping up Half Dome, but the Sub Dome blocked most of the view, and looked impassable. And, there was another granite ridge in front of that! I set my sites on the top of the rounded dome, and headed off again.

The first ridge was not too terrible, but I was moving pretty slow. Eventually, we made it to the base of the Sub Dome, which was not quite as steep and smooth as it seemed from a distance. THere is a granite stair case which winds up the most of the way - very steep and a real calf burner. If you fall, from a mis-step, you will likely break something on the granite, but you would not fall very far. A very comforting thought.

Heading up Sub Dome

Looking down at the cable route

As I slogged up the trail, I encountered one of the groups we had been leap-frogging along the trail - mother, grown daughter and father. He was sort of spread eagled on the steps, holding on for dear life, while his wife and daughter were trying to get him to move. I asked him if he was OK...he just shook his head. He was clearly done for the day. Not good for my confidence. Toward the top of the dome, the trail disappears, and you have to find your own way on relatively steep granite. The footing was great, and I found a good slab to pull my up to the top.

Wow! What a view! We were just a hundred feet or so above the saddle, looking right up the cable route. We were there!

I now had a decision to make. I had found my second wind getting up the Sub Dome, but I knew I was low on water, and very low on energy. Craig at that point, decided he was going to stay where he was. He was never planning to do the cables, so making it this far was awesome. Garry knew I was wavering, and said he would go up as far as I did. If I turned around, that was fine with him and he would turn around as well. I really appreciated his support there. As I was sitting there, a guy came up from the saddle, looked us over and said - “You guys are about my age. I’m 69 - if I can make it, you can make it. Don’t turn around now.” OK, what the hell, let’s give it a try.

I pulled out my gloves, carabiners and harness, and considered putting on the GoPro harness as well. I did not feel like having anything else attached to my chest, so left it in the bag, a move I really regret now. The video would have been awesome.

We walked down the saddle, I walked into the cables, and pulled up to the first 2X4. And then did the next. And the next. Wow, I was doing it! The pitch almost immediately reaches the max and stays that way to almost the top. I made a point of looking straight ahead - smart move because the slope drops off on both sides. You do not really want to think about that. The granite is really, really slick, so you do have to hold on to the cables for dear life as you are hauling yourself between the 2X4’s. Even then, I did not let go while resting. Fortunately, there was a woman ahead with her family, who was very slow. She kept calling down apologizing, referring to herself as the fat old mother. Really. Some of the younger climbers were impatient, and moved outside the cables to bypass the roadblock ahead. Very, very scary, even if granite has more grip outside the cables. If you slip though, you die.

The most difficult parts of the climb are the points where the slab has exfoliated, and you have to step up two feet while maintaining your grip on the cables. The cables are not continuous, so you have to negotiate the places where you switch your grip to the new cable. Not difficult, but you need to concentrate the entire way up. What I found interesting were all the older bolts drilled into the rock- remnants of the route from the first climber.

Up and up we hauled ourselves - never ask the people coming down how far it is to the top. Everyone said - “you are half way up”. Very discouraging. Eventually, you reach the point where you can see where the slope starts to decrease, and suddenly, before your arms are just about ready to give out, you can see the end of the cables. I pulled myself to the last 2X4, and strolled up past the last anchors. Holy sh*t! I made it!! I let out a scratchy whoop, looked for a place to collapse, removed my pack, and stretched out. Victory!

Garry was right behind, so we high-fived, and he sat down as well. More people came up, and we greeted everyone - it was a real high to make it, no pun intended. After a bit, Garry headed off to explore the rounded summit, and stayed put and took a few shots from my vantage point of the cable end.

Top of the cables

I thought it would be a good time to fuel the fires, so searched my pack for the turkey sandwich I had packed for lunch. What I found was a mashed, soggy mess of bread and meat which did not taste very good. For some reason, my appetite was gone so I just munched half a Kind Bar, drank some water, and slowly walked over to where Garry was on the summit to take a few more pictures.

The top of Half Dome is large, but the edges drop off quickly. The center is not marked well, but obvious, so Garry and I shot summit photo’s of each other.

The prow you see at the top of the sheer face was obvious and not really that scary, but I avoided it anyway. Why tempt fate.

Half Dome Prow

So after resting for a while, and soaking in the view it was time to head back to the cables to descend, which I will describe in the next post. But here is a summary of the really stupid things I had done to this point

1. No breakfast
2. Did not top off my water supply at Nevada falls
3. Did not eat anything on the way up
4. Did not eat anything at the top

Arrival - settling into ‘not the Ritz’

We managed to load up the 26 cup-holder mini-van in record time (I probably had the most stuff of course), and headed out by Noon on the 31st. Not too bad for a Sunday, when all three of us would probably still be sipping coffee and reading the papers. The drive was great, since we got to know each other in the 4+ hours of travel time to Yosemite. Lots of good discussions on everything from politics to the joys of retirement (i’m the last one standing in the world of working stiffs). We rolled into Yosemite a little after four - always a spectacular place as you drive past the enormous granite walls. It was a bit hazy - it turns out the smoke from the Monterrey fires has made it all the way to Yosemite.

Check-in to Curry….errr...Half-Dome Village was pretty easy. Our spacious, luxurious accommodations were on the edge of the parking lot, and close to one of the buildings which had showers & bathrooms. More on that in a bit.

The tent-cabins are primitive, but quite nice. I was pleased that they gave us an extra cot, so that Garry (I’m using names now) did not have to sleep on the air mattress I brought along. The tent even had an outlet to charge phones and what-not, and a safe...just like a real hotel. Not too shabby

Home for 2 nights

But, no mini-bar, no turn-down service, no air-conditioning (it was really hot), and you had to keep anything that resembled food, including shampoo, in the bear-proof locker outside the door. Better than having something large, hairy with big claws and teeth visiting you at night.

Speaking of primitive, the shower facilities were functional but, what’s the right word? Gross. It was a good thing my wife did not need to come along - good enough for a bunch of guys, not so good for non-campers. But overall, the tent-cabins were great for two nights.

After unpacking and checking out the food opportunities for the evening, we decided to see how far we were from the John Muir trail head - a pleasant half mile, flat trail which winds through Half Dome village and a short stretch of road. After lounging at the bridge over the Merced River, and settling on a wake-up time (5:15AM), we wandered back to the village in search of nourishment - food and beer. Half Dome Village has one of the better cafeterias in Yosemite, complete with a Peet’s Coffee, an ice cream bar, a real bar with a great selection of suds, a pizza restaurant, and the cafeteria. I checked out the ice cream selection - that would be my first stop when we made it back to camp after the climb.

So, after inhaling a really good pizza, and consuming a few bottles of adult beverages, we headed back to the tent to get our packs ready for the next day. I paused to take an early evening photo of our goal.

And the answer is....

For all of my faithful followers (I'm up to two now that my wife has the link), I'm back home after a SUCCESSFUL climb up the cables. Woo-Hoo! I did it!

View from the Sub-Dome, minutes before heading up

This turned into such an amazing, and very weird adventure that I decided to break this into multiple posts in the following order:

1. The Arrival - a brief posting on the trip out, the luxurious accommodations at the 'Yosemite lodging formerly known as Curry Village', and a few more things to worry about. 
2. Stairway to Heaven - a step by step description of the ascent, and some of the really stupid things I did which I paid for on the way down. 
3. The Long Way Back or why I did not get ice cream, beer or dinner - when you hike 9 miles with 4400 feet of elevation gain to get to the top of Half Dome, you then have to hike 9 miles with 4400 feet of elevation loss to get back to camp. If you screw up on hydration and food intake, you may wind up calling for search and rescue, and may not get back in time to have a victory celebration.
4.  Simple Acts of Kindness - how Saint PB&J saved the day for me. And thoughts on why you should avoid sitting on the dirt, late at night, with a headlamp. There are many creepy, crawling things out there.
5. Final Thoughts - a few brief words of wisdom for anyone interested in giving Half Dome a try. This will probably be of interest to anyone over 55..or maybe 60. 

And away we go....

The last entry until August 2nd, unless I can post from my phone from the bar at Half-Dome village (I think they may have one). Either way, I'm packed for what seems like an expedition to K2, and awaiting the arrival of my friend with his mini-van, complete with 26 cup-holders (those may come in handy), to head off to Yosemite.

My next post will hopefully have summit shots, links to videos from my GoPro of the harrowing ascent and even more harrowing descent on the cables, and the wine and beer fest back at the camp. I may be hooked up to a IV drip of Pinot Noir. Really good Pinot Noir.

NEXT ->

Mercury mining, coastal wildfires and a nice hike

I did not have much to do this Sunday - too hot for yard-work, but too nice to stay home and do what I normally do ….  E-mail, documents and project work. I decided to break my new hiking shoes in with a long hike instead. One more training hike could not hurt.

The South Bay (I’m assuming most anyone reading this is from California although there were some viewers in Germany and France who probably found this by mistake) has a lot of really nice hiking trails, some of which are not overly crowded. There is a really nice county park in Almaden Valley, Almaden-Quicksilver, which has some great hiking and biking trails, excellent views, wildlife (wild turkeys, quail, deer and a predator or two) and some very interesting historic sites scattered throughout. This used to be the main source of mercury (quicksilver) during the gold and silver mining days, and there were mining towns and mills scattered across the hills. There are miles and miles of trails as well, so you can get a good workout, and learn something about the mining history of the area. You can find all kinds of sites on the history of this area, and there is an excellent museum in New Almaden at one of the entrances to the park. Worth seeing. Just don’t lick the rocks.

http://www.newalmaden.org/AQSPark/

Nice views of surrounding hills

Rotary mill, used to separate mercury from the ore

I wandered up and down trails for a while, getting in over 6 miles and about 1500’ elevation gain. I also added some weights to my pack to make it more of a chore. I was pleased that; 1) the new hiking shoes were very comfortable on steep trails, up and down; 2) I was able to go 2 miles up-hill without a break. I may make it next week.

One sad note - there is a huge wildfire along the coast, near Carmel. It must be getting very large, since you can see the smoke spreading East and along the Hwy 101. That is such a beautiful area - I hope they can get that under control soon.

I was sorting through gear this weekend - my formerly unused water filter works great. I cannot vouch for the filtering though, so I won’t get too excited about it for now. I found all the parts for my GoPro (a miracle in my house), and best of all, I found my headlamp which will be needed when we hit the trail. Not only did I found a headlamp, I found three. I remember buying the second one when I could not find the first, but somewhere along the way, I must have misplaced both and bought a third. REI just loves me.

An electrifying experience....

One week to go (almost). I'm through training other than my usual long walks, and work-outs in the gym. I'm as fit (or unfit) as I'm going to get.

I have had been thinking about a new / specialized pair of shoes to wear on the granite, something that sticks like spiderman’s feet. Rock climbing shoes! I used to have multiple pairs for different types of climbs, and the ones for steep slopes were great. I once did a free (unroped) pre-climb up a 50 degree ramp, relying on my sticky shoes for a few hundred feet of vertical. That would work for Half Dome. So, off to REI again to use my $20 bonus coupon from buying the new pack. One thing I did not count on though - changes in technology and shoe sizes in the decades since I gave the sport up. I tried on a few non-aggressive pairs in my own size, and my feet immediately cramped. Climbing shoes were always uncomfortable (painful really) but these were much worse than I had encountered in the past. I considered a pair of approach shoes which can be used for smearing on steep slopes, but $250 for hiking shoes. Really? I think not. So, I opted for a new pair of hiking shoes to replace my Keens’s, which are a bit worn out, and which have a newer Vibram sticky sole (“megagrip”). Comfort and a bit more grip sound like a good combination.

The problem with the Park Service lottery, is that you submit a bunch of dates that might work, and then hope one of them is picked. I picked a bunch of dates in July, and one in August in an attempt to hit it during the dry season. Of course, I was awarded the one in August, but I figured I’d be safe since it was early in the month. Not having anything to worry about now that I have conquered all of my hanging fears and bought all the gear I need, I started looking at the long term weather forecast for Yosemite. Sunny skies, warm, 0% humidity until the 29th. We then go from party cloudy, to scattered thunderstorms with a 50% chance of precipitation….until the 3rd. Crap. I can now worry about hiking 8.5 miles to the start of the cables, and getting getting a big thunderstorm role in. I have had enough lightning experiences in the Colorado high peaks, including close encounters of the electrical kind where everything is sparking, and the granite starts humming. Really, it happens. I've also been stuck on a rope when a lighting storm rolled down the canyon, half-way up a climb, with lots of metal climbing gear on a sling around my neck. I levitated the last pitch. 

So the thought of holding onto a steel cable in the middle of an electrical storm, does not resonate with (or through) me. Hopefully, if we start early enough, with our trusty headlamps shining brightly, we can get to the top early enough to miss any storms. That and the weather forecast keeps changing. I'm not going to worry, I'm not going to worry....I'll keep repeating that until Monday night.

One more entry before I leave.