Half Dome Odyssey

Preparations I Took

There was a lot of stuff I needed to make this trip. Here's what went with me.

Hiking shoes
Extra socks
Convertible pants w/removable legs
Hi-tek fiber t-shirt
Hemp long sleeve shirt
Hat
Climbing gloves
Fanny pack
Walking stick
Slingshot & marbles
Cell phone
GPS

Digital camera
Binoculars
Pocket knife
Handy wipes
Bug repellant
Sunscreen
Water
Sandwiches
Candy
Water purification chemicals
A beer and a way to keep it cold
A doobie

I'm in fantastic health so I took no additional physical preparations.

The trip begins.

The Trailhead at 6:30 am. It was really pretty dark, but my camera makes it look brighter.

The trail starts out flat, then gets pretty tough. I think it's designed to turn people back early so they don't get stuck up there. Here's just one of hundreds of magnificent views along the way. Looks like a good climb, doesn't it?

About one third of the way up the trail you get your first good glimpse of something that looks like Half Dome to a first timer, but it's not. That's Liberty Cap. Note the waterfall at the lower right. This is still pretty tough uphill hiking. From here it levels off some for a couple miles.

Here is the top of those falls.

This is the shot leaning out over the edge with my camera to see to the bottom. From here, there's another mile or so of mild uphill, then the climbing gets tougher than ever.

This is the view from a nice little meadow at the base of Half Dome. You can see people climbing the cables. To get to the base of those cables you have to ascend about 600 feet of the toughest steps you've ever seen. I was really tired by the time I got to this point and my knee was beginning to hurt. I don't have knee trouble, but it was hurting today.

This is what you get to see from the top of the steps. In an incredible stroke of luck, a man saw me tying a handkerchief around my knee and he "just happened to have an extra" elastic knee brace with him. He loaned it to me and I returned it to him that night when I got back. He was in Curry Villiage "1C" and his name was Joeseph. Without that knee brace, I would have really hurt myself on the way back. I consider it a sign of fate that I was meant to be there at that moment.

So there I was. Time to climb. Right up the side.

Almost to the top. This is tough!

I MADE IT!!!!! Talk about vertigo!

Right about then storm clouds began to move in. Lightning strike is a very serious danger on Half Dome, so I got the hell out of there.

There's nothing like personal achievement!

That's just the lastest adventure!

I love the outdoors. Hiking, bicycling and driving with the lid open. I love adventure! Sailing, great food & wine, travel and experiencing new things.
I love a challenge and the conquest of those challenges.

What's next?

I'm formulating a route for a cross country mountain bike trek. The objective is 100-200 miles of offroad biking beginning and ending with train rides originating in different states.

Please email me if you have any interest or ideas about it.

Preparations I Took There was a lot of stuff I needed to make this trip. Here's what went with me.
Hiking shoes Extra socks Convertible pants w/removable legs Hi-tek fiber t-shirt Hemp long sleeve shirt Hat Climbing gloves Fanny pack Walking stick Slingshot & marbles Cell phone GPS	Digital camera Binoculars Pocket knife Handy wipes Bug repellant Sunscreen Water Sandwiches Candy Water purification chemicals A beer and a way to keep it cold A doobie
I'm in fantastic health so I took no additional physical preparations.
The trip begins.

The Trailhead at 6:30 am. It was really pretty dark, but my camera makes it look brighter.

The trail starts out flat, then gets pretty tough. I think it's designed to turn people back early so they don't get stuck up there. Here's just one of hundreds of magnificent views along the way. Looks like a good climb, doesn't it?

About one third of the way up the trail you get your first good glimpse of something that looks like Half Dome to a first timer, but it's not. That's Liberty Cap. Note the waterfall at the lower right. This is still pretty tough uphill hiking. From here it levels off some for a couple miles.

Here is the top of those falls.

This is the shot leaning out over the edge with my camera to see to the bottom. From here, there's another mile or so of mild uphill, then the climbing gets tougher than ever.

This is the view from a nice little meadow at the base of Half Dome. You can see people climbing the cables. To get to the base of those cables you have to ascend about 600 feet of the toughest steps you've ever seen. I was really tired by the time I got to this point and my knee was beginning to hurt. I don't have knee trouble, but it was hurting today.

This is what you get to see from the top of the steps. In an incredible stroke of luck, a man saw me tying a handkerchief around my knee and he "just happened to have an extra" elastic knee brace with him. He loaned it to me and I returned it to him that night when I got back. He was in Curry Villiage "1C" and his name was Joeseph. Without that knee brace, I would have really hurt myself on the way back. I consider it a sign of fate that I was meant to be there at that moment.

So there I was. Time to climb. Right up the side.

Almost to the top. This is tough!

I MADE IT!!!!! Talk about vertigo!

Right about then storm clouds began to move in. Lightning strike is a very serious danger on Half Dome, so I got the hell out of there.

There's nothing like personal achievement!
That's just the lastest adventure! I love the outdoors. Hiking, bicycling and driving with the lid open. I love adventure! Sailing, great food & wine, travel and experiencing new things. I love a challenge and the conquest of those challenges.
What's next? I'm formulating a route for a cross country mountain bike trek. The objective is 100-200 miles of offroad biking beginning and ending with train rides originating in different states. Please email me if you have any interest or ideas about it.