After a long time, a picture gave me a few words, however incoherent they may be. Hence documented it here. And yeah, it brought me back to my own blog after a while! :-)
Yosemite called me again. This time,not to take pictures of her. But to reach her zenith. And I am glad I heeded the call. I completed the Half Dome hike/climb - one of the toughest in the valley.A day I want to get etched in my memory forever. Well, I didnt leave anything for chance to make it memorable. I diligently deleted all the videos of the ascent from the card before recovering after some searching around.
It all started a couple of months ago in April when I got the pre-season lottery for using the cables on Half Dome. After losing the lottery last year, I was happy and excited with the first hurdle cleared. However, at that point in time, I was not quite sure of making it. Since it was more than 2 months away, I had put it on a back burner. But as end of June neared, the crazy guy in me woke up and started pushing for doing the hike.
And so, a week before the hike, somehow I scrambled to find a campsite inside the Yosemite National Park. Why? So that I can sleep an hour or two longer. However, that was denied and I had to stay put at 30 miles away. Now, that immediately put a strain on me to wake up earlier than usual. When the tent was pitched well before 8.30 PM on the day before, I decided that I will wake up at 0400 hrs and drive into the park so as to start the hike between 0500 and 0530 hrs.
Well, the decision of waking up early was very easy to make. I woke up at 0500 hrs, (well within the limits of my standard clock ;-)) quickly freshened up and drove as fast as I could into the valley.
0630 hrs - Trailhead parking. Start of Hike. JUST an hour and half away from the scheduled start time!
Though I was late, it was heartening to see some people around starting their hike at the same time too. Without wasting much time, I got onto the Mist trail which would take me to the top of Half Dome after 8.2 miles of steep hike along some of the most scenic spots to reach a height of 8840 m ..err 8840 ft (I have no idea why I always get towards Everest with all my little hikes and climbs ;-)). Without much words, let me dive into the pictures and videos I captured using my Nokia Lumia cellphone on the way up. The cable ascent video is captured using head mounted GoPro camera. Hope you enjoy reading and viewing this.
The Hike started at Happy Isles Trailhead via the Mist Trail/John Muir Trail. Almost immediately, the elevation gain was visible. Since I had done this portion of the trek till the Vernal Fall Footbridge earlier, I knew the terrain and was able to quickly finish the first mile in around 20 minutes.
Vernal Fall from the Bridge. 1 mile from start
After the Footbridge was a new territory to me. A series of atleast 10 switchbacks provided the steep elevation gain for the next 2.3-3 miles. This was definitely sapping the energy out of me. But the cool breeze and the early morning chillness kept the trek very pleasant.
As the trek gained height, the canopies opened mildly to reveal the spectacular valley that had been left below.
The beauty of the valley continued to reveal itself on every step of the trek. Close to half way into the trek at 3.7-4 miles, the Nevada fall makes its grand appearance. It is hard not to stop and click some pictures here. Given a chance, I could spend hours together here with my camera. But with the mission of the climb in mind, I just recorded the shot and kept moving further. After 1.5 hours and 4 miles, I reached the top of Nevada Fall.
Nevada Fall
Top of Nevada Fall
After a couple of minutes on the lip of the Nevada Fall, a couple of clicks and a video footage, I continued on with the trek toward Half Dome which was still a good 4.2 miles away from this spot. Immediately after this spot, the terrain changed. It was quite dry and there was absolutely no water source whatsoever. The steepness of the trek reduced quite a bit but the upward incline was almost consistent for the next 3 miles as the trail passed through the Little Yosemite Valley. This was a dry area covered with huge pine trees providing good shade on the route.
Little Yosemite Valley
After meandering through the pines for the next couple of hours, I finally reached the spot where I could see the Half Dome clearly. I was so excited that I thought I would reach the summit in the next half hour. I was to be proved wrong. The initial speed, steepness and the long trek eventually caught up on me and it took me more than an hour to reach the summit from this point. Its from this location that the outgrowth density reduced and slowly the barren rocks started showing up.
First clear view of Half Dome. Close to 6.5 miles
Just below the Sub Dome, there was a Park Ranger standing with a tablet in his hand to check the Cable Permits. As I handed my permit to him, I casually asked him how much longer it would take. I did not want to hear the answer when he told it would take close to an hour to the top. That was a WTH moment for me. I mean, I could see the rock right in front of me and I thought taking an hour to reach the top was too much. Little did I know what I was getting into. Though the Sub Dome looked pretty much insignificant next to its taller and famous neighbour, this was definitely the toughest part of the hike for me. The trek wavered through cracks and step-like formations on the edge of the rock with a huge gain in height. This was one of the portion where I had to stop in the middle for a breather!
Stepping on to the Sub Dome Ascent
Half way up Sub Dome. One of the couple 'shaded' spots.
After an excruciating climb up the sub dome, I decided to take a 5-10 minute break before climbing the cables. Time was around to 10 AM and I had covered almost 8 miles in 3.5 hours and I was already panting for breath with the last portion. But the moment I sat down, I started hearing some people talking about how difficult and dangerous the cables looked and that they would not do it and stuff like that. When I looked at the cables, they indeed looked very daunting from where I was- a 90 degree uphill one! I started having second thoughts about climbing now. That's when I decided that I would not sit any longer and simply got ready to climb in less than a minute. I mounted the GoPro on my head and headed toward the cables. First few steps were a little nervous. But then, the nerves settled down and I started concentrating on the climb.
View from the top of Sub Dome
The Cables to the Summit of Half Dome
25 minutes later, at 8840 ft from sea level, the summit was achieved.
The Majestic view of the valley from the summit of Half Dome - 8840 ft
On the summit,the feeling of elation at having completed one of the toughest hikes/climbs was un-explainable. And when that came without any specific preparation and without any company simply added icing on the top. A pat on the back, a few selfies and 45 minutes later, I was on my way down the cables. 4 hours later, I came back to where I started, with a sense of accomplishment.Every step of the hike was worth the pains taken and I was glad I lived and loved every one of it!
Yours Truly on the summit
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Here is the link to the Ascent video. There is a problem with audio sync- thanks to a major goof-up I did. That is the effect of the recovery going a tad wrong after I deleted the videos from the memory card inadvertantly. However, I was glad I could salvage the video atleast!
I wanted to tell her that she looked beautiful. I didn't. Because she didn't look beautiful. She was beautiful. Often pictures speak to the viewers. Sometimes they speak to the maker than to the viewer. I had this experience just recently. I am a landscape photographer and love being outdoors,away from the crowd. Not that I hate people, but just that I am not good with having an interaction while clicking photos. I like to be alone and get immersed into the surrounding landscape. Naturally, I tend to go away from people. And when I am around a few, I search for the faces and expressions from a fair distance. That too very rarely. And one such click in the recent couple of days made me write the first 2 lines in this post. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. True. But not always. Sometimes it emanates from within the beholdee. I am not sure if I will be able to post the picture here, but I sure wanted to post my thoughts about it. And I did just that.
Mt.Diablo - a very prominently visible mountain from almost anywhere in the tri-valley region of the East Bay Area. I see it everyday from my place in Pleasanton with the same admiration and yearning of a kid wanting to go high up in the air.
Its this love for heights that made me want to hike up this close-by mountain of 3849 ft in elevation. If you are thinking "What? this guy is making a big fuss about a mountain just 3800 ft high", then I am not going to stop you from doing so. Of course, this is pretty darn a midget in front of other huge ones like...err..if I may compare with... the Everest. :D. But for me, this had been a nemesis until a week ago when I was able to hike up to its summit in my third try.
Yes. Third try. Not because I didn't have the stamina to go up the first 2 times. Its just because sleep got the better of me and invariably had to start late. I keep watching and reading quite a few mountaineering documentaries and one thing that I have come to understand pretty clearly is that the expedition is complete only when the round trip is complete. And the first 2 times, I wouldn't have completed it well in time with daylight to spare. So, the only thing I had to make sure to do correct the third time was to get up early! And I did...well, 45 minutes behind scheduled time. But that's okay compared to 2 hours,right? ;-)
So I hit the trail from Mitchell Canyon Staging area in Clayton, the same starting point as the previous two tries. The summit is 7 miles hike up the canyon with bursts of very steep elevation gain. It took me 1 hour to reach Deer Flat, the spot where I had to turn back both the times earlier. With the watch showing 9.30 AM, I was definitely happy. Why not? I had come a third of the way up at a time when I was blissfully sleeping on previous hikes :).
Mitchell Canyon Fire Road
Deer Flat
And from here, started the tougher but equally stunning part of the hike. Immediately after the Deer Flat towards the Juniper Campgrounds, the terrain got steeper. But the exhaustion was overwhelmed by the sweeping vistas of the earth below. As I lingered along with very little stops and the single point aim of getting to the summit, I was mesmerized with the view all around. Though I did not take my camera along, I did click a few pictures on my cellphone and kept moving along at a brisk pace. Just that it felt as if it was taking eternity to reach the summit. Especially the last mile and half was excruciatingly frustrating. I increased my pace to the maximum possible without straining too much. At last, summit was achieved at noon.
A Panoramic view from Juniper Trail
Some more views from the same spot.
A few burnt out trees/shrubs were still around. Mt.Diablo had a major fire last year which lasted for close to a week. The fire was visible from Hacienda in Pleasanton!
View of the Summit Road from Summit Trail
The view from the summit was stunning, to say the least. It was a very clear day and I could see the snow capped Sierra Nevada range 200 miles away! After spending around an hour at the top enjoying the breeze and the view all around, I started back down via the North Peak-Meridian Ridge trail. Now, the exhaustion was showing up on me and my legs started hurting. With just 2 energy bars since morning, my stomach also started playing music. 2 more energy bars kept the stomach busy for some time while I made my way back down on the 7 mile trail to the staging area. It was 4 PM by the time I reached my car and thus ended the Diablo Summit hike, finally!
Summit Beacon
Parking Lot at the Summit Visitor Center
The Actual Summit Point
I was overwhelmed with the joy of achieving something that had been lingering on in my mind for the past year. It might be a very small thing, but the feeling of success it gave was something that I definitely wanted. With my next aims set on Half Dome and Mt.Shasta, hopefully sooner than later, this hike was the much needed start I had been lacking for a while. And I am glad I did it! One more item checked off my wish list. Yaaay! :). Few more pics below. The North Peak with the Sierra Nevada in the background
Inside the Summit beacon house
Another View point from the summit on the eastern side
And my favorite creature :-). The Pacific Gopher snake
PS: All images shot with my Nokia Lumia 810 Cellphone camera
Yosemite has made me come back after years to my own blog, albeit a bit late. This is a small try to put in my limited but wonderful experiences in Yosemite National Park, California.
Yosemite is one of most photographed places in the world. And why not? For where else can you find the gigantic rocks,mountains, trees, rivers, valleys, waterfalls everything within walkable distance of one another? I have been to this place 4 times and still have not explored many of the places and experiences this region has to offer. Of course, 2 out of the 4 times were a typical day travel amidst the summer crowd. The best was my most recent trip in December 2013 in the winter when the roads were next to deserted with only the determined few who were ready to face the freezing temperatures. Okay, let me start off with the pictures without much of writing.
Enroute to the valley
The frozen Merced river
The Majestic El Capitan monolith
Summer or Winter, Life has to go on in the valley. A Sysco truck with essential supplies.
The best thing about winter trip is this. You can get right in the middle of the road without worrying too much about the traffic.
Snow covered road lined by tall conifers
No place to rest ;-)
The snow clearing machines at work
The light during sunrise the next morning was mesmerizing.
Half Dome just before sunrise
Tunnel View Vista point. Just that I turned around to click the tunnel instead of the view ;-)
Whew, After creating the blog 3 months ago, I finally published it now! Way to go with my punctuality. ;-)
Will try to be more regular with my pictures and travels. As usual, nothing guaranteed. :D. Hope you enjoyed these images from Yosemite National Park.
